HomeMy WebLinkAboutContractAGREEMENT FOR CLEAN ECONOMY STRATEGY UPDATE
THIS AGREEMENT, dated for reference purposes only as July 21, 2021, is by and between the City
of Renton (the “City”), a Washington municipal corporation, and Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc.,
(“Consultant”), a Washington corporation. The City and the Consultant are referred to collectively
in this Agreement as the “Parties.” Once fully executed by the Parties, this Agreement is effective
as of the last date signed by both parties (the “Effective Date”).
1.Scope of Work: Consultant agrees to provide and assist in the Clean Economy Strategy
update as specified in Exhibit A, which is attached and incorporated herein and may
hereinafter be referred to as the “Work.”
2.Changes in Scope of Work: The City, without invalidating this Agreement, may order
changes to the Work consisting of additions, deletions or modifications. Any such changes
to the Work shall be ordered by the City in writing and the Compensation shall be
equitably adjusted consistent with the rates set forth in Exhibit A or as otherwise mutually
agreed by the Parties.
3.Time of Performance: Consultant shall commence performance of the Agreement
pursuant to the schedule(s) set forth in Exhibit A. All Work shall be performed by no later
than January 31, 2023.
4.Compensation:
A.Amount. Total compensation to Consultant for Work provided pursuant to this
Agreement shall not exceed $186,800, plus any applicable state and local sales taxes.
Compensation shall be paid based upon Work actually performed according to the
rate(s) or amounts specified in Exhibit A. The Consultant agrees that any hourly or flat
rate charged by it for its Work shall remain locked at the negotiated rate(s) unless
otherwise agreed to in writing or provided in Exhibit A. Except as specifically provided
herein, the Consultant shall be solely responsible for payment of any taxes imposed
as a result of the performance and payment of this Agreement.
B.Method of Payment. On a monthly or no less than quarterly basis during any quarter
in which Work is performed, the Consultant shall submit a voucher or invoice in a form
specified by the City, including a description of what Work has been performed, the
name of the personnel performing such Work, and any hourly labor charge rate for
such personnel. The Consultant shall also submit a final bill upon completion of all
CAG-21-241
PAGE 2 OF 10
Work. Payment shall be made by the City for Work performed within thirty (30)
calendar days after receipt and approval by the appropriate City representative of the
voucher or invoice. If the Consultant’s performance does not meet the requirements
of this Agreement, the Consultant will correct or modify its performance to comply
with the Agreement. The City may withhold payment for work that does not meet the
requirements of this Agreement.
C.Effect of Payment. Payment for any part of the Work shall not constitute a waiver by
the City of any remedies it may have against the Consultant for failure of the
Consultant to perform the Work or for any breach of this Agreement by the
Consultant.
D.Non‐Appropriation of Funds. If sufficient funds are not appropriated or allocated for
payment under this Agreement for any future fiscal period, the City shall not be
obligated to make payments for Work or amounts incurred after the end of the
current fiscal period, and this Agreement will terminate upon the completion of all
remaining Work for which funds are allocated. No penalty or expense shall accrue to
the City in the event this provision applies.
5.Termination:
A.The City reserves the right to terminate this Agreement at any time, with or without
cause by giving ten (10) calendar days’ notice to the Consultant in writing. In the event
of such termination or suspension, all finished or unfinished documents, data, studies,
worksheets, models and reports, or other material prepared by the Consultant
pursuant to this Agreement shall be submitted to the City, if any are required as part
of the Work.
B.In the event this Agreement is terminated by the City, the Consultant shall be entitled
to payment for all hours worked to the effective date of termination, less all payments
previously made. If the Agreement is terminated by the City after partial performance
of Work for which the agreed compensation is a fixed fee, the City shall pay the
Consultant an equitable share of the fixed fee. This provision shall not prevent the
City from seeking any legal remedies it may have for the violation or nonperformance
of any of the provisions of this Agreement and such charges due to the City shall be
deducted from the final payment due the Consultant. No payment shall be made by
the City for any expenses incurred or work done following the effective date of
termination unless authorized in advance in writing by the City.
6.Warranties And Right To Use Work Product: Consultant represents and warrants that
Consultant will perform all Work identified in this Agreement in a professional and
workmanlike manner and in accordance with all reasonable and professional standards
and laws. Compliance with professional standards includes, as applicable, performing the
PAGE 3 OF 10
Work in compliance with applicable City standards or guidelines (e.g. design criteria and
Standard Plans for Road, Bridge and Municipal Construction). Professional engineers shall
certify engineering plans, specifications, plats, and reports, as applicable, pursuant to
RCW 18.43.070. Consultant further represents and warrants that all final work product
created for and delivered to the City pursuant to this Agreement shall be the original work
of the Consultant and free from any intellectual property encumbrance which would
restrict the City from using the work product. Consultant grants to the City a non‐
exclusive, perpetual right and license to use, reproduce, distribute, adapt, modify, and
display all final work product produced pursuant to this Agreement. The City’s or other’s
adaptation, modification or use of the final work products other than for the purposes of
this Agreement shall be without liability to the Consultant. The provisions of this section
shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.
