HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-11-30-SLC-min �RECEIVED
2022 22 Mair, &28 arn
Sustainable Lexington Committee "Id'O W U E
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Minutes of Meeting of November 30, 2021 L.E X I N G'T"0 N M
A meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee (SLC)was held by Zoom conference. A
quorum of at least eight was present throughout.
Members Present: Cindy Arens, Celis Brisbin, Paul Chernick, Archana Dayalu, Rick
Reibstein, Todd Rhodes (vice-chair), Dan Voss (Chair), Charlie
Wyman
Members Absent: None
Staff Present: Martha Duffield
Other Attendees: Mark Sandeen (Select Board), Mary Hutton (Mothers Out Front),
Ricki Pappo (LexCAN), Jeanne Krieger, Tanay Dalmia, Michelle Wu,
Marlana Patton (Peregrine Energy) Marcia Gens, Nina Mascarenhas,
Alex Tsouvalas, Lin Jensen, Sean Dugan, Paul Gromer(Peregrine
Energy), Tina McBride
The meeting was called to order at 6:05 pm by Dan. Dan referenced the opening statement
requested by the Town Clerk, and all members present responded that they could hear.
Approval of minutes. The draft minutes of September 28, 2021, were approved as written.
Comments from residents; New business.
Introductory statements were made by Alex, Nina, and Lin, all candidates for the open seat on
the committee.
Cindy noted that the Special Permit Residential Development Committee will be bringing a
proposal to Town Meeting, and asked that it be added to the next meeting agenda.
Community Choice Aggregation update.
Paul Gromer explained that Eversource winter rates will be much higher than the town price,
creating an opportunity to persuade residents still on Eversource basic service to switch to
Community Choice. Marlana Patton described the options: tax bill insert, an ad in the Colonial
Times and/or Lexington Minuteman, and targeted mailing to those still on basic service (about
1,500). We don't has addresses to send letters to those with competitor suppliers. Mark
suggested that we seek to place a news story as well as an ad in any print media.
The committee discussed a range of topics: what's the best timing; commercial also should be
included, need for simplicity, Town logo to build trust; what about an opt-up? We will need a
Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of November 30, 2021
decision in early December to hit an early January deadline. Dan asked if Paul Gromer and
Marlana could take a first cut, and Paul Chernick, Cindy, Rick, and Charlie agreed to review ad
copy and work on a story.
Staff update on Town activities and Sustainability Officer position.
Todd circulated a spreadsheet of Stella's projects, and the committee agreed what was most
important is to make sure we're not losing anything on that list. Concern was expressed that any
grant applications or requirements not be missed during the position's vacancy. It was noted that
the spreadsheet is Stella's list, not a complete reflection of the responsibilities of the position.
The question of the position of Sustainability Director being downgraded in title and salary was
discussed at length; any action was put off until later in the meeting. Martha described that what
was posted (Sustainability and Resilience Officer) was intended to be in line with other Officers
in the Town Manager's office. Tomorrow is round 2 of the interviews.
Update on discussions with Homeworks re: Home Energy Assessments and Heat Pumps.
Ricki reported that in a meeting with a Homeworks representative it became clear that their staff
had been telling homeowners during assessments that heat pumps alone are insufficient in New
England's climate. The Homeworks rep was very responsive and explained that they have done a
training with all of their people and have changed their message.
Ricki noted the need for feedback on whether Homeworks is following through, and raised the
possibility of a mailing to all the people they've met with. It was suggested that we wait to hear
about the substantially increased rebates for heat pumps that are likely to be offered next year
($1 OK per home if sized to heating load).
SustainabLY update, including status of the Climate Youth Forum planned for December 9th.
Tanay reported that Dr King at the high school is one of those organizing the forum. Fifteen
people have been invited, including Michelle Ciccolo. The committee was asked if we have
anything we'd like to see brought up, and some discussion followed.
Results of special town meeting. Congratulations were extended to Archana and Cindy on the
successes of Articles 10 and 17. Jeanne and Mary both cautioned that a lot of work will be
needed on the Article 10 referendum to educate the electorate, and emphasized the importance of
getting out the vote. Rick noted his upcoming webinar on lessons from other jurisdictions, which
suggest success hinges on extensive outreach and education.
Procurement policy. There was some confusion on the status of the procurement policy. Mark
noted that Stella had been saying it was pretty much done, she had taken feedback from the
committee, run it by Liz Mancini, but had not made the progress she hoped with School
Department. It's not clear the school department has looked at it yet. Where does it stand on the
Town side? Martha will inquire as to where it stands, and whether Liz is willing to present it to
the Select Board.
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Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of November 30, 2021
Open committee position. We agreed that interested members will talk with candidates, answer
their questions, and provide feedback.
Update on BEU-D. The group working on the article has started outreach to businesses and
commercial property owners,private schools, churches, and residential complexes. We need to
get on a Select Board agenda to ask that the article be included in the warrant. It's been decided
that some funding will be needed to administer the program, not a lot but some is needed to
monitor ownership, collect data, and report it out. Private firms are available to do this,probably
in the $50-100K range to get the program started. The committee agreed to hold a special
meeting on the 14th in case it comes before the Select Board as early as the 20th.
Update on EV school bus feasibilily project: Todd reported that language was added to the
school bus bidding documents. The bidders conference is scheduled for Dec 10, with potential
for funding from state recovery act funds.
Sustainability Officer position. The committee returned to the issue of the downgrading of the
title and salary of this position and debated how best to communicate its concerns. Rick proposed
language, and after debate and collective wordsmithing, the committee voted unanimously to
send the following to the Select Board and Town Manager:
We are moved to write at this moment when the hiring of a replacement for the
Sustainability Director is in process. We thank the Select Board for prioritizing
sustainability as one of the top town goals. We are confident that the hiring process will
result in a fully qualified candidate, but at this critical juncture we urge the hiring of
someone who can lead and hit the ground running with the necessary experience to
implement sustainability initiatives of every practicable kind.
The world is facing a climate emergency and top-level support for concerted action is
necessary. We strongly urge the consideration of accelerating progress in implementing
every aspect of the Town's Sustainable Action Plan. The town will reap many benefits
from full investment in this effort.
We look forward to working with the next sustainability officer.
Next Meeting: Sustainable Lexington will meet for a short, special meeting on December 14,
2021 at 6 pm to review the BEU-D warrant article language. The next regularly scheduled
meeting of the committee will be at 6 pm on December 21.
The committee voted to adjourn at 9:17 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Charlie Wyman
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