Madelyn Wampler became the county’s sustainability Manager in late 2024 and put out this assessment in July. It’s notable for its detailed plans for sustainability across a variety of focus areas.
"These focus areas are land use and environmental stewardship, community health, governance, operations, and resilience,” she explained.
The county has a lot of opportunities in each of these spaces. For land use and environmental stewardship, the report noted improved tree regulations and improving the urban canopy as opportunities to improve. And it noted a need to improve the success rate of planting native plants, as well as a need to integrate conservation into development incentives. That could encourage environmentally sensitive design, assisting with natural flood management.
“These strategies offer long-term savings, ecosystem services, and alignment with state and federal climate resilience goals," the report says.
In the category of health and wellbeing, the report says the county can explore mobility connections to essential services, and expand outreach to priority communities, like renters, non-English speakers, and high-risk residents.
Each category also includes "quick wins": short-term, low cost improvements that can improve sustainability in 1-2 years. That includes highlighting and promoting wellness projects and existing environmental education programs.
In Governance and Coordination, quick wins included "enhance grant readiness," "recognize internal champions," and "develop a shared definition of sustainability" across different departments.
Under operations and facilities, the goals were much more direct, with the assessment tracking the county’s progress towards a goal of reducing its carbon footprint from facilities and fleet operations by 25% by 2028. It’s on track for the fleet, but it’s a bit behind on reductions from facilities.
Wampler's report included a need to develop a centralized energy and emissions dashboard, as well as a fleet management plan.
On the topic of Resilience, the report notes an opportunity to integrate resilience into capital planning and create a multi-hazard public communication strategy. "Climate risks are growing," the report states, and "current outreach is fragmented across departments."
County Commissioners universally praised Wampler and her report. Commissioner Rob Zapple noted three opportunities he was particularly excited about.
“One is the capital project sustainability checklist. What a great idea. It's very simple to do and implement, and we'll pay dividends with every project that we do,” he said.
He also noted the plan for a public-facing sustainability dashboard that can track the county’s progress towards its goals, and the re-creation of the resilience working group.
Commissioner Stephanie Walker echoed his sentiments.
“We also have to have the political will to uphold it,” she said.
Walker noted the assessment’s emphasis on natural resources, particularly since the county is surrounded on three sides by water — both an economic opportunity, and a threat when it comes to flooding. It starts with having a plan, she said.
The full report can be read here.
[Disclosure notice: Commissioner Rob Zapple is a member of the WHQR Board of Directors, which has no say over editorial content or news coverage in general.]
