HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-02-28-SLC-minTown of Lexington
Sustainable Lexington Committee
Minutes of Meeting of February 28, 2012
A meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee (SLC) was held on February 28,
2012 at Town Hall. A quorum of three was present.
Members Present: Mark Sandeen, Chair
Rick Abrams, Ken Moraff, Todd Rhodes
Members Absent: None
Other Attendees: George Burnell, Selectman
Dan Voss, Resident
Michael Miranda, NextStep Living
The meeting was called to order at 6:15 pm.
• The committee approved the minutes from the January 24, 2012 meeting.
Mr. Sandeen discussed the potential for the "All Things Sustainable" column and
identified the publish dates for the Colonial Times as 2/3, 3/2, 3/30, 4/27, 6/1
o Potential topics for articles are:
If you boiler is old enough to vote ... / When should I replace my
boiler?
o Mr. Sandeen offered to write the first article.
o Mr. Rhodes offered to write a short piece about the committee and its
members, and to work with Mr. Sandeen on a list of potential articles.
• Mr. Rhodes presented aggregate data on Lexington energy use collected from
NSTAR and National Grid.
• Michael Miranda provided an update on NextStep Living (NSL) activities in
Lexington. Since its inception, NSL records indicate that they have conducted 276
home energy assessments (HEAs). Of these, the results /status are:
o 82: resident decided not to do more
0 87: no opportunities to do more
0 27: resident is deciding
0 80: Air sealing /insulation is complete or planned:
■ 53: Complete
■ 27: In process
o Based on the actions taken, NSL calculates that the release of 70.97
metric tons of eCO2 have be avoided.
The committee requested the NSL provide the following information:
• Monthly breakdown of the number of HEAs, actions, and results
• Details of NSL method for calculating eCO2
• An estimate for the percent reduction in energy consumption following a
HEA (based on both dollars and BTUs)
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• Mr. Miranda described a NSL program that provided non - profits and local
businesses with $10 for each HEA completed in the organization's name.
o Priorities for the committee are are the creation of a flyer /card for
Lexington, and to get more information on the non -profit program.
• Mr. Moraff discussed the meeting that he and Mr. Rhodes had with Karen Mullins
at the Conservation Commission and plans to meet again with her and John
Livesy. The meeting is planned for March 30 and the intent is to identify next
steps to initiate a project using Green infrastructure to address stormwater
(flooding) problems that have already been identified the Charles River
Watershed report to DPW. Such a project would likely go into the FY2014 Town
budget.
• Mr. Rhodes presented an update to the committee's Water Resources research
based on his discussions with Steve Estes- Smargiassi at MWRA.
• Mr. Rhodes will follow up with the DPW to determine whether water can
be pumped in from Lincoln/Bedford /Burlington in an emergency.
• Mr. Burnell identified that some areas of town have insufficient water
pressure (e.g., Grove Street)
The meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Todd Rhodes, Scribe
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