Town of Newtown, CT 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT
THESE MINUTES ARE SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY COMMISSION
10-17-2013
The Sustainable Energy Commission held a regular meeting Thursday, October 17, 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 7:05 pm.
Present: Chairman, Kathy Quinn, Mark Sievel, Desiree Galassi, Fred Hurley, Barbara Toomey, Charlie Copp
Absent: Joseph Borst, James Gulalo
Communications:
No communications this month.
Acceptance of Minutes:
Mr. Sievel made a motion to accept the minutes of the August 15, 2013 and September 19, 2013 meeting minutes as presented. Mr. Copp seconded the motion which carried unanimously.
Old Business:
HES Program
No update.
Solarize CT
There are currently 3 signed contracts with the program with numerous sit down interviews scheduled along with 73 leads. If 100 contracts are signed, Astrum Solar will do a PVC system for a town building worth up to $25,000.
There are numerous upcoming events to promote the Solarcize CT: the Pumpkin Race on Saturday, October 19, 2013, Howl and Bark on Saturday, October 26, 2013 at Fairfield Hills, the Marching Band tag sale on Saturday, October 19, 2013, Halloween on Main Street, Election Day table, yard signs, and the Nutcracker Performances at Edmond Town Hall in December. In addition there will be a workshop at the Library on December 4th from 6 to 8 pm about the Solarize CT program.
PPA
The next phase is slated for the Spring / Summer of 2014. A town building needs to be chosen for the next round, the Reed School is a possibility.
Mr. Hurley also suggests looking at the CPACE program which can also be used by municipalities, not just commercial businesses. With this route, the town can possibly own the system. The Congregational Church and the Community Center at Nunnawauk are both looking into the program as well.
A smaller system possibility is the dog pound.
ESPC – IGA Appropriation Status
The IGA has begun. The kick – off meeting has been held and the school evaluations were completed on Wednesday, October 16, 2013. The municipal buildings were started the next day, on Thursday, October 17.
Ms. Quinn is hoping to obtain the three years of energy history that is being obtained for this project to enter into the energy portfolio.
Transition Movement
Thirty trees have been planted at the Victory Garden and now has permanent water. A meeting will be planned soon.
Municipal Energy Plan
No update
Budgets / Grants
The town is eligible for a $10,000 grant from their participation in the Home Energy Solutions program. The grant cannot be used for a clean energy installation but rather a technology or item that saves energy. The commission would like to use the grant for something town oriented like solar garbage cans with compactors, a solar porter potty that can be placed at Fairfield Hills, or solar lights and emergency buttons along the walking paths at Fairfield Hills. Ms. Quinn will obtain more information about what exactly the grant can be used for.
Tree Lights
Ms. Quinn is looking into lighting the Ram Pasture Tree, it would probably cost around $1,055 for the LED lights. In terms of the trees in Sandy Hook, both trees will more than likely be lit. Ms. Quinn will also contact the Hawleyville Fire Department about their tree.
Reed School 5Kwh System
The new system is not compatible with the system that was already in existence on the Reed School because of the type of wiring used. Once possibility is to use a microinverter to tie the two systems together. Another solution is to move the smaller system to the Parks and Rec garage and put a bigger system on the Reed School as a part of another program.
New Business
Sandy Hook Elementary School / Svigal Architects
Larry Jones from Atelier Ten attended the meeting. Atelier Ten is the environmental design firm that is working with Svigal, the architects designed the new Sandy Hook school. Atelier is looking at all aspects of sustainability for the school including completing an energy analysis, looking at the façade, daylight, and the shape and mass of the building. Atelier’s goal is to make the school at least a LEED gold building.
Svigal and Atelier Ten are holding town buildings to get the community’s feedback on the design of the new school. The next session will be talking about the site and positioning of the building as well as the use of nature that is on the site.
Some ideas for the new school are a green roof and courtyard, rain gages built into the structure, greed covered walkways, radiant flooring, earth duct system, incorporating local art into the building, and reducing the heat coming in the windows. Many of these items could also be used as teaching tools as well.
The commission would like Larry Jones to come back to future meetings to give updates on the project.
Adjournment:
Ms. Toomey made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 pm. The motion was seconded by Ms. Galassi. The motion was carried unanimously.
The next regular meeting will occur on Thursday, November 21, 2013 at 7:00 pm at the Newtown Municipal Center in Shared Meeting Room 3.
Submitted, Jessica Smith, clerk.
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