7. Record Maintenance: The Consultant shall maintain accounts and records, which
properly reflect all direct and indirect costs expended and Work provided in the
performance of this Agreement and retain such records for as long as may be required by
applicable Washington State records retention laws, but in any event no less than six
years after the termination of this Agreement. The Consultant agrees to provide access
to and copies of any records related to this Agreement as required by the City to audit
expenditures and charges and/or to comply with the Washington State Public Records Act
(Chapter 42.56 RCW). The provisions of this section shall survive the expiration or
termination of this Agreement.
8. Public Records Compliance: To the full extent the City determines necessary to comply
with the Washington State Public Records Act, Consultant shall make a due diligent search
of all records in its possession or control relating to this Agreement and the Work,
including, but not limited to, e‐mail, correspondence, notes, saved telephone messages,
recordings, photos, or drawings and provide them to the City for production. In the event
Consultant believes said records need to be protected from disclosure, it may, at
Consultant’s own expense, seek judicial protection. Consultant shall indemnify, defend,
and hold harmless the City for all costs, including attorneys’ fees, attendant to any claim
or litigation related to a Public Records Act request for which Consultant has responsive
records and for which Consultant has withheld records or information contained therein,
or not provided them to the City in a timely manner. Consultant shall produce for
distribution any and all records responsive to the Public Records Act request in a timely
manner, unless those records are protected by court order. The provisions of this section
shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.
9. Independent Contractor Relationship:
A. The Consultant is retained by the City only for the purposes and to the extent set forth
in this Agreement. The nature of the relationship between the Consultant and the City
during the period of the Work shall be that of an independent contractor, not
PAGE 4 OF 10
employee. The Consultant, not the City, shall have the power to control and direct the
details, manner or means of Work. Specifically, but not by means of limitation, the
Consultant shall have no obligation to work any particular hours or particular
schedule, unless otherwise indicated in the Scope of Work or where scheduling of
attendance or performance is mutually arranged due to the nature of the Work.
Consultant shall retain the right to designate the means of performing the Work
covered by this agreement, and the Consultant shall be entitled to employ other
workers at such compensation and such other conditions as it may deem proper,
provided, however, that any contract so made by the Consultant is to be paid by it
alone, and that employing such workers, it is acting individually and not as an agent
for the City.
B. The City shall not be responsible for withholding or otherwise deducting federal
income tax or Social Security or contributing to the State Industrial Insurance
Program, or otherwise assuming the duties of an employer with respect to Consultant
or any employee of the Consultant.
C. If the Consultant is a sole proprietorship or if this Agreement is with an individual, the
Consultant agrees to notify the City and complete any required form if the Consultant
retired under a State of Washington retirement system and agrees to indemnify any
losses the City may sustain through the Consultant’s failure to do so.
10. Hold Harmless: The Consultant agrees to release, indemnify, defend, and hold harmless
the City, elected officials, employees, officers, representatives, and volunteers from any
and all claims, demands, actions, suits, causes of action, arbitrations, mediations,
proceedings, judgments, awards, injuries, damages, liabilities, taxes, losses, fines, fees,
penalties, expenses, attorney’s or attorneys’ fees, costs, and/or litigation expenses to or
by any and all persons or entities, arising from, resulting from, or related to the negligent
acts, errors or omissions of the Consultant in its performance of this Agreement or a
breach of this Agreement by Consultant, except for that portion of the claims caused by
the City’s sole negligence.
Should a court of competent jurisdiction determine that this agreement is subject to RCW
4.24.115, (Validity of agreement to indemnify against liability for negligence relative to
construction, alteration, improvement, etc., of structure or improvement attached to real
estate…) then, in the event of liability for damages arising out of bodily injury to persons
or damages to property caused by or resulting from the concurrent negligence of the
Consultant and the City, its officers, officials, employees and volunteers, Consultant’s
liability shall be only to the extent of Consultant’s negligence.
It is further specifically and expressly understood that the indemnification provided in
this Agreement constitute Consultant’s waiver of immunity under the Industrial
PAGE 5 OF 10
Insurance Act, RCW Title 51, solely for the purposes of this indemnification. The Parties
have mutually negotiated and agreed to this waiver. The provisions of this section shall
survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement.
11. Gifts and Conflicts: The City’s Code of Ethics and Washington State law prohibit City
employees from soliciting, accepting, or receiving any gift, gratuity or favor from any
person, firm or corporation involved in a contract or transaction. To ensure compliance
with the City’s Code of Ethics and state law, the Consultant shall not give a gift of any kind
to City employees or officials. Consultant also confirms that Consultant does not have a
business interest or a close family relationship with any City officer or employee who was,
is, or will be involved in selecting the Consultant, negotiating or administering this
Agreement, or evaluating the Consultant’s performance of the Work.
12. City of Renton Business License: Unless exempted by the Renton Municipal Code, t
Consultant shall obtain a City of Renton Business License prior to performing any Work
and maintain the business license in good standing throughout the term of this
agreement with the City.
