SAN MIGUEL COUNTY, Nov. 8, 4:27 p.m. – It grew out of a simple conversation between old friends. Kris Holstrom, Betsy McKinney and Kathy Green were talking about all the money San Miguel County receives as a result of gas drilling in the West End and thought, “How nice it would be to use all that money for something good,” Holstrom recalled. Their idea met with support from local governments, and the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village, San Miguel County, the Telluride Foundation, and the San Miguel Watershed Coalition agreed to jointly fund a countywide Sustainability Inventory.

The inventory document, available on the Town of Mountain Village website, defines a sustainable community as “one where the integrity of its natural resources is maintained over the long term, the economy is prosperous, and residents enjoy a high-quality of life.”

Holstrom was hired in January 2007 as the regional sustainability coordinator, and has been working since to initiate programs and develop The New Community Coalition as a full-fledged nonprofit.

Among those programs is the Home Energy Audit Contest, of which the finalists were recently announced: Asa and Robyn VanGelder in Ophir, Cynthia Bellai in Norwood, Melissa Sumpter in Two Rivers, and Garrett and Jessica Simon in Telluride. Each of the finalists’ homes will be assessed for energy efficiency in three ways: a blower-door test from Veritas Solar, an infrared scan from Tri-State, and a lighting-efficiency audit from EnLighten. Audits will take place in November. When completed, one home will be selected for $1,000 worth of energy-efficiency upgrades, which may include sealing air leaks, improving insulation and tuning up the heating system.

“All the winners gave good descriptions of what was wrong with their houses and had a good knowledge of issues that need to be resolved,” said TNCC’s Kim

Wheels. The selected homes are all relatively old and have high energy bills. The final winner will be selected based on the cost-effectiveness of recommended improvements.

The New Community Coalition has been hard at work on other fronts as well, announcing on Wednesday a new partnership with the Wilkinson Public Library to bring green upgrades to Telluride’s book lenders. Beginning in January, the majority of fines collected for overdue materials will go into a Green Fund for implementing environmentally friendly changes to the facility. The newly formed Green Team, consisting of library staffers Oak Smith, Dan Wilson, Daphne Davis, Joe Huff, and Sierra Stafford, met with Holstrom to discuss ways the library could make green upgrades.

Changes will include exchanging old computer monitors for more energy-efficient flat screens; the installation of motion sensors on some lights so they only come on when people are present; and installing low-volume flush toilets to conserve water. In addition, window treatments, particularly those on the north side of the building, will be examined as a way to decrease heat losses during the long winters.

In addition to the Home Energy Audit Contest and the partnership with the Wilkinson Library, TNCC offers a growing number of educational programs and opportunities to improve the region’s sustainability. The Coalition is currently working on a tri-jurisdictional green-building code that will supplant existing green-building codes in the county, Telluride and Mountain Village with a tighter, more comprehensive code.

“We don’t know if it will include a shared building inspector or third-party certification, but we don’t want to overburden local officials with more work,” Holstrom said. Holstrom expects to present the proposal to the three governments early next year.

To teach individuals and groups how to reduce their carbon footprint, Wheels taught eight Low Carbon Diet classes during October. Classes and the accompanying workbook explain simple changes to the daily routine that can add up to sizeable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions associated with a household. In January, Wheels expects to provide classes for employees of SMPA and the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village, with classes for the public resuming in March.

On Oct. 27, TNCC along with Sheep Mountain Alliance and the Telluride Institute hosted a Sustainability Summit for groups working in the field to meet and discuss ideas and projects. Members of Denver’s Alliance for Sustainable Colorado attended, as well as Durango’s Southwest Alliance for a Sustainable Colorado. In addition, a number of individuals from Paonia came, in hopes of creating an office of sustainability in their community.

“It was a good first meeting, but we didn’t have quite enough time to really dig into what everyone is doing,” Holstrom said. She will attend a two-day national sustainability summit in Denver on Nov. 29 and 30.

Numerous other projects are ongoing or in the works, including bi-monthly roundtables, a community greenhouse at Lawson Hill, and a planning partnership with the Telluride Medical Center for their new health-care facility.

“Sharon Grundy called us and said that they want to be as green as they can possibly be,” Holstrom said. TNCC will join with the Medical Center to make sure that happens.

TNCC also hopes to engage the San Miguel Power Association, Encana Gas, Source Energy, and Telski as future partners. “It’s nice to have the dedicated funding from the three governments like we do, but it’s also nice to have extra funding options associated with being a nonprofit,” Holstrom said.

TNCC is composed of five working groups: energy, green building, resource recovery and recycling, food security, and economy. Each group boasts around a dozen members, though currently the energy and green building groups are the most active. TNCC’s board includes liaisons with the town councils of Telluride and Mountain Village, a county commissioner, a liaison with SMPA, a member of the Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association, and three at-large members.

Three employees staff the TNCC office, located in Room 231 of the Eagles Building, including long-term activist Holstrom, energy specialist Wheels and intern Eliza Keating. Wheels brings extensive technical experience to TNCC, including several years as a corporate-level mechanical engineer, multiple courses with Carbondale-based Solar Energy Institute, and experience installing solar systems with Veritas Solar out of Norwood. Holstrom is the founder of Tomten Farm and Tomten Institute and has been the region’s foremost advocate for local agriculture and bioregional sustainability.

For more information on TNCC or to get involved, call 728-1340, or visit their website at newcommunitycoalition.com.