HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-05-22-SLC-minTown of Lexington
Sustainable Lexington Committee
Minutes of Meeting of May 22, 2012
A meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee (SLC) was held on May 22, 2012 at
Town Hall. A quorum of five was present.
Members Present: Mark Sandeen, Chair
Rick Abrams, Ken Moraff, Rick Reibstein ,Todd Rhodes
Members Absent: Dan Voss
Other Attendees: None
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm.
• Meeting minutes from April 24, 2012 were approved.
Mr. Sandeen presented several slides describing potential sea level rise in Boston of 5
inches by 2050.
Mr. Moraff and Mr. Rhodes provided an update on stormwater management
activities:
o Mr. Rhodes presented input from John Livsey regarding the approach
followed by the town to estimate stormwater runoff levels. The town follows
the recommendations of the DEP Massachusetts stormwater handbook. This
handbook recommends TR 20 and TR 55. TR55 uses rainfall data from
NRCS 1986. Mr. Livsey identified that rainfall intensity is just one factor in
the calculation used to size stormwater management systems. Given the other
factors in the calculation, TR55 tends to be very conservative (i.e., tends to
lead to oversized systems).
■ Mr. Reibstein offered to contact Kathy Baskin (Mass Energy and
Environmental Affairs - EEA) to get information about the most
progressive approaches for estimating rainfall and runoff.
o Mr. Rhodes presented several slides on the opportunities for the use of water
gardens along the bike path to resolve spot flooding problems. He met with
Peggy Enders (Bicycle Committee) and she recommended three locations
along the bike path: Hancock Street, Seasons Four driveway, Meriam Street.
o Mr. Moraff provided an update on opportunities for water gardens in the
center of town and identified that meetings are planned with Pam Shadley
(Center Committee) and Town staff (John Livsey, Karen Mullins, Maryann
McCall - Taylor) to discuss these opportunities.
• Mr. Sandeen provided an update on the Better Buildings program.
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• Home Energy Audit (HEA) sign ups through NextStep Living (NSL) are
down.
• MassSave has an Early Boiler Upgrade Program that offers $2,000 in
additional rebates, but the upgrade needs to take place before July 31, 2012.
Mr. Sandeen will prepare a description of the program (i.e., press release).
Ideas to promote the program included:
• List serves
• Patch
• Minuteman
• Presentation at the Selectman's meeting
• Facebook ad
• Lee Cook (CAPCO)
• Larry Sweet
• Arlex
• Kirkland & Shaw
• LexMedia (Ad on TV)
• Mr. Sandeen identified that the filming of Lee Cook (CAPCO) describing methods to
improve furnace /boiler efficiency was complete and now required editing.
• Based on the review of data from NSTAR and National Grid, it is clear that the
commercial sector in Lexington represents a large percentage of the town's overall
energy consumption. Mr. Rhodes offered to contact the town's Commercial
Development manager and the representative from National Grid's commercial
energy efficiency program to set up a meeting to see what opportunities may exist to
improve energy efficiency in this sector.
• Mr. Sandeen identified that he will meet with Pat Goddard to address issues related to
installation of solar power in the town raised by the town's energy consultant (John
Shortsleeve).
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm
Respectfully Submitted,
Todd Rhodes, Scribe
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