Information regarding acquiring a city business license can be found at:
https://www.rentonwa.gov/Tax
Information regarding State business licensing requirements can be found at:
https://dor.wa.gov/doing‐business/register‐my‐business
13. Insurance: Consultant shall secure and maintain:
A. Commercial general liability insurance in the minimum amounts of $1,000,000 for
each occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate for the Term of this Agreement.
B. In the event that Work delivered pursuant to this Agreement either directly or
indirectly involve or require Professional Services, Professional Liability, Errors and
Omissions coverage shall be provided with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per
occurrence. "Professional Services", for the purpose of this section, shall mean any
Work provided by a licensed professional or Work that requires a professional
standard of care.
C. Workers’ compensation coverage, as required by the Industrial Insurance laws of the
State of Washington, shall also be secured.
D. Commercial Automobile Liability for owned, leased, hired or non‐owned, leased, hired
or non‐owned, with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence combined single
limit, if there will be any use of Consultant’s vehicles on the City’s Premises by or on
behalf of the City, beyond normal commutes.
PAGE 6 OF 10
E. Consultant shall name the City as an Additional Insured on its commercial general
liability policy on a non‐contributory primary basis. The City’s insurance policies shall
not be a source for payment of any Consultant liability, nor shall the maintenance of
any insurance required by this Agreement be construed to limit the liability of
Consultant to the coverage provided by such insurance or otherwise limit the City’s
recourse to any remedy available at law or in equity.
F. Subject to the City’s review and acceptance, a certificate of insurance showing the
proper endorsements, shall be delivered to the City before performing the Work.
G. Consultant shall provide the City with written notice of any policy cancellation, within
two (2) business days of their receipt of such notice.
14. Delays: Consultant is not responsible for delays caused by factors beyond the
Consultant’s reasonable control. When such delays beyond the Consultant’s reasonable
control occur, the City agrees the Consultant is not responsible for damages, nor shall the
Consultant be deemed to be in default of the Agreement.
15. Successors and Assigns: Neither the City nor the Consultant shall assign, transfer or
encumber any rights, duties or interests accruing from this Agreement without the
written consent of the other.
16. Notices: Any notice required under this Agreement will be in writing, addressed to the
appropriate party at the address which appears below (as modified in writing from time
to time by such party), and given personally, by registered or certified mail, return receipt
requested, by facsimile or by nationally recognized overnight courier service. Time period
for notices shall be deemed to have commenced upon the date of receipt, EXCEPT
facsimile delivery will be deemed to have commenced on the first business day following
transmission. Email and telephone may be used for purposes of administering the
Agreement, but should not be used to give any formal notice required by the Agreement.
CITY OF RENTON
Katie Buchl‐Morales
1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Phone: (425) 430‐6578
Kbuchl‐morales@rentonwa.gov
CONSULTANT
Gretchen Muller
1109 1st Ave, Suite 400
Seattle, WA 98101
Phone: 206‐449‐1115
Gretchen@cascadiaconsulting.com
PAGE 7 OF 10
17. Discrimination Prohibited: Except to the extent permitted by a bona fide occupational
qualification, the Consultant agrees as follows:
A. Consultant, and Consultant’s agents, employees, representatives, and volunteers
with regard to the Work performed or to be performed under this Agreement, shall
not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, nationality, creed, marital
status, sexual orientation or preference, age (except minimum age and retirement
provisions), honorably discharged veteran or military status, or the presence of any
sensory, mental or physical handicap, unless based upon a bona fide occupational
qualification in relationship to hiring and employment, in employment or application
for employment, the administration of the delivery of Work or any other benefits
under this Agreement, or procurement of materials or supplies.
B. The Consultant will take affirmative action to insure that applicants are employed and
that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, creed,
color, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, physical, sensory or mental
handicaps, or marital status. Such action shall include, but not be limited to the
following employment, upgrading, demotion or transfer, recruitment or recruitment
advertising, layoff or termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation and
selection for training.
C. If the Consultant fails to comply with any of this Agreement’s non‐discrimination
provisions, the City shall have the right, at its option, to cancel the Agreement in
whole or in part.
D. The Consultant is responsible to be aware of and in compliance with all federal, state
and local laws and regulations that may affect the satisfactory completion of the
project, which includes but is not limited to fair labor laws, worker's compensation,
and Title VI of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, and will comply with City of Renton
Council Resolution Number 4085.
18. Miscellaneous: The parties hereby acknowledge:
A. The City is not responsible to train or provide training for Consultant.
B. Consultant will not be reimbursed for job related expenses except to the extent
specifically agreed within the attached exhibits.
C. Consultant shall furnish all tools and/or materials necessary to perform the Work
except to the extent specifically agreed within the attached exhibits.
D. In the event special training, licensing, or certification is required for Consultant to
provide Work he/she will acquire or maintain such at his/her own expense and, if
Consultant employs, sub‐contracts, or otherwise assigns the responsibility to perform
PAGE 8 OF 10
the Work, said employee/sub‐contractor/assignee will acquire and or maintain such
training, licensing, or certification.
E.This is a non‐exclusive agreement and Consultant is free to provide his/her Work to
other entities, so long as there is no interruption or interference with the provision of
Work called for in this Agreement.
F.Consultant is responsible for his/her own insurance, including, but not limited to
health insurance.
