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TOWN COUNCIL
BOARD OF EDUCATION
MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING
APRIL 2, 2014
I. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Avon Town Hall, in the Selectmen's Chamber by Chairman Zacchio. Members present: Mrs. Maguire, Messrs. Pena, Evans, and Stokesbury.
II. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Chairman Zacchio.
III. COMMUNICATION FROM AUDIENCE - None
V. OLD BUSINESS
13/14-52 Solar Photovoltaic Systems Project Presentation
Chairman Zacchio thanked everyone for coming tonight. He reported that we have embarked on an RFP process for the possibility of installing solar panels on up to all of the Town buildings but probably something on a smaller basis than that. He added that we hired Murtha Cullina with Paul Michaud who has done some presentations around what the RFPs look like and some modeling. He noted that there were a number of questions from the Town and Board of Education on that; he and Peggy Roell, Board of Education Chairwoman met with Brandon Robertson, Town Manager and Gary Mala, Superintendent of Schools and asked that they from a business perspective look at the modeling that was in place, the opportunities that were presented across the Town and help us understand if these installations were viable, what they
would recommend if they were viable, and for that to come out in a presentation to the Town Council and Board of Education as we all have interest in either moving this forward or deciding as a group that it is not something that we want to pursue.
The Town Manager reported that he, Gary Mala, Superintendent of Schools, and Town staff have been working on this for the last couple of months. He and Mr. Mala gave a power point presentation (a copy of which is attached and made part of these minutes). The Town Manager reported that in 2011 the Council adopted a Comprehensive Energy Management Plan as recommended by the Avon Clean Energy Commission and there are a number of goals that articulated in that Plan including the goal to reduce the Town’s carbon footprint by 20% by 2020. He noted that the installation of these solar panels is going to help us meet that goal. He added that they are recommending the installation of panels on the Avon Middle School roof, the new sections of the Avon High School roof, and Public Works facility roof
and the reason is primarily because those facilities have the remaining life on the roof warranties that back into a fifteen year power purchase agreement (PPA). He noted that it helps us to achieve our goals and there is a fairly significant cost avoidance going out in the future in that over the life of the fifteen year PPA in the range of approximately $350,000.
The Town Manager reported that in 2012 Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) began to require that CL&P and United Illuminating purchase LRECs (low emission renewable energy credit) and ZRECs (zero emission renewable energy credit) on an annual basis and purchased in a competitive process as an auction. He noted that the first auction was held in 2012 and 2013 and a number of communities, many of whom we spoke with including Glastonbury and Windsor, participated in those auctions, subsequently entered into PPAs with Solar City and thus far have had very good results with it. He added that because the processes worked out well in 2012 and 2013 we decided to bring in an energy consultant who is with the CCM this past summer; Avon is a member of CCM and within CCM they have developed a nitch in this
area called CCM Energy; they came out and talked with a team that included Town and Board of Education staff and members of the Clean Energy Commission and walk us through the process, talk about the LRECs, ZRECs, what the auction is. He noted that at that point we were all generally familiar with what a PPA is but we did not know the particulars so we wanted to learn more. He reported that it sounded like something that they would recommend pursuing and they asked CCM to provide us with a professional services agreement, had it reviewed by Murtha Cullina and that is where we learned that Murtha Cullina has this nitch in-house where they have expertise in this area and based on the fee schedule able to do it at a lower price. He noted that they thought it was a great approach and have the Town Attorney’s firm walk us through this.
The Town Manager reported that following the switch from CCM to Murtha Cullina we began the development of a Request for Proposals (RFP) document, it was advertised in December and we had the responses due at the end of January. He reported that nine proposals were received and the proposals were ranked in accordance with criteria that were articulated in the RFP document. He noted that based on the rankings they decided to bring three firms in for interviews and were conducted by a Town/Board of Education team including him, Mr. Mala, Jamie DiPace - Fire Marshal, Paul Michaud – Murtha Cullina, Steve Bartha – Assistant Town Manager, Peter Gaski – Director of Facilities, and John Spang – Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations. He added that each firm gave a
presentation followed by Q&A. He noted that as a result of that process we are recommending to move forward with SolarCity for a couple of reasons that we will move into, that brings us through March, and here tonight to talk about the next steps.
