Town of Newtown, CT 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT
THESE MINUTES ARE SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY COMMISSION
3-21-2013
The Sustainable Energy Commission held a regular meeting Thursday, March 21, 2013 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 7:02 pm.
Present: Chairman, Kathy Quinn, Charlie Copp, Mark Sievel, Barbara Toomey, Joseph Borst, James Gulalo
Absent: Fred Hurley, Desiree Galassi, Dan Holmes,
Communications:
Ms. Quinn shared a letter of appreciation from a Nunnawauk Meadows resident for the services provided during the HES program.
Ms. Quinn attended a seminar in New Canaan about bringing more solar energy into lower Fairfield County. The seminar was conducted by C-PACE, Connecticut Property Assessed Clean Energy.
Acceptance of Minutes:
Mr. Borst made a motion to accept the minutes of the February 21, 2013 meeting minutes with the following corrections: the apartment complex that was part of the low income energy audit is spelled Nunnawauk, not Nonnewaug and the 4,500 kilowatts being saved is on the on high side, the residents of Nunnawauk should expect to save one to one and half months of energy from the HES program. Mr. Gulalo seconded the motion which carried unanimously.
Old Business:
HES Program
Ms. Quinn had a meeting at Nunnawauk Meadows, with Northeast Utlities and Linda Manganaro and Anne Piccini from Social Services. They discussed all the work done at Nunnawauk Meadows, including, switching out lightbulbs, air sealing, plumbling work, and water flow reducers among other work. All of the Nunnawauk units have been finished and they are moving onto Phase 2 of the Nunnawauk project, the Community Center and winterizing the air conditioning units.
Ms. Quinn informed the commission that Linda Manganaro and the residents of Nunnawauk are extremely pleased with all of the work that has been completed.
Ms. Quinn has given Vivian Perez of Home Energy Solutions, the contact information for the other mobile parks in Newtown. Ms. Perez will reach out to the parks and work with Anne Piccini from Social Services.
Solar Panels PPA
Ms. Quinn stated that the meeting about the project has been postponed until April 12 at 1 pm at the Middle School.
Water Treatment Plant
No update.
Solarize CT Program
Ms. Quinn has reached out to Robert from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund about the status of the program, she is waiting for a response.
Transition Movement
Ms. Toomey is preparing for Earth Day. She also spoke about a recurring event called Green Drinks where a group of concerned citizens meet up and talk about the environmental issues that are concerning them.
Go Green Website
Ms. Quinn stated updates are still being made to the site.
Energy Star Portfolio Manager
The portfolio will tie in with the ESCO project.
ESCO
The ESCO presentation has been scheduled for April 1 with the Board of Selectmen. A representative from Celtic will be on hand as well to assist in answering any questions the Board may have about the project.
Municipal Energy Management Plan
Ms. Quinn plans on this being a future project.
Brownfields
The Batchhelder property is a possible location for solar panels.
New Business
C-PACE
Mr. Gulalo spoke about C-PACE. C-PACE stands for Connecticut Property Assessed Clean Energy. C-PACE makes funding available for larger energy projects for commercial property owners. The funds are private capital and the projects are 100% funded. Repayments are made through the town tax office and are only payable while you own the property, if you sell the property, the costs are passed on to the new owner. The projects are intended to be capital improvement projects that cost over $150,000. There is no cap on the funds.
Mr. Gulalo is also a member of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) and he stated the EDC is behind this project and is supporting it. There is no burden on the town, C-PACE will reimburse the tax office for any costs they incur while collecting the payments. There would be no additional cost to the town and this could be a tool to bring additional business into Newtown. Many Connecticut towns are already participating in this program.
Resolution:
Mr. Borst made a motion to support Newtown in becoming a sponsor of C-PACE. The motion was seconded by Mr. Gulalo. The motion was carried unanimously.
Clean Energy Grant
Ms. Quinn reminded the commission that they are entitled to a $10,000 grant, possibly 2, through the Clean Energy program, from various tasks that have been completed in the past. The grants need to be used for energy reduction. Some possible ideas for the grant money are: LED lights, timers for outdoors lights on the fields, controls for field lighting, or locked switches to control the amount of time the outdoor lights on the fields are turned on.
Earth Day
The commission has signed up for tables at Earth Day.
Adjournment:
Mr. Gulalo made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:33 pm. The motion was seconded by Ms. Toomey. The motion was carried unanimously.
The next regular meeting will occur on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 7:00 pm at the Newtown Municipal Center in Shared Meeting Room 3.
Submitted, Jessica Smith, clerk.
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