Town of Newtown, CT 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT
THESE MINUTES ARE SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY COMMISSION
6-21-2012
The Sustainable Energy Commission held a regular meeting Thursday, June 21, 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 7:05 pm.
Present: Chairman, Kathy Quinn, Fred Hurley, Charlie Copp, Barbara Toomey, Desiree Galassi, Mark Sievel, James Gulalo
Absent: Joseph Borst, Dan Holmes, Sarah Hemingway
Communications:
Ms. Quinn shared an article about a solar trash compactor garbage can. Mr. Hurley stated that the solar trash compactor would be a better option for a municipality that already has regular municipal trash pick - up and Newtown currently does not.
Ms. Quinn also shared a flyer for a seminar on Sustainable Schools on June 28 in Winsted. Mr. Hurley mentioned Gino Faiella may be interested in attended.
State of Connecticut has a trial program for a combined heat and power program system however this system is more aimed at districts not towns.
Acceptance of May Minutes:
Ms. Quinn indicated a correction in Home Energy. Ms. Quinn and Diane from Northeast Utilities attend the Board of Selectman meeting, not the Board of Education meeting.
Ms. Toomey made a motion to accept the minutes with the correction above of the May 17, 2012 meeting minutes. Mr. Sievel seconded the motion which carried unanimously.
Old Business:
ESCO
Mr. Hurley shared with the commission that the panel has made a selection, Ameresco, to conduct further, more in – depth energy audits. The purchasing authority now has to issue a decision letter and the boards involved in the project need to sign off on the expenses. An analysis will also be needed to determine direction for the project. The next steps will be education and presentations to the other boards and commissions in town, which will probably begin around September. The intention is to create a committee that will create and make the presentations.
Solar Panels
Mr. Hurley said the bid went into the state and it will take about 1 month to hear back. They chose Altus power to put in the bid from a group of 3. There was an extremely small difference in price between the bidders.
Water Treatment Plant
Mr. Hurley stated the panels are up, the inverter is on site, the wiring is done, and they are working on the internet connection for monitoring purposes. The return on investment should be about 9 to 10 years. Mr. Hurley stated there would probably be a tour of the facility this summer for the Sustainable Energy Commission and other boards and commissions in addition to The Newtown Bee.
Home Energy
Ms. Quinn and Diane from Northeast Utilities met with the Board of Selectman on June 4, 2012. Pat Llodra said to go forward with the program, they have her blessing. Ms. Quinn spoke of 2 energy audit vendors members of the commission used for their audits and the commission would like to bring in representatives from the 2 vendors to speak to the commission about the program. Ms. Quinn would like to arrange to have 2 sponsored vendors for the Newtown program who will make a donation to the fuel bank for every audit they perform.
Mr. Hurley spoke of making a complete vendors list available to residents but with emphasis on the 2 sponsored vendors, that way it is fair to everyone. There are 24 qualified vendors throughout the state who will travel throughout the state to perform an energy audit.
These energy audits will take care of minor energy problems throughout the house, give out rebates for outdated appliances and insulation, and replace old lightbulbs. The commission needs make homeowners aware of this program and the fact that they are already paying into the fund through their monthly energy bills. One possibly of promoting the home energy audits is to orchestra neighborhood meetings and speak about it at other town events such as the Transition Movement events and tours of the Water Treatment Plant.
Transition Movement
Ms. Toomey stated that she displayed the Lexicon photos at the Farmer’s Market, she is also planning to display them at the July 19 outdoor concert and the schools in the fall. Ms. Toomey is looking into showing an outdoor movie as part of the Transition Movement, Dirt the Movie is a possibility. There will also be a film shown on October 14 at the library with an informational meeting on October 8.
Go Green Website
Ms. Quinn has emailed Sonia and spoken to Pat and will be dealing with the website herself with some help from commission members. Mr. Gulalo and Ms. Galassi both have experience building websites and will be assisting Ms. Quinn with the website. Ms. Quinn will also be looking to get some advice from the town webmasters. The commission would like to be able to manage the website themselves.
Energy Star Portfolio Manager
Ms. Quinn would like to tie ESCO into the Energy Star Portfolio. Her goal is get all of the town buildings into the portfolio manager.
New Business
Solarize Connecticut Program
Solarize Connecticut is a new state program that encourages residents to put solar on their homes. The idea is that residents in one town would ban together to contract one firm to put the panels on their homes to get a bulk purchase price. This would keep the costs down for the residents, the pricing is based on the number homes, the more participants, the lower the costs. In addition to purchase programs, there are also leasing options as well. Only residential homes would qualify for this program. The commission would need to put together an application for the program by Friday, June 29.
The initial program would only consider 4 towns and Newtown could resubmit if they are not chosen in the first round.
There would be some work for the commission to do if the town is chosen. The program requires ambassadors that will speak to residents about the program and market it as well. The town would be involved in selecting the vendor that would work with the resident on their panels.
Ms. Quinn will begin working on the application and will keep the commission updated.
Adjournment:
Ms. Galassi made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:35 pm. The motion was seconded by Mr Gulalo. The motion was carried unanimously.
The next regular meeting will occur on Thursday, July 19, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the Newtown Municipal Center in Shared Meeting Room 3.
Submitted, Jessica Smith, clerk.
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