HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-10-24-SLC-minSustainable Lexington Committee
Minutes of Meeting of October 24, 2023
A meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee (SLC) was held by Zoom conference. A
quorum of at least seven was present throughout.
Members Present: Cindy Arens (chair), Celis Brisbin, Paul Chernick, Lin Jensen, Rick
Reibstein, Todd Rhodes (vice-chair), Dan Voss, Charlie Wyman
Members Absent: Andy Joynt
Staff Present: Maggie Peard
Other Attendees: Mark Sandeen (Select Board), Atreyi Basu, Lincoln Ellsworth,
Christian Courduvelis, Ricki Pappo, Gerry Yurkevicz, Marcia Gens,
Tina McBride
The meeting was called to order at 6:02 pm. Cindy referenced the opening statement requested
by the Town Clerk and all members present responded that they could hear.
Comments from residents; emails to committee inbox; new business:
•Maggie reported that William Woo, a lecturer in sustainable finance, has been in touch to
express interest in being involved in sustainable issues in Lexington
•Cindy reported that Diane Pursley and a French teacher at Diamond, with help from Lin and
Tina McBride, presented the case for designating a staff member to be a Sustainability
Champion at each of the public schools, accompanied by an extra stipend for taking on that
role.
SustainabLY update: Atreyi reported that they are involved in the LexElectrify Energy Fair this
coming Saturday, and are exploring collaborations with the LHS wildlife club.
LHS student letters – Banning single-use water bottles and requiring minimum amount of solar
for new construction: Cindy introduced Lincoln Ellsworth and Christian Courduvelis, both
Juniors at LHS. Lincoln explained that he wrote Joe Pato, Select Board chair, with the request
that solar be required on all new construction; Christian wrote a letter proposing a ban on single
use plastics. The two students were applauded for taking these initiatives and were encouraged to
remain engaged on these issues.
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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
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Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of October 24, 2023
for in the Climate Action Plan. Maggie has been looking into Power Options, a nonprofit that
advises on energy procurement; they offer a building decarbonization road map template that
is inexpensive and that could start in the summer of 2024. Once that’s in place, the town can
apply for grants available to Climate Leaders.
•Draft Sustainable Development Guide (for use by Building and Planning Departments): Staff
have wanted a guide that could be given to developers, laying out what they need to know
about what the town requires in this area and guiding them to resources that can help. Maggie
has been working with Building and Planning staff on this, and it is nearing completion.
•Network Geothermal Feasibility Study – request for letter of support: Maggie reported that
she is trying to finalize a grant application for a networked geothermal feasibility study by
December 1. We need at least a couple of properties to participate and a lead contractor. She
has prepared a draft letter of support. There are four sites that include a mix of residential and
commercial space that are being considered. After further discussion, it was moved,
seconded, and voted unanimously to approve the letter of support appended as Attachment 1.
•HomeWorks Canvassing Opportunity: HomeWorks reached out to Maggie to talk about their
next outreach campaign, and explained that in Melrose they conducted a very successful
door-to-door canvass, where knocking on 2000 doors led to 1000 conversations and 200
home energy assessments. They would like to do the same in Lexington. Maggie noted that
while we’ve had concerns before about HomeWorks, they seem to be responsive to our
concerns and are doing better in conveying information about town programs to
homeowners. The committee was generally supportive, noting that a permit from the Police
Department may be necessary and that a letter from the town should go out first.
•EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (MAPC Municipal Advisory Group for the
Regional Climate Action Plan): Cindy reported that there are climate pollution reduction
grants (both planning and implementation grants) available from the EPA. They gave MAPC
a planning grant; if MAPC does a plan, then all municipalities in the region can apply for
implementation grants. Maggie has been invited to be part of the municipal advisory group;
they will have to finalize a prioritized climate action plan by the end of February so that
municipalities can apply for grants by April.
Approval of past meeting minutes: The draft minutes of the September 26 and October 10
meetings were approved as written by unanimous vote.
Vote whether to sign on to Mass Clean Heat Platform letter: Cindy explained that a group of
organizations have written a letter supporting a suite of climate-related bills and asking the state
to do more. After several expressions of support, it was moved, seconded and voted unanimously
to approve the committee’s endorsement of the letter (appended as Attachment 2).
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LexElectrify Energy Fair this Saturday: Ricki called the committee’s attention to the fair,
organized by LexCAN, the Town, and SustainabLY, which will be held this Saturday from 10-2,
and will feature an expert panel discussion, vendors, and activities.
Police Station Solar+Storage: Dan raised a concern that electric equipment designed for the
police station may not all be “behind the meter” as originally intended. The Town’s consultant
recommended the solar be in front of the meter, but Dan and others feel this would be a big
mistake; it is critical that the three systems (battery, generator, and solar) be behind the meter so
that the town can take advantage of financial savings through demand management and also to
maximize resilience. Members of SLC will attend the next PBC meeting on Oct. 26 to give input
to this issue.
