HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-04-24-SLC-minTown of Lexington
Sustainable Lexington Committee
Minutes of Meeting of April 24, 2012
A meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee (SLC) was held on April 24, 2012 at
Town Hall. A quorum of four was present.
Members Present: Mark Sandeen, Chair
Rick Abrams, Ken Moraff, Todd Rhodes
Members Absent: None
Other Attendees: George Burnell
Rick Reibstein
Dan Voss
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm.
• Meeting minutes from March 27, 2012 were approved.
• Mr. Sandeen presented several slides illustrating the increase in the level of extreme
weather in our region.
• Mr. Moraff provided an overview of the meeting that he and Mr. Rhodes held with
John Livsey, Karen Mullins, and Maryann McCall - Taylor to discuss opportunities to
employ "Green Infrastructure" projects to mitigate flooding risks associated with
extreme storm events.
o The Charles River Watershed study identified several Green Infrastructure
opportunities and several others are expected to be identified in the
Shawsheen Watershed study when it is published in about a month (the
Mystic River Watershed study has not yet been initiated).
o The DPW has a separate budget established for "hard" infrastructure (e.g.,
culverts, etc.) and has about $65,000 for projects that could include Green
Infrastructure.
o In addition to the projects identified in the watershed studies, the Town staff
identified that other Green Infrastructure opportunities may include:
■ Center Streetscape: The Center Committee is developing plans for the
Center. There may be Green Infrastructure opportunities in the parking
lot by the depot, to the intersection at Massachusetts Avenue and
Woburn Street (if changes are made to that area), and in the Center
itself.
■ Bike Path: There are several areas along the bike path that are prone to
flooding. Rain gardens may be an effective solution.
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o Mr. Burnell is the Selectmen's liaison to the Center Committee. He
recommended that the SLC meet with him and also with Pam Shadley, of the
Center Committee (she is also a Landscape Architect). It would be important
to coordinate with the Sidewalk Committee and the Historic District
Committee.
o Mr. Moraff will also contact Peggy Anders on the Bicycle Committee to
discuss the idea of rain gardens along the bike path.
• Better Buildings Program
• Mr. Sandeen identified that Lee Cook at Capco has agreed to work with us to
create a series of videos related to furnace and boiler upgrades. LexMedia will
support the production of the videos. Filming is planned to begin on May 2.
• A review of the aggregate data analysis identified that the commercial sector
is larger than our original estimates. Mr. Rhodes offered to get back in touch
with our contact at National Grid to discuss opportunities to reduce
commercial/industrial energy efficiency programs.
• Due in part to transitions to personnel at Next Step Living (NSL), our efforts
to promote MassSave home energy assessments (HEAs) have slowed. We
also have not received regular updates on the status of HEAs in Lexington.
• NSL is planning to establish a program to provide ESCO -type services to
homeowners that have the potential to save 30 -40% (or more) on their energy
costs. NSL would install needed equipment (along with a power monitoring/
management system) and the homeowner would pay NSL a percentage of the
savings.
The Committee voted unanimously to support NSL in the conduct of a
pilot program in Lexington to assess the feasibility of this service
offering.
The Committee voted unanimously to support the 300 Committee in its efforts to
encourage residents to reduce the number of miles driven by Lexington residents by
3 million miles per year. The 300 Committee will ask residents to keep track of the
number of miles they save by walking or bicycle riding instead of driving.
The Committee voted unanimously to request support from Mass CEC (Clean Energy
Center) to identify opportunities to increase the use of solar energy in town.
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm
Respectfully Submitted,
Todd Rhodes, Scribe
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