Town of Newtown, CT 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT
THESE MINUTES ARE SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY COMMISSION
10-18-2012
The Sustainable Energy Commission held a regular meeting Thursday, October 18, 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 7:01 pm.
Present: Chairman, Kathy Quinn, Fred Hurley, Charlie Copp, Mark Sievel, Joseph Borst, Barbara Toomey
Absent: Dan Holmes, Desiree Galassi, James Gulalo, Sarah Hemingway
Public: Dave Stout
Communications:
Ms. Quinn sent out the annual report to the Commission members for their review and asked that they email her their comments and corrections on the document. The annual report will be included in the Town Handbook that includes contributions from all commissions.
Ms. Quinn received a letter from Planning and Zoning and the Commission needs to include a write up in the POCD (Plan of Community Development) about the Commission in planning in upcoming year.
There will be a seminar on Sustainable Schools on October 22 and Gino Faiella, Facilities Director for the Newtown Schools will be attending.
Acceptance of August Minutes:
Mr. Sievel made a motion to accept the minutes of the September 20, 2012 meeting minutes with one correction, change Liz in the HES Program section to Elizabeth Stocker from Economic Development. Mr. Copp seconded the motion which carried unanimously.
Public Comments
Dave Stout attended this month’s meeting and he is a former member of the Commission who originally set up the website. Mr. Stout currently works an ESCO. He currently works on creating sustainable engineered solutions for Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Stout is interested in assisting the Commission with any of their current projects.
Old Business:
HES Program
Pat Llodra’s home is slated to have a Home Energy Audit on October 19, both sponsored vendors, the Voices, and the Newtown Bee will be in attendance along with a representative from Northeast Utilities to officially launch the program in town.
Ms. Quinn spoke with Vivian Perez from Home Energy Solutions who is responsible for the low income homes in town. The low income home energy audits require no co – pay and more work is done by the home energy audit vendor.
Solar Panels PPA
The utility company has finished the final summary and submitted it to the regulatory committee (PURA) and once it is approved, the project can continue. CL&P is beginning to establish the parameters for the small project program. Mr. Hurley reminded the Commission that once the panels are up and if it snows, the installer is responsible for clearing off the panels and area surrounding them.
Water Treatment Plant
The last piece to make this project complete is an internet hookup and the installer is coming to assist with this. The plant is working well and they are looking to sign a service contract for periodic maintenance of the system.
Solarize CT Program
The Commission discussed Ross Solar and the program outlined at last month’s meeting. Ms. Toomey mentioned that one of her neighbors used Ross Solar for an installation and they seemed happy with their system. Mr. Hurley said it would be worthwhile to send an inquiry letter to the residents in town who have used Ross Solar in the past and get their opinions about Ross Solar’s work.
Ms. Quinn stated she has two concerns. One, the Commission cannot recommend just one vendor to the town and two the timing, the Commission has a lot going on right now and the holidays are coming up fast. The Commission wouldn’t want to endorse just one vendor but rather create a list and have a set criteria to get on the list.
Transition Movement
Ms. Toomey held a film showing on October 14th and 12 people attended a bigger turnout than the last film.
Ms. Toomey is meeting with Amy Mangold of Parks and Recreation and a grant writer next Friday, October 26 to come up with some grant ideas that involve sustainability.
Ms. Toomey is also working on a bike program for next year. She is looking into having the bike racks being put back at the schools. They are currently in storage.
Ms. Toomey also wondered if it would be possible to start creating more sidewalks in town. Mr. Hurley answered that there is very little funding right now for sidewalks unless they are built in conjunction with another project.
Go Green Website
Ms. Quinn and Mr. Stout reviewed the website and discussed the changes that needed to made. Some changes have already been made but they are having difficulty with the energy dashboard. Rather than having the dashboard display on the website, they may use a screenshot or just provide a link. Mr. Stout is looking into the possibility of an application to make the energy dashboard useable.
Energy Star Portfolio Manager
Ms. Quinn is continuing to load data and track usage.
ESCO
Ms. Quinn is working with Mr. Sievel and Mr. Copp along with 2 members of the Building & Site Commission to create a presentation on the ESCO for other town boards.
Clean Energy Municipal Pledge
Pat Llodra signed the Clean Energy Municipal Pledge on October 2, 2012. This pledge lays out the goals of the town for the next 6 years with a 20% reduction in energy usage.
Municipal Energy Management Pledge
This pledge is being put together for the Commission’s purposes and will tie into other requirements.
Brownfields
Mr. Hurley shared with the Commission that there is a proposal at the state level for the establishment of microgrids. This could be possibility for some of the brownfield properties in Newtown. The cleanup of a brownfield for a mircogrid does not have the same requirements as it would for a residence or business. The Bachelder or town landfill are both possibilities for this type of project. The mircogrid would provide power for critical facilities in the case of a power outage. For the dross from the aluminum at the Bachelder property, there is a federal program that may pay for the removal and the town or a developer would have to pay to clean up the property which may result in a breakeven result for whoever takes responsibility for the property.
New Business
No New Business this month.
Adjournment:
Mr. Borst made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 pm. The motion was seconded by Ms. Toomey. The motion was carried unanimously.
The next regular meeting will occur on Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the Newtown Municipal Center in Shared Meeting Room 3.
Submitted, Jessica Smith, clerk.
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