School Building Committee (high school): Dan reported that they have selected the design team,
taken initial input from the PBC for targets to roll into the design process (net zero, maximizing
solar on site, etc.), and are engaged in various elements (solar, waste, etc.) of the climate action
plan. This is also a useful way to kickstart standards we want to see on other building projects.
Solar Gap Analysis: Cindy reported that Todd did a great job of presenting the solar gap analysis
to the Select Board. The next step is to scope out and prioritize the next steps shown on the last
slide.
Lincoln Park: Following the recent review of the Lincoln Park master plan that did not involve
solar experts to identify ways to maximize solar on the site, Maggie met with Town staff to
discuss making a professional review of solar potential a requirement for capital/development
projects.. Any capital requests to Town Meeting will include a feasibility study for maximizing
solar.
Turf Working Group: The working group’s memo on the Lincoln Field 1 turf replacement has
been sent to the Recreation Committee, requesting among other things testing for
organofluorines. In order to reduce field temperatures on hot days and potential toxic exposure to
crumb rubber, they have looked into the use of a wood-based product (BrockFILL) being used at
Minuteman Tech fields and Tufts and are recommending it’s use for the Lincoln 1 field
replacement. Cindy also reported that they have learned that no recycling is available for old
fields, and that if the contractor says there is, they have to prove it. It can’t be incinerated or
recycled chemically. The working group is not done, as there will be field replacements coming
up for the remaining two turf fields at Lincoln Park. Recreation is also planing for more artificial
turf fields to be installed. Rick praised the process, which established a precedent that
departments and committees not make decisions affecting environmental and public health
without consulting the Board of Health and Sustainable Lexington.
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EV school buses: Todd asked if charging EV school buses at the new high school is an agreed
target for design. Dan replied that there are distinct advantages to having them charged on site, as
they then become available for helping to manage electric load at the high school. It is not part of
the conversation yet, but needs to be. The high school could serve as the depot for an integrated
fleet of Lexpress and school buses.
Noise bylaw update: Todd reported that the proposed noise bylaw amendments have been pulled
from fall town meeting. The Select Board is also reviewing the charter for the noise advisory
committee and staff is preparing a rewrite of the charter. We need to stay on top of this.
Paul Chernick thanks: Cindy noted with regret Paul’s announcement that he is moving to the
Pacific Northwest next summer and will be leaving the committee at that time, and on behalf of
everyone expressed the committee’s thanks for all of Paul’s valuable contributions to our work.
Tree Bylaw Amendments: Charlie mentioned that the Tree Committee is holding a public
feedback session on amendments under consideration for the tree bylaw on Thursday, November
2, at 7 pm at the Community Center.
Next Meeting: The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee
will be held at 6 pm on November 28, 2023.
The committee voted to adjourn at 8:38 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Charlie Wyman
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Attachment 1:
Network Geothermal Feasibility Study Letter of Support (approved)
October 24, 2023
Dear Kickstart Massachusetts Team,
The Sustainable Lexington Committee enthusiastically supports the Town of Lexington's
Kickstart Massachusetts grant application to fund a feasibility study of a networked geothermal
system in town. The impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly evident, affecting the
environment, public health, and our local economy. In light of this, we must take proactive steps
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, transition to cleaner energy sources, and build resilience
to a changing climate. A networked geothermal system presents an innovative and promising
solution to these challenges.
We see the implementation of networked geothermal systems as a critical step towards meeting
our community’s goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. Conducting a feasibility
study for a networked geothermal system was a proposed action in the Resilient Lexington
Climate Action & Resilience Plan (completed in August of 2023), so we are especially eager to
see the Town take advantage of this funding opportunity.
If Lexington were to be awarded the funding, the Sustainable Lexington Committee is prepared
to support the work required to complete the feasibility study. This could come in the form of
reviewing and providing feedback on project deliverables, supporting stakeholder engagement
processes, and providing education to the community on the benefits of networked geothermal
systems.
Thank you for considering Lexington’s application and for your work to advance the proliferation
of networked geothermal systems in Massachusetts and beyond.
Sincerely,
Sustainable Lexington Committee
Town of Lexington
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Attachment 2:
Mass Clean Heat Platform Letter (approved)
Date
The Honorable Michael J. Barrett, Chair
Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy
24 Beacon Street, Room 109-D
Boston, MA 02133
The Honorable Jeffrey N. Roy, Chair
Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy
24 Beacon Street, Room 43
Boston, MA 02133
Dear Chair Barrett and Chair Roy:
Under the leadership of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, the
Massachusetts Legislature has led the nation in passing bold measures to address the climate
crisis, starting with the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008 and ending most recently with the
Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind Act of 2022.