The Town Manager reported that with regards to the PPA what we have done with SolarCity is to move forward with them and negotiate a draft PPA because we did not want to have this conversation with all of you without knowing that we could get all of the language that we would be recommending in the PPA; they are very flexible documents and one of the reasons that we selected SolarCity is because they were willing to negotiate where some of the others were not quite as flexible. He noted that the Town is not acquiring the system and does not trigger the lease purchase policy because all we are agreeing to do is to buy electricity from that source and not taking title to it. He reported that we only pay a generation fee for the electricity coming from the roof. Mr. Mala reported that the Board of Education
through 2016 has a different rate that we are paying but the numbers that have been used as the estimated cost avoidance includes all of that and resolved up front by SolarCity.
The Town Manager reported that they are recommending a fifteen year PPA because it matches the remaining warranties on the roofs. He noted that every year that the system is in place the buyout cost decreases. Mr. Mala reported that prior to installation the warranty holder on our roof structure is also involved making sure that they are aware of the project. He added that the reason the Middle School has been identified and the new portion of the High School is because the warranty exceeds the fifteen year period.
The Town Manager reported that they went into detail about what the cost would be to acquire these systems outright and if there was any advantage to the Town in moving that direction. He noted that they are fairly expensive systems that would require an appropriation to fund the purchase. Mr. Mala reported that the anticipated cost if we were to secure it through a capital budget is approximately $1.6 million with this particular developer. He added that depending on what collection was installed that price would fluctuate.
The Town Manager reported that these systems would put out approximately 660,000 kwh per year of energy and if you use 2011 as a baseline which is the last year that we had really solid data, that is approximately 10% of the total Town draw from the grid for both the Town and the Board of Education so it is a fairly sizable percentage.
Mr. Mala reported that the recommendation is to go with SolarCity for all the reasons that have been pointed out. He noted that from Board of Education staff perspective they are looking at it through the educational lens at that point in time and SolarCity was really the only vendor that was able to elaborate on how they would interface with our students and our curriculum, committing with possible internships to research and work in this area, and putting a panel on the robotics shop that is behind the High School. He added that they really offered some flexibility that some of the others did not really entertain.
Mr. Mala reported that the technology with the panels has been refined and perfected; they are very sleek and conformed to the contour of the roof. He added that they do avoid the edge of the roofing structures due to maintenance issues. He noted that Steve Kushner, Town Planner, was part of their conversations and did not foresee any issue other than providing the approval to allow them to access the property. He added that they are easily removable and would be configured to facilitate routine maintenance. He noted that what he learned through this process is that given a hypothetical that the Boards commit and say yes and give authorization to enter into the auction there is no guarantee that we will actually be approved at the end of the day and that these projects will be accepted; it is
important piece to know.
The Town Manager agreed; we may go through all of this and for whatever reason, the combination of the LREC/ZREC bid, the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) price, and it may not be awarded. He noted that with regards to the Public Works facility, the size of the proposed system is under 100 kilowatts of production, not in the medium to large LREC/ZREC auction, and therefore there is a different process for that project; the deadline to submit was the end of March so we went ahead and put it in which goes into a randomized cue and we are at about three hundred forty-three, but we can always try it again in the future.
The Town Manager reported on the timeline for this project. He noted that the legal notice for the public hearing includes a number of facilities that are not being recommended and that was simply to cover our bases as there is a long lead time required for publishing the notice and their final recommendation had not been finalized when the notice had to go in. He added that typically from the time that an RFP is released until the award there is a lag of a few months; in the end, if the projects are successful they would be back looking for approval to execute the PPAs. Mr. Mala reported that they did ask questions about if they require staging area and how long installation takes and yes they would look for a staging area and work around any major activities associated at the schools. He added
that when the Middle School roof was replaced there was some setup work by running conduit in that roofing structure to support some future solar collection. The Town Manager reported that the initial concern they had about it from a staff level was roof penetration and raising issues with warranty but they have been able to confirm that these are ballast systems and sit on top of the structure. Mr. Mala reiterated that the holder of the warranty on the roof would be part of signing off before any project would be initiated.
VI. QUESTIONS/ANSWERS
Mr. Stokesbury asked what happens to the power generated by the solar panels during the summer when school is not in session. Mr. Mala responded that we will not produce more than we will consume. Bernie Zahren, Avon Clean Energy Commission member, added that on a net meter basis it is a twelve month system and you could actually produce more than you used in a given month and still get credit for it over the whole year.
