AVON CLEAN ENERGY COMMISSION
SELECTMEN’S CHAMBER - BUILDING #1 TOWN HALL
SPECIAL MEETING - MINUTES
JUNE 24, 2010
I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM by Chairman Olivier Gressier in the Selectmen’s Chamber, Building 1 Town Hall. Members present: Chairman Olivier Gressier, Robert Martin, Bernard Zahren, James DiPace, Brett Eisenlohr, Linda Meyers and Martin Kaplan. Members absent: none. Advisory members present: none. Also in attendance were staff member and Town Clerk Ann Dearstyne and Assistant to the Town Manager Steve Bartha.
II. APPROVAL OF THE PRECEDING MEETING MINUTES – May 5th
Mr. Kaplan motioned, Mr. Eisenlohr seconded and all agreed to accept the May 5th meeting minutes as presented. None opposed. Mr. DiPace and Linda Meyers were absent from that meeting.
III. COMMUNICATION FROM THE AUDIENCE
Chairman Gressier welcomed Mr. Bartha to the members. Mr. Bartha will hold comments until later in the meeting.
IV. OLD BUSINESS: a. School Energy Competition, b. Garage Door Bids, c. Status on Idling, d. Energy Plan Selection
Mr. Martin began the discussion with the winter green energy contest and the results. He regretted that he was unsuccessful in attempting to contact Mr. Paul of the schools for information on energy use or winners of the competition. He understood that custodians were to relay energy information daily and were either unable to or had difficulty in reading the meters. In lieu, Mr. Martin and Mr. Gressier are requesting electrical and gas use billing information to determine where the most energy was saved and to determine the winner of the contest. Mr. Zahren lamented that we couldn’t even announce a winner. Mr. Gressier asked that Mr. Martin follow up with the principals and Mr. Paul to retrieve the information. Mr. DiPace expressed his dismay given the effort the schools had exerted to achieve savings. Ms.
Dearstyne said she had received no information from any of the schools. Mr. Gressier said that he did hear from Thompson Brook and Mr. Eisenlohr heard from Pine Grove. Mr. DiPace added that the schools did achieve savings and that this momentum could hopefully spread to other town buildings.
Mr. Gressier will validate the winner and savings when he receives copies of the billing. He also suggested issuing a press release to announce the winner as schools are out for the summer. Mr. Eisenlohr added that this has been a good learning experience and next time we’ll know what to and not to do. Mr. Martin agreed that this will not be our last attempt. Mr. DiPace said this would be a good way to congratulate all the schools on their efforts, and not just the winner, as a way to promote good energy savings behavior for the future.
Mr. Martin relayed that Crawford Doors Sales was scheduled to remove the (15) Public Works garage doors June 29th. The job should take three to four weeks which will include recycling the scrap metal. Any monies earned will be turned back to the general fund. Ms. Meyers questioned why monies made are returned to the general fund and not kept to be used by the Commission. Ms. Dearstyne explained that the Commission does not have its own budget but that it is a part of the Town Council’s budget. Mr. Gressier reminded the members that this has been an issue he’s been trying to promote from the beginning. He’d like to see savings achieved by the Commission’s initiatives used to support a self sustaining energy manager. Mr. Gressier would like to create a fund for the Commission, of course
knowing that this has to be presented to the Town Council for approval. Mr. Zahren added that this has to be added to the energy plan: that savings need to be spent on more energy savings and not just turned into the general fund, to be used for roads for example. Mr. Eisenlohr questioned the process needed to present this to the Town Council. Ms. Dearstyne said town monies, in addition to the grant, were still needed for the garage door project as federal prevailing wages scales would need to be replicated, thus resulting in no extra funds realized. Mr. Gressier reiterated that we need to go to the Town Council with a plan showing where savings can be achieved first and then go from there.