Despite the Commonwealth’s past progress, more legislation is needed if Massachusetts is to
meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction mandates. This is especially true when it comes to
the second largest source of emissions in the Commonwealth, the residential and commercial
building sector.
To support the Legislature in crafting solutions to this daunting challenge, the undersigned
climate organizations have come together to put forward specific strategies to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions from buildings in a cost-effective, equitable, and timely manner. These strategies
would:
●Be sufficient to meet the requirements of M.G.L. Chapter 21N and the sublimits for the
heating and cooling sectors (49% by 2030) as established by the Secretary of Energy and
Environmental Affairs.
●Equitably provide resources to low- and moderate-income households and place greater
responsibility for emissions reductions on owners of large commercial buildings.
●Require electrification of both new construction and retrofits of existing buildings.
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●Place responsibility for emissions reductions on the oil, propane, and gas industries
(including both investor-owned utilities and municipal gas utilities).
●Shift investments away from the gas distribution system that come with significant risks
of stranded assets and move toward strategic, cost-effective investments in building
electrification, including air-source heat pumps, ground-source heat pumps, networked
geothermal systems, heat pump water heaters, induction stoves, and electric clothes
dryers.
No one bill or policy proposed this session is sufficient by itself to meet these objectives.
However, several complementary policies have been proposed that together can accomplish what
is necessary. Where appropriate we have cited bills or bill sections that would achieve specific
goals. The legislative package we support would:
Pursue an Equitable Transition
To ensure that all communities across the Commonwealth benefit from the shift away from fossil
fuel use in buildings, legislation should:
●Prioritize funding, such as Clean Heat Credits, Alternative Compliance Payments, and
specific appropriations, for low- to moderate-income households (LMI) and
environmental justice communities (EJC), to ensure at least 40% of funding goes to LMIs
or EJCs. (S.2365/H.3232; H.3192/S.2144, Section 21(d); H.3694, Section 2 (c).)
●Establish an Equity Advisory Council to oversee and ensure that the Commonwealth’s
building decarbonization programs minimize harm and maximize benefit for vulnerable
and traditionally underserved communities, with representation on the Council from
EJCs, LMI households, and other relevant stakeholders.
●Kick start building decarbonization efforts with a $300 million dollar fund that targets
support for affordable housing and public buildings in EJCs and Gateway Cities. (S.2365/
H.3232.)
●Create a surcharge of 1.5 cents per therm on gas ratepayers to be allocated to assist LMI
households to switch to non-gas appliances and to provide training for gas workers
affected by the transition. (S.2105/H.3203, Section 1.)
Focus on Electrification
Electrification has consistently proven to be the most cost-effective method of building emission
reduction. With that in mind, legislation should:
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●Prohibit the injection of hydrogen into the gas pipeline system for the purpose of heating
buildings, and restrict the use of biomethane/RNG and synthetic gas into the gas system
unless it has a non-emitting lifecycle, does not pose a safety hazard, and is affordable.
(S.2105/H.3203, Section 13.)
●Prohibit state subsidies for renewable natural gas or hydrogen to heat buildings as part of
a Clean Heat Standard or any other climate policy. (H.3694, Section 1.)
●Provide sufficient incentives for electric heat, hot water, induction stoves, and dryers.
●Ensure that any subsidies for delivered biofuels are contingent on those fuels being
produced from waste feedstocks. (See 225 CMR 16.02.)
●Update Mass Save services to provide no-cost decarbonization assessments and other
technical support necessary for building owners to make and implement well-informed
decisions on how to decarbonize their buildings. (S.2103, Section 1.)
Work Towards a Future Beyond Gas
The Commonwealth’s natural gas utilities are currently making large scale investments in the
natural gas system, including planning to spend over $40 billion replacing aging gas mains with
new gas pipes. A better use of these funds would be to decommission the gas infrastructure and
install in an equitable and synergistic way non-combusting infrastructure (e.g. networked
geothermal systems) and electric equipment (e.g. air source or ground source heat pumps) in
buildings that formerly relied on gas. In this area, legislation should:
●Remove the cap on the number of communities that are currently allowed to participate in
the fossil fuel free construction pilot, to prevent the unnecessary expansion of our natural
gas infrastructure. (H.3227/S.2093.)
●Require gas companies to draw up specific plans, updated annually, to meet the
Commonwealth’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction mandates, and to reduce gas leaks
through electrification and pipeline retirement. Allow the DPU to penalize utilities for
failing to meet targets within these plans. (S.2105/H.3203, Sections 16 and 17.)
●Allow gas companies to meet their obligation to serve by selling non-combusting thermal
energy, and allow for the merging of the rate bases of thermal and gas customers in order
to keep gas companies financially viable during the gas decommissioning process.
(S.2105/H.3203, Sections 4, 12, and 14 (c).)
