Fiscal Note
The proposed resolution authorizes the completion of the City-County Sustainability Campus Metrics Report. The report outlines the goals of the Sustainability Campus that will be part of the development of land that was once a portion of the Yahara Hills Golf Course, and it identifies metrics that will be used to measure if goals are being met. The original development agreement between the City of Madison and Dane County (attached to this file) was approved by the Common Council in May 2022 via RES-22-00319 (Legistar file 70597). The agreement required the development of these Sustainability Campus metrics in section 4.3.
The proposed resolution further authorizes an addendum to the original development agreement to incorporate the Sustainability Campus metrics outlined in the attached report. No additional appropriation is required with approval of the report and authorization of the addendum to the development agreement.
Title
Authorizing completion of City-County Sustainability Campus Metrics Report and addendum of the development agreement.
Body
WHEREAS, on May 10, 2022, the Common Council adopted RES-22-00319 (Legistar 70597) approving a land sale and agreements with Dane County to sell and develop approximately 232 acres of the Yahara Hills Golf Course, located directly south of the existing Rodefeld Landfill across U.S. Highway 12/18, as a future landfill, compost site, and sustainable business park; and,
WHEREAS, as part of those agreements, the City and Dane County Department of Waste + Renewables (W+R) entered into the City/County Sustainability Campus and Landfill Development Agreement (Development Agreement), which established the framework for the collaborative development of a Sustainability Campus intended to create opportunities for education, reuse, repair, recycling, research, and other activities that would ultimately prevent or divert waste from the landfill; and,
WHEREAS, Section 4.3 of the Development Agreement required the County to hire a consultant to guide development of the Sustainability Campus project, to identify goals for the Sustainability Campus, and to identify potential waste streams for future diversion from the landfill and recycling or reuse in the Sustainable Business Park or at offsite locations; and,
WHEREAS, the City appointed up to three concurrent staff members to a joint City-County staff committee (City/County Committee) to oversee this work, consistent with the terms of the Development Agreement; and,
WHEREAS, based upon the consultant's work, the County issued four (4) requests for information (RFIs) seeking companies and organizations to identify diversion opportunities for separate waste types, or fewer waste streams if the identified streams equaled at least 50% of the total incoming waste to the Rodefeld Landfill, as identified by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources waste sort performed in 2020; and,
WHEREAS, based on the results of the consultant's work and the responses to the RFIs, and in pursuance of the Development Agreement, the City and County worked in good faith to create measurable metrics for the Sustainability Campus project ahead of the December 31, 2025 deadline, which serves as a condition precedent within the original Development Agreement to the sale of additional lands for future landfill purposes; and,
WHEREAS, based on the RFI responses and the joint committee's deliberations, the City and County developed a Sustainability Campus Metrics Report setting forth measurable metrics to evaluate the success of the project; and,
WHEREAS, members of the City/County Committee have signed a Certification Statement of completion, affirming that the metrics development process was completed in a timely fashion in accordance with the terms of the Development Agreement and that the information submitted is true, accurate, and complete; and,
WHEREAS, the parties have agreed that the measurable metrics shall be reported on an annual basis, shall be technology- and tenant-agnostic to ensure long-term relevance, and shall not be bound by the geographical extents of the Sustainability Campus so long as they are directly attributable to the project and would not have occurred but for the project; and,
WHEREAS, the parties have further agreed, per the Certification Statement, that a formal addendum to the existing Development Agreement will be executed to incorporate the agreed-upon metrics; and,
WHEREAS, the parties have further agreed, per the Certification Statement, that all conditions within Section 4.3 of the Development Agreement precedent to any future sale of land for landfill use (pursuant to Section 2.1(e) of the Development Agreement) have been satisfied; and,
WHEREAS, it is in the City's interest to acknowledge completion of the metrics development process and to authorize execution of an addendum to the Development Agreement incorporating the agreed-upon metrics, thereby enabling the parties to proceed with the next stages of the Sustainability Campus and future landfill development.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Common Council acknowledges receipt of the completed Sustainability Campus Metrics Report, together with the Certification Statement of completion executed by members of the joint City-County Committee; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Mayor and the City Clerk are authorized to execute an addendum to the City/County Sustainability Campus and Landfill Development Agreement with Dane County to formally incorporate the agreed-upon Sustainability Campus metrics, on a form and in a manner approved by the City Attorney.