Mr. Stokesbury asked how we look at this on the Town budget, where does it show up, does it show up anywhere. He noted that it is really just cost avoidance and ultimately what we are doing is saving increases against the top line of the budget. Mr. Mala responded that is correct.
Mr. Evans commended everyone who worked on this for a great presentation and the question and answer part of the material was very helpful. He noted that to him it looks like an obviously good choice for the Town to go ahead and embark on this. He questioned what the downside is to doing this or is there any. Mr. Mala responded that he cannot think of any now, given the length of the commitment is shortened, some of his concern had to do with the roof structure should something happen to the roof and need replacement but from his vantage point that has been addressed. He added that it is cost avoidance; he cannot think of the negative. The Town Manager responded that a lot of the initial concern was over the impact on the roof warranty and those concerns have really been addressed by the type
of system that they are proposing to use and the language that they we have negotiated in the PPA; he does not see any downside. Mr. Mala added that one thing that we cannot answer is the hypothetical that if we as a community invest in $1.6 in capital, what type of expense would have to be put into an operating budget to maintain those systems; it is impossible to factor out. Chairman Zacchio reported that when we looked at the Middle School in 2008, although the type of solar energy we were looking to install was photovoltaic matting versus the crystal-lined panels because it was the shape of the roof and the ability to cover the amount of square footage you need to cover, at that time our payback on that investment was thirty-eight years; we chose not to do that and still put in the conduit because we expected at some point we would like to engage in something. He added that the hard part about getting at those costs is you have to get inside someone
else’s business model and how they are structuring it. He noted that the draw to the investor are the tax credits and are coming down from the federal government so there is a 30% tax credit benefit that makes this attractive from an investor’s standpoint which makes these companies viable in order to do some of this work and shorten the payback period that gives them the benefit of making profit and gives us the benefit to lock something at a lesser rate than what we would normally purchase it.
Bernie Zahren, Clean Energy Commission Chair, reported that SolarCity was behind the Tesla electric car and the Space-X private rocket and one of the synergies is that the battery they are developing for the Tesla car will eventually be available to backup a solar system when there is no daylight. He noted that the numbers being discussed are very conservative at approximately 1,000 kilowatt hours per kilowatt installed as you should have 1,100 to 1,200 kilowatt hours. He added that you are just doing the big picture and savings on your energy cost alone; there are a lot of other things that could happen. He reported that a Clean Energy Commission member has been analyzing the demand profile of the schools, for example, and when your energy cost spikes at the end of the school year and beginning of the
school year you get charged by the utility at the demand charge which is very high and can equal as much as a third of your total bill for the highest fifteen minutes of peak demand that you experience during the entire year. He noted that the good part about the solar panels is that is likely to be the hottest, sunniest day of the year which means whatever you are producing off the panels will also be reducing your demand charge which could equal even more than the $0.07-0.08 that you are paying for the power. Mr. Michaud, Murtha Cullina, reported that savings was not included because it was hard to predict and left it out of the calculation but you will more than likely save more money than what is stated there.
Chairman Zacchio reported that one of the concerns he had going into this was the structural integrity and one of the reasons we worked it into the PPA was to assure that structurally our roofs can support the weight. He added that with the Fire Department there was concern about solar panel installations going on rooftops and if there was a large fire and how they would work around them and how they might ventilate a roof in order to contain a fire. He spoke to the Fire Chief and Fire Marshal about it, they did not have that concern because the way they approach our buildings is that they have a plan for each building including the schools, the Library, Town Hall, the Walmart Plaza, and every other large building we have. He noted that they go in and re-examine their plan and come up with a plan around
what the installations are, the same as we would go around a new rooftop unit; they had less concern with it than he had once thought and read which was good news. He added that the Fire Department would like to latch on to the offer for some study of that and would like something on Company #1 for them to have an opportunity to play with it and learn about it and be a student of the systems so that they become more savvy in terms of the power and how it works in case they encounter them in an emergency and they have been encountering them on homes in Avon.
