Work Session
January 18, 2010
Present were Mayor Bertrand, Councilors Lafleur, McCue, Landry, Evans, Goudreau, Remillard, Cayer and Poulin. Others present included Mayor-Elect, Paul Grenier, Bob Danderson, Michael Rozek, Andre Caron, Angela Martin Giroux, Michael Perreault, Pamela Laflamme, Max Makaitis, media and public.
Proposed Legislation
SB 418 & SB 422
Both bills have to do with small power producers. SB 418 would require power producers to go out for proposals to meet their renewable power needs and SB422 would allow a renewable energy facility to sell power directly to customers located in brownfield areas or economically depressed zones. Mayor Bertrand asked if the body is willing to send a letter of support for these bills. Councilor McCue questioned the 4% renumeration in SB418. Mayor Bertrand noted that he did not know the answer but speculated that it was modeled after current agreements. He went on to say that these bills could have positive benefits for the energy plants that want to locate in Berlin and he advocated sending a letter of support to Senator Gallus.
Councilor Lafleur so moved; Councilor Evans seconded and the motion carried with all voting in favor.
Resolution Energy
Resolution 2010-03 authorizes the City Manager to apply for energy block grants for city buildings. Mr. MacQueen commented that the grant would pay for energy efficiency programs in city buildings and the resolution would authorize acceptance and appropriate funds when received.
Draft Letter to EFSEC re: Petition
Mayor Bertrand indicated that if the letter is found to be appropriate by the Council, it would be sent out. The Council voted at the last meeting to have staff draft a letter expressing that Clean Power has already gone through the City permitting process and requiring them to go to the EFSEC process as well would only cause unnecessary delay. Councilor Evans confirmed that staff drafted the letter and not the attorney.
Councilor McCue moved to finalize the letter and send it to the Site Evaluation Committee as soon as possible; Councilor Evans seconded and the motion carried.
Riverfire Report
Mr. MacQueen reported that Riverfire has been a joint effort of the Main Street, Chamber and City. In a new plan to expand Riverfire, the event would be turned over to the Main Street Program and Chamber for them to run it. Riverfire has a total of $5,715.54 currently held with the City. Of that $1,905 is the City’s share of the money raised by Riverfire. The question is whether the Council would allow the entire amount to be turned over to Main Street/Chamber.
Councilor Lafleur moved to allow the funds to go to the Chamber so long as the city still has some input; Councilor McCue seconded.
In the interest of full disclosure, Councilor McCue noted that he is the treasurer for the Main Street Program. He stated that the Chamber is not a 501(c)3 and the City needs to be cautious of how money is transferred. Councilor Remillard confirmed that funds are to be used for the Riverfire event. Councilor Goudreau supported sending the money for Riverfire but commented that the motion with the City still having input is too vague.
Councilor Lalfeur amended the motion to allow the Riverfire funding to be transferred to the MSP and Chamber in its entirety; Councilor McCue seconded the amendment and the amended motion passed with all in favor.
Other – none
The Work Session ended at 6:45 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan Tremblay
Administrative Assistant
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