G.Consultant is responsible for his/her own Worker’s Compensation coverage as well as
that for any persons employed by the Consultant.
19.Other Provisions:
A.Approval Authority. Each individual executing this Agreement on behalf of the City
and Consultant represents and warrants that such individuals are duly authorized to
execute and deliver this Agreement on behalf of the City or Consultant.
B.General Administration and Management. The City’s project manager is Katie Buchl‐
Morales. In providing Work, Consultant shall coordinate with the City’s contract
manager or his/her designee.
C.Amendment and Modification. This Agreement may be amended only by an
instrument in writing, duly executed by both Parties.
D.Conflicts. In the event of any inconsistencies between Consultant proposals and this
Agreement, the terms of this Agreement shall prevail. Any exhibits/attachments to
this Agreement are incorporated by reference only to the extent of the purpose for
which they are referenced within this Agreement. To the extent a Consultant
prepared exhibit conflicts with the terms in the body of this Agreement or contains
terms that are extraneous to the purpose for which it is referenced, the terms in the
body of this Agreement shall prevail and the extraneous terms shall not be
incorporated herein.
E.Governing Law. This Agreement shall be made in and shall be governed by and
interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington and the City of
Renton. Consultant and all of the Consultant’s employees shall perform the Work in
accordance with all applicable federal, state, county and city laws, codes and
ordinances.
F.Joint Drafting Effort. This Agreement shall be considered for all purposes as prepared
by the joint efforts of the Parties and shall not be construed against one party or the
PAGE 9 OF 10
other as a result of the preparation, substitution, submission or other event of
negotiation, drafting or execution.
G.Jurisdiction and Venue. Any lawsuit or legal action brought by any party to enforce or
interpret this Agreement or any of its terms or covenants shall be brought in the King
County Superior Court for the State of Washington at the Maleng Regional Justice
Center in Kent, King County, Washington, or its replacement or successor. Consultant
hereby expressly consents to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction and venue of
such court even if Consultant is a foreign corporation not registered with the State of
Washington.
H.Severability. A court of competent jurisdiction’s determination that any provision or
part of this Agreement is illegal or unenforceable shall not cancel or invalidate the
remainder of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect.
I.Sole and Entire Agreement. This Agreement contains the entire agreement of the
Parties and any representations or understandings, whether oral or written, not
incorporated are excluded.
J.Time is of the Essence. Time is of the essence of this Agreement and each and all of
its provisions in which performance is a factor. Adherence to completion dates set
forth in the description of the Work is essential to the Consultant’s performance of
this Agreement.
K.Third‐Party Beneficiaries. Nothing in this Agreement is intended to, nor shall be
construed to give any rights or benefits in the Agreement to anyone other than the
Parties, and all duties and responsibilities undertaken pursuant to this Agreement will
be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Parties and no one else.
L.Binding Effect. The Parties each bind themselves, their partners, successors, assigns,
and legal representatives to the other party to this Agreement, and to the partners,
successors, assigns, and legal representatives of such other party with respect to all
covenants of the Agreement.
M.Waivers. All waivers shall be in writing and signed by the waiving party. Either party’s
failure to enforce any provision of this Agreement shall not be a waiver and shall not
prevent either the City or Consultant from enforcing that provision or any other
provision of this Agreement in the future. Waiver of breach of any provision of this
Agreement shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any prior or subsequent breach
unless it is expressly waived in writing.
PAGE 10 OF 10
N.Counterparts. The Parties may execute this Agreement in any number of
counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original, and all of which will together
constitute this one Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have voluntarily entered into this Agreement as of the date
last signed by the Parties below.
CITY OF RENTON
By:_____________________________
CONSULTANT
By:____________________________
Armondo Pavone
Mayor
Gretchen Muller
Director
_____________________________
Date
_____________________________
Date
Attest
_____________________________
Jason A. Seth
City Clerk
Approved as to Legal Form
By: __________________________
Shane Moloney
City Attorney
Contract Template Updated 5/21/2021
11/13/2110-13-2021
Approved by Shane Moloney via 7/30/2021 email
PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE CITY OF RENTON
JULY 9 , 2021
SUBMITTED BY CASCADIA CONSULTING GROUP
Clean Economy Strategy Update
EXHIBIT A
CITY OF RENTON CLEAN ECONOMY STRATEGY UPDATE
Methodology
We are excited by the opportunity to work with the City of Renton to build off of our original Clean Economy
Strategy (CES) and develop a comprehensive and effective climate and sustainability action plan that meets the
City’s and community’s needs. With climate change already having harmful and costly effects in the Northwest—
and with the City’s Comprehensive Planning process already underway, providing a discrete window for
integrating climate action into long-term plans—the importance and value of updating the CES is self-evident.
A lot has changed in the near-decade since we completed the original CES. For this update, we will build on that
foundation to create a new plan that reflects the latest science, incorporates recommendations honed through
our work with dozens of peer cities and tailored to Renton’s needs, and is shaped by community input.
To successfully develop a thorough and effective plan that will be useful both on its own and integrated into the
Comprehensive Plan, the City must ask and answer key questions such as:
• What has changed since the original CES was developed, and how should the new plan reflect those changes?
