Menlo Park greenlights program to electrify Belle Haven homes

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Menlo Park is moving forward with state money for a home-electrification program focused on the Belle Haven neighborhood.

During its Tuesday, April 2, meeting, the City Council unanimously greenlighted forging an agreement with local power provider Peninsula Clean Energy to launch the program using $2.2 million of a $4.5 million state grant awarded to Menlo Park in 2022.

At no cost to homeowners, the program would electrify homes by replacing gas water heaters and stovetops with electric alternatives like induction stovetops. It would also provide other energy-efficient measures, minor home repairs and electrical work such as installing new circuits.

The program could begin in late May and would target up to 60 low-income homes in Belle Haven with the $2.2 million from the state, according to a presentation by city staff. But as part of the effort, PCE’s Home Upgrade program would serve about 40 other qualifying properties elsewhere in the city.

“Once the state funds have been spent, then PCE funds would be used to continue to do projects within the Belle Haven neighborhood,” city management analyst Ori Paz said during the meeting.

The city received the grant from the California Energy Commission after Menlo Spark, a local nonprofit that advances sustainability issues, sought funds from the office of state Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, for electrification upgrades benefiting Belle Haven residences.

“This has been a long time coming,” Menlo Spark Executive Director Brian Schmidt said, addressing the council. “It’s great that we’re starting very soon. We might be able to actually get installations in time to help people for the summer heat and get some climate resilience this summer out of this project, which is really exciting.”

The program aligns with the council making climate action a priority for fiscal year 2024-25, city staff said. The program is also in keeping with the city’s Climate Action Plan, which provides a roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and calls for Menlo Park to electrify 95% of existing buildings by then.

Once the city submits a progress report of the home-electrification program, staff said, the state would send the rest of the funds. However, Menlo Park has to spend the full $4.5 million by June 30, 2026, or return any remaining amount to the state.

“So I’m, as everyone else is, very excited about this program,” Council member Betsy Nash said before she and her colleagues voted to proceed with the project. “I think the biggest thing that we need to do at this point is get it off the ground and get moving.”

Although council members ultimately supported going ahead with the program, they did bring up some concerns, including the suggestion for a $100,000 workforce-development offering related to home electrification.

Adding workforce development could take away resources from the main program, Council member Jen Wolosin said before the vote. “I think we have to be stewards of our staff’s time and our other priorities and making sure we don’t take on too much.”

The council decided to hold off on workforce development for now but expressed willingness to revisit it down the line.

The council also raised an issue with the fact that the program would not reach the large rental community in Belle Haven.

“My concern is that, since the Belle Haven neighborhood is majority renters — roughly 70% — that are facing increased utilities costs like everyone else, that’s not the population that’s going to be served by this electrification,” Mayor Cecilia Taylor said.

Responding to the council, PCE manager Alejandra Posada acknowledged that the program is aimed at homeowners and does not have plans at this time to incorporate rental units.

Among the reasons why that’s the case, Posada said, “there are a lot of complexities with rentals that we would want to make sure” receives attention before they could possibly be included.

In other matters, the council heard updates on:

• The new Belle Haven Community Campus:

The project earned a temporary certificate of occupancy March 7, staff said in a report. The final certificate of occupancy is expected mid-April.

But wrap-up work is still being done inside the complex such as furniture and equipment installation, inspections, and staff training and orientation to prepare for public opening possibly by the end of May, staff said.

• City-run child care programs:

Preschool enrollment has been going up slowly but has yet to match pre-pandemic levels, staff said in another report.

The Belle Haven Child Development Center, for instance, consistently saw enrollment at or near its maximum capacity of 96 children before the pandemic, according to staff. But for the past year, the center’s monthly enrollment has hovered between the 40s and 60s.

Several factors could be at play for the lower enrollment, staff said, including continuing concerns about the spread of communicable illnesses and the work-from-home trend.

The city is exploring strategies to bolster enrollment such as expanding subsidized child care to Menlo Children’s Center through state grant funding and establishing an afternoon transitional kindergarten program at public schools for families that need continued service later in the day, staff said.

The council is expected to delve further into the issues involving the city’s child care programs at a future study session.