Town of Newtown, CT 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT
The Sustainable Energy Commission held a regular meeting Thursday, March 15, 2012 in shared meeting room 3 of the Municipal Center located at 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT 06470.
The meeting was called to order by chairman, Kathy Quinn at 7:07 pm.
Present: Chairman, Kathy Quinn, Fred Hurley, Barbara Toomey, Joseph Borst, Dan Holmes, Desiree Galassi
Absent: Sarah Hemingway, Benjamin Roberts,
Public: Charlie Copp, Linda Zukauskas, Reporter - Voices
Communications:
Ms. Quinn shared a flyer about opportunities for municipalities to take energy action on April 3 in Meridian. Dan Esty will be the speaker.
Mr. Hurley said he is seeing things happening in town with alternative energy sources like hybrid vehicles and sees the potential for adding a pressurized gas station in town especially if incentives are being offered by the state.
Ms. Quinn shared the current home energy flyer that she will have copies of for Earth Day.
On March 1, Ms. Quinn attended a regional (Fairfield County) meeting with representatives from commissions similar to the Sustainable Energy Commission. They talked about the different things they are doing and plan on getting together periodically to share ideas. Ms. Quinn mentioned the Ridgefield grammar school and the recycling program they began to reduce waste by 50%. She also obtained some contact information about eliminating plastic bags from stores.
Public Comments
Mr. Copp asked if the commission had looked into creating an energy dashboard to collect data about energy usage and production. Mr. Hurley said that gathering information about energy could help people to see what is going on. Ms. Galassi informed the Commission that the Reed School has a site about the energy produced and used from their solar panels and it can be accessed on their website. Ms. Galassi stated it would be a good idea to have a link to the Reed School’s site on the Commission’s website.
Acceptance of February Minutes:
Mr. Borst made a motion to accept the minutes of the February 16, 2012 meeting minutes as submitted. Mr. Holmes seconded the motion which carried unanimously.
Old Business:
ESCO
Mr. Hurley said the proposals are due at the end of the month and Honeywell and ConEd have been active in looking at the sites and getting more information. The first three buildings being considered are the Middle School, Municipal Center, and Middle Gate School. Once a proposal is selected, it could extend to the other buildings, but it depends on the proposal and the agreement. There are several commission members that are part of the selection panel for the proposals.
Solar Panels PPA
Mr. Hurley said there is an RFP going out for a third party to put in a solar system as a PPA. These RFPs will be due April 2. The RFP is for a company to build, finance, and sell solar energy to the town. Any additional energy produced by the system could be applied to other meters around town. This is a very competitive application process, it may depend on how much of the Z rec the proposer is asking for. The system would use a majority of the school’s roof, and hopefully produce about 600 – 700 kilowatts. Ms. Galassi stated that the roof had been prepared to hold solar panels when it was redone. Ms. Galassi expressed concerned about the state of the HVAC system and Mr. Hurley said that there is the potential to deal with the system now, it is running a parallel course with the RFPs and ESCO.
Water Treatment Plant
Mr. Hurley said they are working on it now and are on schedule. The plant is about 20% complete and all the parts are on site and ready to go.
Earth Day
Earth Day is April 28 and the Commission will have a table at the event. Ms. Galassi has the display materials and asked about ordering a tablecloth with the Commission’s name on it. The Commission will be working with Community Energy to combine their efforts at the event.
Ms. Galassi made a motion to purchase a tablecloth for the Sustainable Energy to use at events and the cost will not exceed $150. Mr. Holmes seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Transition Movement (movie)
Ms. Toomey shared with the Commission that she listed Newtown on the Transition Movement’s website as mulling it over along with a few other towns in Connecticut. She stated she will also have a table at Earth Day to promote the Sustainable Film Series. The first film will be at the Muncipal Center the day after Earth Day. The second film will most likely be shown on June 3. Ms. Toomey is planning on showing Carbon Nation first and Power of Community and Escape from Suburbia as the next two films. She is thinking to serve refreshments first, show the film, and then have a discussion afterwards. Ms. Toomey said they will ask for donations at the event and the next installments in the series will be shown at the library.
Ms. Quinn made a motion for the Commission to fund the first three films in the Sustainable Films Series in an amount not to exceed $300. Mr. Holmes seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
Mr. Holmes informed the Commission that the Victory Garden will be moved to a new area to make room for the ambulance corps. They are looking for a new space where they can expand. There is also the possibility of a future community garden where residents can rent plots to plant their own garden. Ms. Toomey asked if aquaculture could be a possibility which brought about a discussion about education and how the schools need to talk more about real world possibilities and sustainable practices. Ms. Galassi is planning on asking the girls from the January meeting to attend a Board of Education meeting and present their findings about solar energy. She thinks the Board may be more receptive if students are presenting their opinions.
Home Energy Solutions
Ms. Quinn informed the Commission that there is new funding for home solar systems and that the DEEP and Legislature are supporting the bill.
New Business:
Ms. Quinn spoke about beefing up the Commission’s website with the Town rather than keeping up the Go Green site. Ms. Galassi said it may be easier to keep the current site because they would have more control over what was posted, they just need to update it and keep it updated. Ms. Quinn is planning on speaking to Sonia about the website.
Clean Energy Options
Ms. Quinn stated that Sterling Energy is no longer a provider. Northeast Solar and Wind is providing at a rate of .99.
Adjournment:
Mr. Borst made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:27 pm. The motion was seconded by Mr. Holmes. The motion was carried unanimously.
The next regular meeting will occur on Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the Newtown Municipal Center in Shared Meeting Room 3.
Submitted, Jessica Smith, clerk.
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