●Repeal the current law permitting expansion of the gas distribution system to new
customers (S.2105/H.3203, Section 18), and disallow depreciation and cost recovery for
gas pipeline replacement after 2050. (S.2105/H.3203, Section 16.)
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●Accurately track the climate impacts of methane by measuring greenhouse gas emissions
over both the 100-year and 20-year timescales and accounting for methane leaked in
transmission, storage, and distribution to customer equipment. (H.873/S.2092.)
●Place a moratorium on future new large scale fossil fuel projects, unless they are
necessary for the safety of the public. (H.3238/S.2135, Sections 2 and 3.)
Tackle Large Building Emissions
Large buildings are responsible for a significant percentage of building emissions across the
Commonwealth. Further, large buildings often present an additional challenge due to split
incentives between owners and tenants. Legislation should therefore:
●Create a statewide building performance standard for buildings greater than 20,000
square feet that aligns with the Commonwealth’s goal of reaching a 49% reduction in
building emissions by 2030.
○Allow a variety of compliance pathways to meet the needs of small business and
LMI households. (H.3192/S.2144, Section 20.)
○Allow cities and towns with local building performance standards to continue
their programs without being superseded by the state-wide standard, so long as
the local standard is as stringent or more stringent than the state standard.
Update Existing Programs
Finally, the Commonwealth should update existing programs that relate to building
decarbonization. To that end, legislation should:
●Update and expand the Green Communities program to encourage municipalities to opt
in to the specialized stretch code and to take other actions to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. (H.3192/S.2144, Sections 6-8.)
●Repeal Chapter 25 Section 11F1/2, ending the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard,
since most of its goals are better met through a Clean Heat Standard. A repeal would also
provide relief to electricity ratepayers.
●Update the Commonwealth’s building codes to require that new construction meet energy
efficiency standards, and add a PV Ready mandate to the Commonwealth’s stretch code
(S.2176/H.3236, Section 1.)
●Update the PACE program to include district heating, energy storage, and microgrids
(H.3192/S.2144, Section 1.)
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●Encourage electrification by stabilizing and reducing electric supply rates by improving
the municipal aggregation process (H.3852.)
While not every organization signing this letter necessarily supports every provision in each bill
cited in this letter, we believe the principles specifically listed above contain important pieces of
the necessary statutory structure to put the Commonwealth on a realistic, achievable path toward
building decarbonization by 2050. We urge you to examine these bills closely as you consider
the best way to weave them together to create comprehensive legislation addressing this most
crucial challenge.
Thank you for your attention to these important issues so vital to the wellbeing of the residents of
the Commonwealth. We look forward to working with the members of the House and the Senate
to advance building decarbonization legislation this session.
Sincerely,
You can sign on here:
https://forms.gle/PgQekK87tk4KWWHp7
Signed,
Green Energy Consumers Alliance
Acadia Center
HEET
Pipe Line Awareness Network for the Northeast, Inc
Conservation Law Foundation
Mothers Out Front Massachusetts
Gas Transition Allies
Environmental League of Massachusetts
ZeroCarbonMA
Additional signers,
Sierra Club Massachusetts
Mass Audubon
350 Mass
Northeast Clean Energy Council
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Elders Climate Action Mass
Boston Housing Authority
Canton Sustainable Equitable Future
Citizens' Climate Lobby, Hilltown Western MA chapter
UndauntedK12
Local Energy Advocates of Western Mass
Climate Reality Massachusetts Southcoast
Franklin County CPR Climate Crisis Task Force
Unitarian Universalist Mass Action
Jewish Climate Action Network, MA
Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility
No Fracked Gas in Mass
Berkshire Environmental Action Team
Sheffield Saves
Sustainable Wellesley
Vote Solar
Springfield Climate Justice Coalition
Citizens Climate Lobby, Chapter in the Berkshires, MA
Sustainable Lexington Committee
350-MA Berkshires
350 Central Mass
Boston Climate Action Network
Lexington Climate Action Network
Sustainable Sharon Coalition
Longmeadow Pipeline Awareness Group
Partnership for Policy Integrity
Boston Catholic Climate Movement
Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light, Inc
Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station
Cape Ann Climate Coalition - Organizing Committee
Massachusetts Climate Action Network
SAFE-Salem Alliance for the Environment
Brookhaven Residents' Climate Change Committee
South Shore & Cape Chapter, Citizens Climate Lobby
Climate Action Now (Western Mass)
350 Cambridge Somerville Node
North Shore Citizens Climate Lobby
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Passive House Massachusetts
Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative
Environmental Defense Fund
MassEnergize
Health Care Without Harm
Eastie Farm
Breathe Easy Berkshires
Sustainable Weston Action Group
Boston Green Action
Boston Clean Energy Coalition
Climate Code Blue
Climate Finance Action
Greening Greenfield
Boston Green Action
LISC Boston
Old Colony Planning Council
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