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RETF Minutes, December 12, 2012 Approved
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Minutes
Thursday, December 12, 2012
7:00 pm
120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor

  • Attendees: Jeff Elie, Cindy Keegan,  John Hayes, Jeff Brandt, Rick Nye, Jenna Ide
  • Visitors:  Jeff Cohen, Lynn Duncan, City of Salem Planning Director
  • Absent: Jeff Snell, Nick Lewis, Adam Segal
  • Approval of October, 2012 Meeting Minutes with minor revisions.  
  • General business
  • J. Elie updated RETF about the acoustic wind study at Winter Island. Because Howard Quin, the initial consultant hired to do the work, has taken a position with MassDEP and can no longer do the work. In the initial contract, Howard was going to use Cavanaugh-Tocci Associates (CTA) to help with the presentation of the results so we have asked CTA to develop a scope-of-work to detail the remaining work. Howard Quin is to provide CTA with his work that was completed  to date.
  • The Cavanaugh-Tocci Associates presentation will include ambient sound levels and the DEP regulations and if appropriate and available, the new Footprint power plant sound level data as a reference point.
  • RETF members came to a consensus that the first Thursday of the month is a good time to meet moving forward.
  • Discussed Green Community projects that wrapped up in November – Salem Spins and Weatherization project – also discussed that these projects would hopefully be continued next Spring with the help from a new round of Green Communities competitive grant round funding .
  • Lynn Duncan, the City of Salem Planning and Community Development Director, attended the meeting to discuss the status of the RETF and the role of the City Energy and Sustainability Manager
  • Press release for Weatherization Project and Green Community annual report.
  • Advocate Energy Manager’s role in the city at Department meetings as well as the Mayor reporting to the City Council with updates about Energy Manager’s projects so there is less of a question of their role with the City every fiscal year.
  • Green Community Grant Project Ideas – Develop overall Sustainability Master Plan
  • Solar PPA
  • Housing rehab and weatherization
  • Salem Spins
  • Cindy emailed Julie Rose, City Engineer and Recycling Committee secretary, about how their committee has been operating, their successes, failures and challenges moving forward; we expressed interest in the notion that there may be a possibility that the Recycling Committee, RETF, and Bike Path Committee could merge and become a single “sustainability” committee since goals and values overlap in each of the committees.
  • The aforementioned Sustainability Master Plan could link initiatives not only in each committee but also throughout the City keeping in mind that the process of collaboration amongst departments toward a broader sustainability goal is often the most meaningful outcome of sustainability planning.
  • Briefly discussed the NextStepLiving example MOU that they shared with us and the concern that a NextStepLiving outreach program may conflict with other community action groups that offer weatherization services to Salem residents
  • Future Meetings
  • Next meeting will be held on January 3rd, 2013
  • Adjournment
Subcommittees Update
  • Executive Committee:  None.
  • Policy Committee: None.
  • Outreach/Events Committee: None.
  • Projects Committee: None.
Administrative:
  • Future Meetings:  Next Meeting to be held on February 7, 2013
  • Agenda items not discussed: None.
  • Additional items discussed: None.
  • Votes Taken: One: Approve October meeting minutes - Approved
Action items arising from discussion:

  • John Hayes to provide Lynn Duncan and RETF with examples of municipal sustainability plans
  • RETF to work together to develop a sustainability plan outline and build awareness for green initiatives
  • Jeff Elie to get Green Communities Annual report and Green Communities project summaries published on the RETF and Salem websites and put out press release; as well as put updates on energy projects on the RETF site
  • Jeff Elie to determine if signing an MOU with NextStepLiving will contradict with any other community groups that offer weatherization services to Salem residents

8:45pm adjournment