• What about the original plan was successful, and what needs updating? Has the City been effective at
implementing sustainability and climate mitigation measures on the ground?
• What are reasonable GHG reduction targets, taking into account Renton’s current GHG emissions profile,
planning horizons, and political, social, and economic context?
• What policies, programs, and actions should be taken to reduce emissions in each sector to achieve GHG
reduction goals, considering criteria such as cost-effectiveness, mitigation potential, feasibility, equity,
inclusion, co-benefits, local compatibility, and economic impact? What resources will be needed?
• What synergies and efficiencies are possible by addressing climate change and other social, civic, economic,
and/or public health needs simultaneously?
• How can the plan best be integrated with and leverage existing plans, sustainability initiatives, economic
development strategies, social and environmental programs, and other local goals and actions? How should
the plan be structured to be actionable right away, while still informing and integrating into the
Comprehensive Plan in the future?
• How can the community best be engaged in this effort, both in terms of developing the Plan and
implementing it in the near and longer terms? What elements will be most successful in sharing best practices
and spurring action?
• What is the most effective way to monitor, measure, and report progress over time, enabling successes to be
celebrated and mid-course corrections to be made as needed?
These questions will help frame a climate mitigation and adaptation approach that is comprehensive, integrated
with other City needs and goals, and broadly supported by the community.
The scope and budget on the following pages reflect our understanding of the City’s needs and goals for this plan
update: a process that is built on up-to-date emissions analysis and target setting, informed by stakeholders and
the community, inclusive of both municipal and community actions, and written to be engaging and informative
for a variety of audiences. We have included brief descriptions of each task below, including any assumptions and
key deliverables; our approach is flexible, and we will work with the City to adjust these assumptions as necessary
to meet its budgetary constraints and timeline.
CITY OF RENTON CLEAN ECONOMY STRATEGY UPDATE
Scope of Work
Task 1 – Project Management & Current State Review
We will host an initial kick-off meeting to help us lay out a clear outline of project roles and responsibilities,
project work plan, and schedule. We will also discuss a method for file sharing among project team members—
our team is comfortable using a variety of platforms, including Google Drive, Microsoft Sh arePoint, and Dropbox.
Once the project is underway, Cascadia will continue to coordinate with the client team, including holding
biweekly check-in calls. (We are happy to adjust the frequency of our check-ins to balance
responsiveness/reporting requirements against budgetary constraints.)
At the kick-off meeting, the Cascadia team will review the previous CES with the client team. This review will
include discussion of its strengths and weaknesses, desired changes, and any necessary additions. We will discuss
the format of the final report and create a draft outline. We will also use this meeting as an opportunity to review
the four goals laid out in the original CES and discuss potential updates or additions. Finally, we will take this
opportunity to identify other relevant documents to include in our current state review and explore non-
emissions metrics (for example, tree canopy coverage or solid waste diversion), if any, that the City wishes to
focus on in this plan update.
The review will cover relevant City policies and documents, relevant regional sources such as climate impacts
studies, and stakeholder interviews. Our focus in this review will be to accurately capture where the City currently
stands in terms of climate- and sustainability-related policies and practices, the current status of non-GHG
sustainability metrics, and regional standards that could affect Renton’s sustainability plans. We will include a
vulnerability assessment that summarizes localized climate threats; the vulnerability assessment will help our
team, City stakeholders, and the community understand potential impacts when prioritizing mitigation and
resilience actions.
Deliverables:
• 2-hour virtual kick-off meeting
• Draft outline of final plan document
• Biweekly 30-minute check-in calls with the client team
• Monthly invoicing with progress reports
• Up to two, 2-hour key stakeholder meetings
• Memo summarizing “current state,” including results of stakeholder interviews, regional climate science
review, and literature review of relevant plans/policies
• Current state memo will also include a vulnerability assessment
Task 2 – Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory
Cascadia will update the City’s prior GHG inventory to reflect the most recent year for which emissions data are
available—most likely 2020. We will endeavor to maintain as much consistency as possible with the previous
inventory so that changes in emissions can be accurately tracked over time; that said, we will update emissions
factors when necessary to reflect current best practices.
CITY OF RENTON CLEAN ECONOMY STRATEGY UPDATE
Cascadia will create a data collection checklist to ensure that the data we use in the inventory is accurate,
complete, and consistent. The checklist will be built around the requirements and organization of the U.S.
Community Protocol and the Local Government Operations Protocol to facilitate easy transfer into ClearPath. If
desired, we can also tailor our data collection and analysis to the Global Protocol for Community Scale Greenhouse
Gas Emission Inventories (GPC), the internationally recognized standard for inventory reporting. This will allow the
City to easily report its emissions to international carbon disclosure organizations if it chooses to do so in the
future. Cascadia will lead data collection, but we assume that the City will provide access to City -owned data
when applicable. (Note: we can share a list of likely data sources on request.)
As an optional task, we could also offer a “handoff” training and training materials so the city has everything
needed to conduct future updates.
