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Approved Minutes, August 18, 2011
Meeting Minutes
Thursday, August 18, 2011
6:30 pm
120 Washington St.
Salem, Ma

In Attendance:  Cindy Keegan (Chair), Rob DeRosier (Vice Chair), Adam Segal, Nick Lewis, Jeff Brandt, John Hayes, Jenna Ide, Jeff Barz-Snell
Members not in attendance: Rick Nye
City Staff: Paul Marquis
Public: None
Administrative
  • Meeting called to order at 6:38 PM
  • July 2011 meeting minutes approved with minor changes.
General business
  • Increasing participation in meetings and projects by Task Force members
  • Guidelines for Meetings & Participation discussed at July meeting were reviewed and approved unanimously (motioned by Rob DeRosier, seconded by Jenna Ide) as follows:
  • Minimum recommended attendance of 6 of the 11 annual meetings,
  • Requiring active participation in at least one event per year, such as the Living Green Fair, Farmers’ Markets, Clean Salem, Green Salem, or public forums. Active participation is defined as either staffing the event itself, or helping with prep work and event materials.
Formalizing committee work by tracking action items more carefully, keeping hard copy of task list at meetings, conducting committee meetings in public spaces at City Hall Annex where appropriate, limiting the number of committees to three, and assigning just one point person per project.
  • General operational guidelines discussed and agreed to:
  • A concerted effort to limit casual discussion at meetings to keep them as brief as possible in the belief that this would encourage better attendance; establishing a target end time for the meetings; taking necessary votes at the beginning to ensure a quorum and placing any committee business at end of meetings.
  • Sending outstanding action items lists to members on a routine basis.
  • Meeting start time change:
  • Meeting start time was moved from 6:30pm to 7:00pm to accommodate work/commuting schedules, with a unanimous vote (motioned by Nick Lewis, seconded by Jeff Barz-Snell).  This included an attempt to end meetings by 8:30pm.
  • Membership changes:
  • Based on availability and preceding discussion, Rob DeRosier resigned as Vice-Chair and elected to become alternate member.
  • Adam Segal agreed to become official member (no longer serving as alternate)
  • Jeff Barz-Snell volunteered and was voted unanimously (motioned by John Hayes, seconded by Nick Lewis) to fill position of Vice Chair.
  • Education and Outreach regarding Winter Island wind energy proposal.
  • There was a discussion regarding the questions asked and the tone of the August 2, 2011 public meeting on the proposal.
  • Paul Marquis reported that he would draft a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document in response to the questions and would seek input from all members.
  • The petition for additional information to be forwarded to the City Councilors was discussed.  Printed versions of the final Feasibility study were in process of being delivered, and additional documents had been posted to the RETF website.  It was noted that the grant applications and previous studies were no longer posted at the state sponsored site (Massachusetts Technology Collaborative), and thus should now be added to the RETF website.
Next public meeting had not yet been scheduled by the mayor’s office.
In preparation prior to the next meeting the following suggestions were made or reported on:
  • Further sound investigation, demo at meeting, and improved graphics.
  • Tours of Ipswich and Hull.
  • Further investigation into Falmouth and Vinalhaven issues.
  • Having other contractors review the site for access and construction review.
  • Getting additional photo montage vantage points.
  • Setting up a clearly defined spot for the proposed siting and conducting a balloon demo for height.
  • Update on MA CEC and New England Wind Fund grants
  • Still waiting to hear on both.
  • Agenda items not discussed: NESEA’s October Green Buildings Tour
Votes Taken
  • Guidelines for Meeting & Member Participation approved (see above)
  • Meeting Start Time change approved (see above)
  • Rob DeRosier resigned as Vice-chair, and became alternate member due to time constraints and participation availability.
  • Jeff Barz-Snell voted unanimously to position of Vice Chair.
Documents discussed or offered as exhibits
None
Action items arising from discussion on 5-21-11:
  • Members forward FAQ questions to P. Marquis
  • Jenna Ide contact Hull associate
Meeting Minutes recorded by Cindy Keegan.
Meeting adjourned at 8:25 pm