Mr. Kaplan updated the members on the idling issue. He asked Alex Trujillo of Public Works to coordinate with Mr. Martin the placement of signs (20) throughout the town buildings, library or senior center and the Town’s fleets. He said we are on a waiting list for the DEP signs and have no clear date for availability. Mr. DiPace suggested the prison system as a possible source for signs. Mr. Martin reminded Mr. Kaplan that we need verification that we indeed are on a waiting list for the signs in order to meet the requirements of the grant. Mr. Martin also cautioned that signs contain State verbiage that perhaps could not be replicated (legal issues) by making the signs in-house. Mr. Kaplan also reminded the members that someone needs to approach the Town Police Department to tell of our plans to distribute signage
throughout the town. Mr. Martin had a suggestion that perhaps we roll the sign money into the energy plan portion to perhaps boost the shortfall discovered between energy plan grant monies available and bid amounts received. Mr. Gressier said this was something the State would have to approve. Mr. Bartha said we will have a year and a half to spend the money. Mr. Kaplan heard too that the price could go up or down when the signs do become available.
Mr. Bartha spoke with Bob Palmer, of West Hartford, who will coordinate the recently awarded regional energy grant giving Avon and the surrounding four towns an energy manager to share one day per week/per town for two years. He was invited to join West Hartford and the other towns in a meeting on July 7th to discuss a drafted RFP for the energy manager. He attended tonight’s meeting to see if Steven Winter’s energy plan proposal meshes with the regional one. Mr. Kaplan spoke of Roger Smith’s suggestion of each town’s energy commission getting together to gather ideas about the regional manager and their own energy plans, apart from meeting with the town staff. Mr. Bartha added that this is exactly what the town’s representatives would be doing at the meeting: seeing how the regional energy
manager’s plan will dovetail into each individual town’s energy plan. He stressed providing outreach to the residents once a plan was in place. Mr. Martin explained it as a meeting to discover what our Town would do with an energy manager one day per week combined with the Commission’s energy plan and not to worry what the other towns were doing on their day. Mr. Kaplan would like to have some input with the RFP. Mr. Gressier said we needed to table the conversation for now.
Mr. Gressier discussed the energy plan negotiation process with the members. How would and could the Commission negotiate with Steven Winter Associates to get a good energy plan for the Town at a reduced price to what was presented in their bid? Mr. Gressier said comparing the scope of what we want and what they’re presenting would reduce it to just dollars without scaling down the scope of what they had to offer. If the negotiation failed, Mr. Gressier suggested the possibility of introducing the one day per week energy manager as a way to take on what Steven Winter Associates could not provide in order to get where we need to be in the dollars. Mr. Martin provided a breakdown of Steven Winter Associates’ proposal in hours spent on meetings, information gathering and drafting a plan. Mr. Zahren offered
that perhaps members of the Commission fill the gap if negotiations failed to reduce their bid offer. He added that we need to be active in this. Mr. Martin questioned the timeline in getting the one day per week energy manager. Mr. Bartha answered that October would be the approximate time to get the manager. Ms. Dearstyne said that her e-mail to Steven Winter Associates asked that a decision maker be involved in tonight’s negotiations. The Commission will discuss the ideas in the next segment of the special meeting.
V. NEW BUSINESS
None.
VI. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE COMMISSION
None.
VII. DO ANY BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THIS MEETING
VIII. ADJOURN
Mr. Zahren motioned, Mr. Eisenlohr seconded and all agreed to adjourn the special meeting at 6:00 PM. None opposed.
Following the special meeting, the Commission met with Steven Winter Associates’ representative, Director Andrew Zumwalt-Hathaway, to discuss their energy plan proposal and possible reduction of quoted price to meet the $20,000 grant amount.
On a motion by Mr. Eisenlohr and seconded by Mr. Kaplan, all agreed unanimously to recommend to the Town Manager, Steven Winter Associates, Inc. as the energy plan vendor.
Respectfully submitted:
Chairman Olivier Gressier
Attest: Susan Gatcomb, Clerk
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