Jeff Bernetich, Board of Education member, questioned how much are the people that are investing in this making off of the Town of Avon and are we getting our fair share. He noted that we are getting $23,000 per year. He also questioned, using the Avon High School as an example, it was $1.8 million for the entire installation, $800,000 was the actual 1,400 panels and $1 million was for the installation of the panels which works out to $700 per panel installed which he finds to be rather high if it is a ballast system and then we carry that further in that we do not get the 30% but we do still qualify for the ZREC/LREC and the energy savings would work out to roughly $300,000 per year so we go from a thirty-eight year payback to a six-year payback. He does not know why we have not taken a stronger look at
doing this project ourselves; he understands that we would have to bond it out but with a six-year payback and then we are enjoying $300,000 per year in energy savings in ZREC/LREC that makes the $23,000 look just plain silly. Bernie Zahren responded that what SolarCity and others do is bundle up many, many systems into one big thing and take it to somebody like Wells Fargo Bank who buys these tax credits in big blocks and are very competitively bid and would be surprised if the rate of return to a big bank or insurance company who might buy a portfolio from SolarCity is not much more than 7-8% and that is very heavily weighted by not just the tax credits but the five-year accelerated depreciation; they can also take on 85% of the cost of the installation. He noted that this cost is pretty low, approximately $2.50 per watt; they have put this price down as low as they possibly could. He added that in 2008 you probably would have been paying close to $10.00 per
watt which is how the cost of solar has been squeezed down by the reduction in the cost of the panels as well as the competitiveness of these bigger systems. He noted that SolarCity did a bond offering in December at 4.8% for a 10-year bond and they are leveraging that and selling to the investor; they are making money by monetizing these tax credits but they are not ripping the Town off in that sense. He added that if you wanted to bond $1.8 million you would have bonding costs, issuance costs, and the maintenance/repair/operation of it and find someone to do all of that.
Chairman Zacchio remarked to Mr. Bernetich’s point, would we consider engaging on a project like this on our own and he thinks amongst the Council we have had reluctance to use taxpayer dollars on business ventures because if you can find an opportunity that saves you dollars over time at zero cost and zero risk that usually is the preferable way for us to do business, it is a conservative approach versus a business approach which clearly could net us dollars from a revenue perspective but an area that we are not experts in and does not think the Town wants to become experts in necessarily. Mr. Bernetich commented that he is all for the solar and wants it to happen but wants to make sure that we are not getting hoaxed. Chairman Zacchio responded that we are making a conscious choice to do this portion of
this project in this methodology and tonight we are talking about whether or not that makes sense to us; there are other opportunities for us to do it different ways, but this is the direction we thought about going. He added that comparably to what we actually went out for the original PPA on this is a small portion of what could be realized in the Town of Avon and through this we become students of the process; we are able to either get comfortable with it or not comfortable with it and we may extend PPAs if the tax credits hold up and if the dollars still make sense on other facilities or we could consider other projects in the future in different methodologies. He added that we were not willing to jump in on all of the buildings at first so we are trying to take a more measured approach as we move forward.
Kathy Zirolli, Board of Education member, commented on the roofs and if something was to happen. She questioned, with regards to cost, if there is anything that the Board of Education operating budget would have to handle without receiving any kind of insurance which just happened when they requested some insurance and was told no and that it goes to the Town; her experience is such that the Board of Education is not receiving the benefit of that insurance. Chairman Zacchio responded that there is zero cost to the Board of Education for maintenance, there is no insurance because we do not insure it. Ms. Zirolli commented that she understands the maintenance; she is asking with respect to a hurricane, something unexpected. Chairman Zacchio responded that we do not own the system so we do not insure
it. Ms. Zirolli questioned if something happens to the roof on the Avon High School caused by the solar panels and we have to fix the roof then who is responsible. Mr. Michaud responded that under the PPA there is a force majeure provision, it is an “act of God” it allows the parties out of the contract. Ms. Zirolli questioned if we have to buy it out at that point. Mr. Michaud responded that it is force majeure, an act out of the Town’s control, out of SolarCity’s control, i.e. hurricane, lightning, and it allows the parties to actually terminate the contract. Ms. Zirolli commented that we terminate the contract, the parties walk away, we have solar panels that are broken on the roof, the roof is damaged, what happens, how do we get to the roof, how do we get the solar panels removed. Mr. Michaud responded that SolarCity is required under the contract to fully insure the system so that will get replaced and the Town have
its own insurance on the roof which would cover the roof damage. Ms. Zirolli questioned how the roof gets fixed. Chairman Zacchio responded our insurance would fix that; there would be no draw to the Board of Education’s operating budget to fix a roof top if there was an “act of God” or in the future. Ms. Zirolli commented that the Board of Education did pay to fix the roof leak at the Pine Grove School and they did request payment of CIRMA that was a return of excess payments that are given to municipalities and they did not get any portion of that. Chairman Zacchio questioned if that was because you were running a budget surplus and noted that we were off subject. Ms. Zirolli questioned in terms of insurance, she is trying to understand how the Board of Education’s operating budget is hit. Chairman Zacchio responded that it would be fair to say that it would be handled the same way it is handled today and we would look
at that situation, regardless of whether there is a rooftop unit, a solar panel, a lightning strike or a tree that caused it. Chairman Zacchio commented that he is not sure how the solar panels come into your question; if you had a problem with your roof because of an “act of God” whether a solar panel is on it or not we would address that situation as we would always address that situation; he is not sure what the solar panels have to do with it. Ms. Howard questioned what if the solar panels need to be removed so the roof can be fixed and then they have to be reinstalled. Chairman Zacchio responded that there is a provision within the PPA for that. Mr. Michaud commented that if the solar panels for any reason cause any damage that is all covered under SolarCity.