With available data collected and organized, Cascadia will use ICLEI’s ClearPath tool to conduct a greenhouse gas
inventory that includes communitywide and City operations emissions. We have found this arrangement to work
best for local government clients, as it allows for customized and transparent data collection while also ensuring
that the inventory is housed in a platform that facilitates easy updating for future inventories.
We will organize inventory data into file folders and summarized into a single Excel workbook that the City will
retain; this workbook and the data collection checklist will streamline future inventory updates.
Deliverables:
• Data collection checklist and folders/source lists documenting all data sources
• Municipal and community inventories performed in ClearPath
• All documentation provided in Excel workbook for future updates
• Optional: Training and training materials
Task 3 – Target Setting
Using data from the municipal and community greenhouse gas inventories conducted in Task 2, we propose
modeling a “business as usual” (BAU) forecast of greenhouse gas emissions for the community. This forecast will
set the stage for analyzing the City’s adopted reduction targets, informing new or modified targets, and framing
the strategies and actions developed in Task 6. It will reflect expected changes in energy supply, building energy
efficiency, transportation, and waste. We anticipate that the BAU forecast will calculate sector -specific emissions
using the following variables: population growth projections; projected electricity emissions factors; anticipated
federal vehicle fuel efficiency standards (e.g., CAFE); and committed state laws including the Clean Energy
Transition Act (CETA), renewable portfolio standards, and building code.
Expected changes will be based on available information, including (1) outputs from existing models, such as
regional transportation models, (2) external factors, such as utility Integrated Resource Plans and state and
federal policy documents, and (3) forecasted changes in energy trends such as published by the Energy
Information Administration (EIA).
We will work with the client team to set GHG reduction targets that are ambitious, yet feasible (see Task 4 for
information on City staff participation in this process); Cascadia will facilitate this target-setting exercise by
advising on common targets set by peer cities, respected frameworks (IPCC’s 1.5-degree target), and what pace of
reductions is reasonable from cost and technical feasibility perspectives. If the City desires, and as time and
budget allow, we will model alternate target scenarios. We recommend that the City establish near-term (2030)
CITY OF RENTON CLEAN ECONOMY STRATEGY UPDATE
and long-term (2050) targets; this phased approach will help prioritize different mitigation strategies during the
City’s climate action planning process.
Deliverables:
• Business-as-usual forecast of GHG emissions
• Memo with recommended 2030 and 2050 emissions reduction levels
• List of final, client-approved goals—both qualitative (similar to the four goals developed for the original
CES) and quantitative (GHG reduction targets)
• Wedge analysis to inform target-setting process
Task 4 – Public/Stakeholder Engagement
In keeping with the latest standards and best practices around sustainability planning and environmental justice,
we propose a significant expansion of stakeholder and community engagement compared to the original CES
process. The previous CES process included limited internal interviews; for this update, we plan to hold workshops
with internal staff, augmented by an ongoing public engagement and awareness-building campaign. In addition,
we recommend forming a 12-person advisory committee that meets remotely 2-4 times for up to 2-hrs over the
course of the plan update. This group will meet at key milestones of the planning process and provide valuable
insights into each of the key planning process elements.
We will begin by creating an engagement strategy document that includes the following for both internal and
external audiences:
• Key demographic metrics to consider (age, primary language spoken, income, etc.).
• Engagement goals and core outreach messages during each project phase.
• Engagement strategies and tactics.
• Timeline that sets outreach and engagement activities within the context of the broader project.
• High-priority populations and stakeholders to engage (e.g., underserved communities, City staff, members
of the Comp Plan team, City Council, businesses and corporations, community organizations).
• Toolkit of outreach materials, including one factsheet and one postcard mailer, talking points for outreach
staff, and display boards for use at events.
We propose working with the City to design and support public engagement efforts at each of the critical stages of
the planning process:
1. Building awareness and setting goals, targets, and key performance indicators
2. Developing strategies and actions to reduce emissions, build resilience, and improve sustainability
3. Creating the plan
The following sections summarize our engagement approach at each critical stage of the planning process:
Setting goals, targets, and key performance indicators (KPIs)
Our team will facilitate an initial kick-off meeting with the client team; see Task 1 for more information. As part of
this early phase, we will also hold two, 2-hour interactive meetings with key internal stakeholders (i.e. Public
Works and Community Services) to gather information on where the City currently stands—its successes and
CITY OF RENTON CLEAN ECONOMY STRATEGY UPDATE
shortfalls with environmental programming, lessons learned thus far, progress on implementing the original CES,
and other relevant context.
After completing the GHG inventory in Task 2, we will hold a workshop with relevant City staff to discuss
recommended targets, short- and long-term goals, and KPIs. Cascadia will capture the results in a memo, as noted
in Task 3. Once the group has settled on targets and goals, we will lead participants through an exercise to weight
various evaluation criteria to be used for evaluating and prioritizing strategies in Task 5; these weights will allow
the City to favor strategies and actions that advance causes important to Renton. We will also solicit preliminary
ideas/facilitate a brainstorm of potential high-level strategies and actions. We will use this workshop to discuss
and determine:
• Which impacts of climate change pose the greatest risks to the community?
• Which communities, natural/cultural resources, and assets are most vulnerable to these risks?
• How has the City already prepared for these risks and/or built resiliency in vulnerable areas?
