Up & Coming Weekly

6 UCW OCTOBER 21-27, 2009 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM City Adopts Sustainability Plan The City of Fayetteville's newly adopted sustainability plan may make it a state and regional leader in green initiatives. Approved by City Council at the Monday, Oct. 12 City Council meeting, the plan covers a broad spectrum with the goals of increasing energy effi ciency, improving air quality and reducing the city's carbon footprint. Through four categories: Environment and natural resources, planning, community and City agencies, the plan identifi es objectives to make the city a more sustainable community. Examples include: Adding insulation in City buildings, installing more effi cient windows and heating and air conditioning systems, replacing conventional light bulbs with energy effi cient bulbs, more people recycling and using public transportation. They entail practices like a green purchasing policy, vehicle idle limiting switches, adopting City building code requirements, adopting green space requirements for newly built facilities, increasing the number of pedestrian crosswalks to promote a walkable community and adding energy effi cient area lighting. The plan was required as an element of the application to receive a $1.6 million Energy Effi ciency and Conservation Block Grant from the Department of Energy. Federal dollars were used to hire GreenWorks Partners, a consultant from Maryland, to assist in the development of the plan. "Adopting the sustainability plan begins to change the culture, where before we didn't pay as much attention to the amount of energy we were using in our buildings or the types of fuels in our vehicles," said Jerry Dietzen, City Environmental Services director. "This helps us identify ways we can curtail use of some of those fossil fuels and be more energy effi cient." The federal grant will begin to pay for changes to increase the effi ciency of City facilities, improve intersection wait times and replace area lighting with light-emitting diode (LED) fi xtures. Changes will take some time, but it's worth the effort to make Fayetteville a more sustainable community in the long run, City Manager Dale Iman said. The sustainability plan can be viewed on the City web site at www.ci.fayetteville. nc.us. Social Services Accepting Applications for Energy Assistance The Cumberland County Department of Social Services will begin accepting applications on Monday, Nov. 2, for its Low Income Energy Assistance Program. Applications will be accepted Nov. 2 through 13 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the department located at 1225 Ramsey St. The offi ce will be closed for Veterans' Day, Nov. 11. However, the offi ce will extend hours on Nov. 12 until 6 p.m. to accept applications. Individuals must bring in verifi cation of income, Social Security, photo identifi cation, and a current bank statement, if applicable. Households that are determined eligible will receive an energy payment in February. For more information on the Low Income Energy Assistance Program, call the LIEAP information line at 677-2821. The Crisis Intervention Program may be available for more urgent energy assistance needs as funding is appropriated. The Salvation Army takes CIP applications at 226 South Cool Spring St. Please call 307-0359 for more information on the CIP program. City Vacancies on Boards The City of Fayetteville has vacancies for the Board of Appeals on Buildings and Dwellings and the Stormwater Advisory Board. The Board of Appeals on Buildings and Dwellings hears and decides appeals from citizens concerning violations of housing, dwellings, buildings and fi re prevention code. The Stormwater Advisory Board provides guidance and advice to the City Council pertaining to the Stormwater Management Program, including, but not limited to, program activities, functions, systems, management and funding. You must be a City resident to apply. Deadline for applications is Oct. 30. Applications are available online at: http://www.ci.fayetteville.nc.us/fi les/10/ boards_and_commissions/entry3466.aspx. Please submit applications to City Clerk Rita Perry via e-mail at cityclerk@ci.fay. nc.us or fax to (910) 433-1980. For information, call Perry at 433-1989. Community News

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