David Pena questioned if there are factors that would increase the cost of a solar panel at approximately $23,000 per year. Mr. Michaud responded that we only used 2.5% grid escalator (increase in the grid). He noted that Connecticut Light and Power is going for a rate case right now and are asking for double that. He added that we only put 2.5% but historically it is 6 to 8%; we wanted to be purposefully very conservative. Mr. Pena clarified that it could go up. Mr. Michaud responded yes; when they go in for a rate case your savings will increase because you are saving on your distribution. Mr. Zahren commented that at the end of fifteen years you have a right to buy this out for a much reduced price, approximately 10 to 15% of the original cost. Mr. Michaud added that we have
negotiated and the Town has an option to extend the contract two five-year terms at the same rate that you are paying now. He noted that the savings could theoretically double if you opt to extend your contract. He reported that you have a five-year contract but you have a fifteen-year contract at your option if you decide to extend twice, two five-year terms. Mr. Zahren questioned what if you want to buy it out for fair market value. Mr. Michaud responded that is a provision too. Mr. Zahren added that if at that time electric rates are through the ceiling and for a nominal cost you can buy out the panels which have the ten to fifteen year useful life still ahead of them at the end of fifteen years, then you are putting all of the money into your pocket. He noted that the ZRECs only go for fifteen years. Mr. Bernetich commented that he still does not feel that he got an answer; how much are the people that are investing making and is $1.8
million on the Avon High School of which we would get $330,000 per year, are those numbers correct between the ZRECs/LRECs and the energy savings? Mr. Zahren responded that it depends on what blended electric rate you are saving. Mr. Bernetich questioned if it is between $200,000 and $400,000 per year. Mr. Zahren responded probably.
Doug Evans commented that he understands why we are treading lightly when the original project proposed was a much bigger project and he agrees with what we are doing here. He questioned when we will potentially have the next opportunity to do this again; if we like the savings and it is all working out, nothing is breaking, roofs are not caving in, and we are happy with it; is this a once per year opportunity when an auction comes out. Mr. Zahren responded yes. He noted that the 30% tax credit is part of the federal tax credit for renewable energy; it expires at the end of 2016 right now. He added that the ZREC bids have gone down from year to year and there is every expectation that as more competition comes into the State that the bid will keep getting a little lower. He reported that the
panel prices could go down a little bit more but right now the cost of the panel which used to be more than two-thirds of the cost of the system is down to less than a dollar out of a $2.15 installation cost. He noted that the rest of the system (the wiring, inverter, and installation) is hard to get that done much cheaper, but yes you could repeat this same process this time next year and get in the cue for another bid. Mr. Evans questioned if we could consider other non-roof top locations. Mr. Zahren responded yes; one of the bids is for virtual net-metering where one of the bidders wanted to put over 2 megawatts out in a field somewhere and there you would not get the full retail net meter including your distribution charges, only the savings on the energy cost but because it is such a big installation and is cost competitive they were showing some pretty good savings too; it is a whole different type of installation. Chairman Zacchio commented that it
depends on how much we want to expand; the initial RFP was for a much greater project then what we are thinking about from a scope perspective. He noted that in fifteen years he does not think we would want to buy it out as technology moves so fast and we would want whatever the next energy source will be.