• What are the City’s values and pressing needs, and how should those be reflected in the final list of
sustainability strategies and actions?
To compliment the staff workshop, we will hold an online public open house to raise awareness of the planning
process, gather input on community priorities and values, and share information on the importance of climate and
sustainability action. We will host this open house at a centrally located community space, and/or virtually,
depending on COVID safety protocols in place at the time.
Developing strategies and actions to reduce emissions, build resilience, and improve sustainability
Cascadia will facilitate a second workshop with relevant City staff to evaluate and score potential strategies and
actions using a multi-criteria analysis (see Task 5). This will be a working session to create a narrowed list of key
strategies and actions to vet more thoroughly.
Concurrently, Cascadia will develop an online public survey to solicit the community’s feedback on the refined list
and identify which are highest priorities for the community. We will also work with City staff to promote the
survey either via mailers and/or online promotion through City communications channels. We will summarize the
survey results into a brief memo and use it to update the strategies and actions.
Incorporating the input from the City staff as well as the online public survey results, we will present the final set
of recommended strategies and actions to the client team and/or City Council for feedback. We plan to provide
the Strategies and Actions Memo to this group in advance and will prepare a slide deck to walk through high-
priority actions. Following this discussion, our team will update the list of strategies and actions and associated
memo.
Creating the plan
To ensure the final updated report reflects the entire planning process and those engaged along the way, we will
invite the City and community to provide feedback interactively. During the early stages of plan drafting, we will
facilitate a planning meeting with the client team to review the report’s structure and design. City staff will
develop a short video to share the final set of strategies and actions, indicate how they will be used to improve
sustainability in Renton, and build excitement for the final plan.
With this guidance in hand, we will develop the first draft of the plan collaboratively with the City and distribute
the draft for public review. After incorporating feedback, we will provide the plan to City Council and/or the client
team for final review, discussion, and approval.
CITY OF RENTON CLEAN ECONOMY STRATEGY UPDATE
Deliverables:
• Online open house website
• Draft and final online public survey
• Draft and final detailed and participant meeting /workshop agendas and meeting packets, where
applicable
• Draft and final survey results memo
• PPT slides for City Council presentation
Task 5 – Strategy Development & Prioritization
To assess the suitability, impact, and comparative cost of identified strategies, we will evaluate and rank the list of
initially vetted strategies using multi-criteria analysis. Based on our experience conducting similar analyses for
Bellevue, Redmond, and other municipal clients, we propose including the following criteria, at a minimum:
• Effectiveness and impact, including contribution towards stated goals (e.g., emission reduction potential).
• Cost, including affordability and expenditure timeframe.
• Realization of co-benefits, such as quality of life, equity, employment, health, and insurance risk reduction.
• Feasibility, including City control, regulatory constraints, and technical and financial considerations.
• Buy-in from the relevant department and the community.
• Speed with which impact can be achieved.
• Urgency, given windows of opportunity in planning and policies as well as the timing of climate impacts.
We will then assign weights to each criterion to reflect the City’s relative needs, goals, and values. Cascadia will
provide guidance based on our experience working with similar cities to assist the City in determining appropriate
weighting factors. These weighting factors will allow us to adjust the relative value of each criterion by increasing
or decreasing that criterion’s impact on a strategy’s overall priority score. For example, if the City’s highest priority
is selecting strategies that support a Just Transition, we could increase the weight of the equity criterion to more
heavily favor it in the scoring process.
We will hold a workshop with City staff, in which we will walk participants through the weighting process and
adjust weights based on their input; we will also gather qualitative input in our first public open house that we can
use to adjust these criteria and their relative weights. (See Task 4 for more information on the workshop and open
house.) If the City prefers to limit stakeholder involvement, our team can set weights based solely on standards
derived from our work with peer jurisdictions and submit them for approval by the client team.
Once the criteria are finalized and weights determined, we assign rankings against the criteria to arrive at an
overall priority score for each potential strategy. We typically use a simple, transparent, spreadsheet -based
evaluation framework for this process (Strategies and Actions Matrix). We will organize the framework according
to client preference and alignment with the plan’s overall structure; for example, we could organize by sector, by
key strategy, by overall score, or into relevant Comp Plan chapters. We will also prepare a memo summarizing the
strategy selection process and results.
CITY OF RENTON CLEAN ECONOMY STRATEGY UPDATE
Optional Quantitative Assessment
As an optional task, Cascadia can conduct a more detailed quantitative assessment of the prioritized shortlist of
actions. The quantitative assessment will provide high-level estimates of the costs and emission reductions
associated with each action to provide a defensible plan for meeting the City’s emission reduction goals.
Some actions in the CAP will be directly quantifiable, while others will not. Many of the actions in the prioritized
shortlist will not be readily quantifiable. These actions, often defined as “supportive,” are deemed critical for
implementation success but do not themselves directly result in significant emission reductions. For example,
actions to enhance energy battery storage are crucial for large-scale implementation of renewable energy and
electrification, but do not themselves reduce GHG emissions. Another example is education and incentive
programs, which can encourage reductions but do not necessarily result in significant reductions, depending on
the reach, efficacy, and permanence of the implemented changes. In contrast, an ordinance to require all-electric
new construction is a quantifiable action that carries a very high and defensible likelihood of significant and
measurable emissions reductions.
