Oakland County held its first-ever sustainability conference at the Waterford Oaks Activity Center on Nov. 17 and representatives from 20 communities came to learn from each other about sustainability efforts happening around the county.
Hosted by Erin Quetell, Oakland County’s first chief environmental sustainability officer, the event encouraged community leaders to share their needs, barriers and successes while learning how to access and use federal and state-funded opportunities for sustainable infrastructures, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and more.
The leaders came from all corners of the county to attend Community Conversations: Sustainability, including: Berkley, Birmingham, Clawson, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Huntington Woods, Lathrup Village, Madison Heights, Oak Park, Pontiac, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Southfield, Troy, Beverly Hills, Milford, Ortonville and Brandon and Royal Oak Townships.
Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter gave opening remarks and explained one of the county’s strategic goals is environmental sustainability. “We were intentional when we created a sustainability office when I first became Oakland County executive and made it a priority. But, I know that not every city has the resources for such an office. So that’s why we are here today to convene communities to let you know what federal, state, local and county resources are out there that can be tapped by you for projects that you are planning,” Coulter said.
Funding and grant applications were the most popular topics for the 20 cities, villages and townships with many of them looking to create more energy-
efficient municipal buildings.
Quetell also announced the county’s partnership with Michigan Saves, the state’s non-profit green energy bank, to create Oakland SAVES (Simple Actions for Valuable Energy Savings). Oakland County will use the program, to distribute $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act money to help residents improve their home’s energy efficiency, such as installing insulation and ENERGY STAR products. Applications for the Oakland SAVES program will be available early next year.
At the close, community representatives shared what topics they wanted to delve into including the need for more collaboration, community engagement, solar and wind power, and workforce training at a future Community Conversations.
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