Public invited to take part in Energy District conversations beginning in Allamakee County Meeting scheduled for this Thursday

A gathering for the formation of an energy district in Allamakee County will take place Thursday, June 20 at 3 p.m. in the downstairs community room at Robey Library in Waukon. Anne and Dave Blocker of Waukon hosted an initial meeting in which three take-aways were defined:

• Allamakee County is different than Winneshiek, Clayton, Howard and Dubuque (the first four energy districts already formed), with its own unique challenges and opportunities.
• Those unique opportunities are very real, and include programming partnerships with existing districts and matching seed funds available from the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque.
• A core team of champions is already forming to lead the effort, with the first three to four potential board members stepping forward and many others ready to play support roles.

“If we can find a few more individuals with a passion for local, clean energy prosperity and climate stewardship, we’ll be off and running,” said Betty Steege, coordinator of the Allamakee County Community Foundation who is helping facilitate the start-up in Allamakee. “Soon, we’ll be able to formalize the founding board of an Allamakee County energy district and outline the next steps in organizational development and initial programming.”

For a deeper look at the impact an energy district can make, browse the Geography of Change publication from the Winneshiek Energy District at energydistrict.org/resources/leading-the-energy-district-movement.

Interested community members are invited to the June 20 convening. Attendees should RSVP to Andy Johnson at andy@energydistrict.org or 563-382-4207, ext. 1.