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Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of October 24, 2023 Proposed State Legislation Review – SD.278 – fixed electricity charges: Mark explained that Senator Barrett is proposing a bill that would require electricity charges to entail large fixed rates and concomitantly smaller usage charges. The intent is to encourage adoption of heat pumps but it would have serious negative consequences, encouraging people to use more electricity. Moreover, the size of the fixed charge would be based on income. Rick proposed asking Senator Barrett to hold hearings not targeted to a specific bill but to hear testimony from experts on the broader subject of how to structure incentives and other tools to encourage responsible action. Cindy asked if there was a sub-quorum of members who would be willing to explore this further; tentatively Paul, Dan, Rick, and Mark expressed interest. Sustainability and Resilience Officer Discussion and Updates: •High Performance Building Policy: Maggie explained that she has engaged a stakeholder group of town staff that has met and worked out some issues around reporting, metrics, and other challenges. The draft policy has been circulated to Capital Expenditures and the Board of Health, both of which are supportive. It will go this week to the Permanent Building Committee, then the Select Board and School Committee for presentation in December and hopefully adoption early in 2024. Some discussion followed about quasi-Town owned buildings (e.g., Muzzey), implementation, reporting, and waste. Celis suggested looking at LEED O&M for guidance, and to consider expanding it to cover not just buildings but parcels. •BEU-D: Maggie reported that the program is progressing and she hopes to have a full report to share soon. A fully interactive map has been prepared and will be on the website soon. Cindy noted that Maggie has done an awesome job, and Todd noted that compliance is in the 80% range, which is excellent for the program’s first year. •Compost pilot/Waste Reduction Task Force: Maggie reported that the Zero Waste Plan has been formally adopted by the Select Board. No word yet on expanding the compost pilot. The Waste Reduction Task Force will be focusing on the next steps identified in the plan, including exploring every-other-week trash pick-up and other measures. She is exploring the possibility of a Tufts student project this spring to research other towns’ waste practices. •Resilient Lexington (Climate Action and Resilience Plan): The plan was presented to the Select Board recently, with positive feedback and questions about sufficient support, and a comment by the Board Chair that following through was simply not optional. It will probably be on the consent agenda for approval in November, and then the work of prioritizing next steps will begin. •DOER’s Climate Leader Program (Green Communities 2.0): DOER held a webinar announcing the next generation of the Green Communities program, with another tier of communities eligible for additional funding. Lexington already meets most of the requirements but needs a decarbonization road map for municipal buildings, which is called .2