We can explicitly model action impact based on available information and case studies, including data on historic
and projected energy usage, population and development trends, and technology and policy impact. We will draw
from literature and expert opinion—including studies done by the U.S. Department of Energy and as well as from
available City data and staff input.
Action implementation costs will be estimated for both costs to the City and community:
• Community costs estimate how much it will cost an average resident, business, or developer to
implement the measure as compared to a business-as-usual scenario.
• City costs estimate costs related to staff time, consultant services, and procurement.
Our estimate will be based on consultant experience, available literature, consultation with peer cities, and City
staff input, and will include the following cost elements:
• Initial start-up costs, in the form of City staff time, consultant expenses, and capital expenses.
• Ongoing costs over a 25-year timeframe, including continued labor expenses, maintenance, and
monitoring/evaluation resource needs.
Methodologies and outcomes from the cost and impact quantitative assessment would be summarized in a
technical appendix in the final plan.
Deliverables:
• Multi-criteria analysis for 80 actions, prioritized to 50 for the final plan. These will be captured in an Excel-
based Strategies and Actions Matrix
• Memo summarizing process and results
• Optional task: Quantitative Assessment
Task 6 – Report Development & Implementation Dashboard
As noted in Task 1, Cascadia will work with City staff to develop an outline of the CES update at the outset of the
project. While the format and structure of the report will be finalized with the City based on its preferences and
needs, we anticipate it including a few core elements:
CITY OF RENTON CLEAN ECONOMY STRATEGY UPDATE
• Background and rationale, describing the vision of a sustainable Renton and associated goals on different
timescales that emerge from consultations with staff, stakeholders, and the public. This section could also
describe the City’s motivation for updating its CES, highlight anticipated benefits and avoided costs, and
set the stage for how this plan update will feed into the Comprehensive Plan down the road.
• Baseline and projections summary, summarizing and discussing baseline conditions and forecasts of
relevant environmental metrics, such as greenhouse gas emissions. This section could also briefly cover
observed and projected changes in climate, and likely impacts of climate change on the City and the
region.
• Vision, goals, and KPIs, framing the plan by introducing the City’s vision for the future, goals over the
short, medium and long term, and Key Performance Indicators that the City and the public can use to
gauge progress.
• Strategies and actions, describing each overarching strategy and corresponding actions. To maintain
consistency with the original CES plan, we will organize the strategies and actions into the same four
categories: Leadership & Governance, Business & Community Engagement, Resource Efficiency &
Renewable Energy, and Mobility, Land Use & Development.
• Implementation and evaluation planning, to guide action, monitor progress, and adaptively manage over
time.
We understand that the City desires the plan to serve both internal staff and the community; as such, we will
focus on highlighting key action items, responsible parties, and implementation plans, while writing in plain
speech and providing ample context to ensure that the report is clear and engaging for lay audiences. In addition
to submitting the draft plan for review and revision by the City, we have budgeted for internal final review by
Cascadia’s independent Editorial Board, which checks final reports for quality and readability. As noted in Task 4,
we also propose to host the draft plan online for public review using a platform such as Konveio; we will review
public comments with the client team and incorporate revisions as necessary.
To complement the report’s written sections, Cascadia’s graphic design team can create compelling visuals to
communicate plan priorities. We will discuss desired graphics, charts, and other visual elements with the client
team, and will budget for complementary materials—such as fact sheets, infographics, or online content—
separately.
As an optional task, we recommend developing an implementation and reporting dashboard to track and report
progress over time. This will include methodology, tools, and metrics for measuring progress and tracking
performance, and a template and plan for reporting on this progress to broad audiences. It will include reporting
on progress against specific strategies and actions, as well as overall progress on reducing community greenhouse
gas emissions.
Deliverables:
• Draft report submitted to client team; one round of revisions
• Public review of draft plan, with comments addressed as appropriate
• Final Editorial Board review
• Approximately a 50-page document that is an accessible, graphics-rich final report produced in Adobe
InDesign
• Optional Task: Implementation, tracking, and reporting dashboard
CITY OF RENTON CLEAN ECONOMY STRATEGY UPDATE
Timeline & Budget
We recommend an 18-month timeline for project completion and are eager to discuss and open to adjusting to
ensure the timeline meets the City’s needs.
We propose a core budget of $156,800 for this project, inclusive of expenses, and an additional $30,000 for
optional tasks described in Tasks 2, 5, and 6. We are open to adjusting our budget in response to City priorities or
changes to available resources.
Task Cost
1.Project Management & Current State Review $25,000
2.Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory $20,000
3.Target Setting $8,000
4.Public/Stakeholder Engagement $43,800
5.Strategy Development & Prioritization $30,000
6.Report Development $30,000
TOTAL $156,800
Optional Tasks:
Task 2: “Hand-off” Training $5,000
Task 5: Quantitative Assessment $20,000
Task 6: Implementation, tracking, & reporting dashboard $5,000
TOTAL with Optional Tasks $186,800