Town of Newtown, CT 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT
THESE MINUTES ARE SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY COMMISSION
9-19-2013
The Sustainable Energy Commission held a regular meeting Thursday, September 19, 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 7:01 pm.
Present: Chairman, Kathy Quinn, Mark Sievel, Joseph Borst, James Gulalo
Absent: Desiree Galassi, Fred Hurley, Barbara Toomey, Charlie Copp
Communications:
No communications this month.
Acceptance of Minutes:
There was no quorum to approve the minutes.
Old Business:
HES Program
The vendors for the HES program are thinking about doing another round of letters to town residents. The vendors have agreed to continue their contributions to the town fuel bank.
Solarize CT
The Launch Event will be occurring on Tuesday, September 24 at 7 pm at the Reed School. There will be an overview of the program for those interested in participating in the solar panel program. There will be an introduction by Pat Llodra. The vendor will also be attending the event, Astrum Solar.
Residents who are interested in the program can go to the website or call the number on the website to make an appointment for a site survey. The vendor will spend quite a bit of time at each interested residence doing an evaluation. They do take the winter into consideration during their evaluation. The vendor enters the information into their computer system which helps determine the appropriate specifications and will pull together financial information on leasing vs. financing vs. purchasing outright. System savings can be applied from various credits and subsidies from the state.
The vendor has 12 leads already through Smart Power and one that has transferred over. The information about Solarize CT and the launch program will be on the town website through the week. The website for the program is www.solarizect.com/Newtown. The vendor will also be conducting webinars about the program and financing options on October 3rd and 8th. The details on these webinars will be posted on the website.
Astrum will be attending the Arts Festival this weekend along with the HES vendors. Astrum also attended the Labor Day Parade and brought one of their trucks along. Kathy handed out flyers along the parade route. They are also planning on getting a table at the Passport Sandy Hook event on October 12th.
PPA
The next round of bids will occur in the Spring for the Z-Rec program. Reed School is a possibility for this project. The credits can be used for other buildings in town if the Reed School changes purposes in the future.
There is an RFP out on the Bachelder property for building demolition and property clearance. There is interest for building a solar system on the property after it has been cleaned up.
ESPC – IGA Appropriation Status
The Ameresco contract is with Pat Llodra for signature. It did get the final approval for an investment grade audit. The audit team will be in town on October 3rd at 10 am for a kick – off event at the Legislative Council. The audit will take three to four months to complete on all town buildings and schools.
Transition Movement
No update.
Municipal Energy Plan
No update
Budgets / Grants
All funds remaining from last two years were carried over into the new budget.
Tree Lights
Ms. Quinn is looking in this with some assistance from her contacts.
Reed School 5Kwh System
The 5 kilowatt panel will be placed on top of the school this Fall and will be located on the front of the building.
Adjournment:
Mr. Borst made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:25 pm. The motion was seconded by Mr. Gulalo. The motion was carried unanimously.
The next regular meeting will occur on Thursday, October 17, 2013 at 7:00 pm at the Newtown Municipal Center in Shared Meeting Room 3.
Submitted, Jessica Smith, clerk.
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