Mr. Pena questioned what we need to do next. Chairman Zacchio responded that we are not taking any action tonight; we will have a public hearing tomorrow night and collect input from the public. He added that the next steps would be to go through the public hearing for the Town Council to authorize the Town Manager to execute the easements to give them the rights to go up on the roof to do the work and Gary Mala, Superintendent of Schools, at their next Board of Education meeting would offer the same opportunity for the easements. He noted that after that you go through the ZREC auction and if it is successful we move forward; if it is not successful we start over again next year or we think about it differently. The Town Manager asked Mr. Michaud if we need to have the easement and the PPA
approved at the same time or can we just do the easement. Mr. Michaud responded that the easement is a negotiated document along with the PPA with SolarCity, it is a contract. Peggy Roell, Board of Education Chair, questioned what has to be done before SolarCity can put our building into the auction. Mr. Michaud responded that a short letter of intent from the Town Manager can be completed to demonstrate that SolarCity has control of the school building and authorized to submit into the auction. Mrs. Roell commented that depending on what the final price is with the auction that will determine the final PPA and we can approve or not approve at that time; look at it with real numbers instead of the hypothetical of what might happen. Mr. Mala responded yes. He added that at prior meetings it was discussed that when the PPA is generated is dependent on the letter of intent and all that was needed from both parties to enter into the auction.
Mr. Michaud responded that there are two ways: the letter of intent or a PPA with a condition preceding it which says that we will not go forward unless they win the ZREC auction. He noted that the letter of intent is probably the easier approach. Mrs. Roell commented that depending upon what the rate is that they win the ZREC at could affect the numbers. Mr. Michaud responded no; this was a competitive bid, they have bid their PPA price, the Town is interested in them because of the price they bid, and in our RFP we requested what their ZREC bid price would be so we already know what it is. Chairman Zacchio commented that if SolarCity cannot buy it for that price then they do not buy it.
Bernie Zahren, Avon Clean Energy Commission Chair, reported that your savings at 661,000 kilowatt hours per year at a blended rate of $0.50 is approximately $100,000. He added that the ZREC if they win at $85 is $0.085, another $50,000 so you are looking at $150,000 per year savings. He added that you cannot use tax credits, depreciation, or any of those other things. He noted that you save $150,000 a year on a $1.6 million investment which is an 11-year payback. Chairman Zacchio questioned at what interest rate. Mr. Zahren responded none, that is simple dollar for dollar payback so you have to add interest to borrow the money too.
Ken Birk, Board of Education member, questioned what happens if SolarCity goes out of business, not that they would, but what happens. Mr. Michaud responded that in the PPA there is an assignment clause where if SolarCity goes into default for any reason, including bankruptcy it automatically gets assigned to their bank. He added that the Town would receive a letter from the bank saying that they own it now but that is all that would change; the banks want these projects to continue because they have invested in it so you would not see a change operationally.
Jay Spivak, Board of Education member, questioned if the Public Works facility has not accepted the auction is there a possibility that the proposal moves forward with the High School and Middle School. Chairman Zacchio responded that they are separate proposals because of the size so this auction would be for the school locations because of the size. Mr. Zahren commented that projects under 100 kilowatts do not have to bid as individual and will automatically get 110% of what the bigger projects receive; if we receive $90 ZREC on our medium size projects, the under 100 kilowatt project would automatically get 110% or $99. He added that because we did not get in line early enough for the under 100 kilowatt project we are pretty far down the list so we probably will not get a chance to do the under 100
kilowatt on the Public Works facility but that does not prevent us from going back again next year and getting in line early enough. Gary Mala, Superintendent of Schools, commented that the Public Works facility could not be expanded to meet that size as the roof is too small.
Mr. Pena questioned if construction would begin in the summer of 2015. The Town Manager responded that it depends; it would coincide with the school year. Mr. Mala commented that they did project that the larger sites would take approximately 2 to 2 ½ months to put up; they would meet the school schedule and not interfere.
Mrs. Roell questioned if what the Board of Education needs is to seek authorization for a letter of intent. The Town Manager responded yes, to allow them into the process. Mr. Mala commented that Town interest is supposed to commit and once the PPA is executed then there is the commitment. Mrs. Roell questioned if we can still negotiate the PPA. Chairman Zacchio responded that it is still in negotiations.
Chairman Zacchio asked if there were any other questions; seeing none, he reported that we will have the public hearing tomorrow night and hear from the public on the matter.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m.
Attest:
Ann L. Dearstyne
Town Clerk
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