City of Columbia, Missouri  
Meeting Minutes  
City Council  
Conference Room  
1A/1B  
Tuesday, July 5, 2022  
5:30 PM  
Pre-Council  
Columbia City Hall  
701 E. Broadway  
I. CALL TO ORDER  
The meeting was called to order at 6:27 p.m.  
Council member Peters arrived at 5:35 p.m.  
7 - Peters, Skala, PItzer, Fowler, Waner, Buffaloe, and Foster  
Present:  
This item is open to the public: Motion for the City Council to go into  
closed session in Conference Room 1A/1B to discuss:  
-Legal actions, causes of action or litigation involving a public  
governmental body and any confidential or privileged communications  
between a public governmental body or its representatives and its  
attorneys pursuant to Section 610.021(1) RSMo.  
-Leasing, purchase or sale of real estate by a public governmental body  
where public knowledge of the transaction might adversely affect the legal  
consideration therefor pursuant to Section 610.021(2) RSMo.  
At approximately 5:31 p.m. Council Member Skala made a motion for the City  
Council of the City of Columbia, Missouri, to immediately go into a closed  
meeting. The motion was seconded by Council Member Foster.  
This item is closed to the public: Closed Meeting in Conference Room  
1A/1B  
At approximately 5:33 p.m., the City Council went into closed session in Conference  
Room 1A/1B pursuant to RSMo Sections 610.021(1) and (2).  
The Council adjourned the closed meeting and returned to the open portion of the meeting  
at approximately 6:24 p.m.  
This item is open to the public: CAAP and 2021 Greenhouse Gas  
Emissions Inventory Report  
Sustainability Director, Eric Hempel presented Council with the 2021 Greenhouse Gas  
Inventory Report.This report has two sections; the Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory  
Report and the Municipal Greenhouse Gas Inventory report. The 1st scope includes  
emissions produced within the city limits and released into the community atmosphere.  
The 2nd scope includes all greenhouse gasses that are emitted outside of Columbia.  
Columbia City Council reaffirmed Columbia’s commitment to take action to reduce  
climate pollution (Resolution 89-19A) on June 17th, 2019, by adopting the Climate Action  
and Adaptation Plan (CAAP). One of the main purposes of the CAAP is to reduce GHG  
emissions community-wide through targeted municipal, residential, industrial, and  
commercial activities. The CAAP outlines goals for reducing community greenhouse gas  
emissions by 35% by 2035, by 80% by 2050, and by 100% by 2060. The CAAP goals for  
reducing municipal operations emissions are 50% by 2035 and 100% by 2050. Each  
year, the Office of Sustainability staff conducts greenhouse gas inventories to measure  
both community and municipal operations GHG emissions.  
Hempel went on to discuss Greenhouse Gas Emissions by sector. Those sectors  
include Natural Gas, Solid waste, water & wastewater, transportation, industrial energy,  
residential energy and commercial energy. Between 2020 and 2021, emissions increased  
in each sector other than solid waste. The largest increase was in the transportation  
sector as vehicle miles traveled in 2021 returned to nearly pre-pandemic levels.  
Hempel said the City of Columbia’s electric utility is the largest provider of electricity in  
Columbia, making the use of renewable energy by the utility vital for reducing energy  
sector emissions. Sustainability will be doing more research to find why there are so  
many increases.  
Hempel said emissions are determined by activity and emission factors. Emissions  
factors (EFs) represent the amount of greenhouse gases emitted per unit of energy  
provided. Emissions are expressed in units of MTCO2e, and energy is expressed in units  
of MMBtu. The City of Columbia electric utility consistently has the highest EF of the four  
utilities. Sourcing from an increasing percentage of renewable energy is fundamental to  
reducing EFs and achieving community emissions reduction goals.  
Sourcing electricity can help us achieve our community emission reduction goals.  
Hempel then discussed Municipal Emissions. This looks at emissions from our activity  
as an organization. The City’s municipal emissions have trended downward since the  
2015 baseline, with an overall 12.2% reduction. Sustainability plans to continue reducing  
its municipal emissions through activities outlined in the Climate Action and Adaptation  
Plan (CAAP).  
Mayor Buffaloe asked if the CEC & CAAP reports will be moved to get them together.  
Eric said yes.  
Hempel plans to work with Brandon Renaud on evaluating USD programs’ climate positive  
impacts.  
II. ANY OTHER ITEM COUNCIL WISHES TO DISCUSS  
None.  
III. ADJOURNMENT  
The meeting adjourned at 6:56pm