Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-01-16-SLC-minSustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of Meeting of January 16, 2024 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 (chair), Celis Brisbin, Paul Chernick, Lin Jensen, Andy Joynt, Rick Reibstein, Todd Rhodes (vice-chair), Dan Voss, Charlie Wyman Members Absent: Staff Present: Maggie Peard Other Attendees: Mike Boudett, Ricki Pappo, Dora Liao, Tina McBride, Sophie Shaw, Jill Hai (Select Board), Gerry Yurkevicz, Charles Hornig (Planning Board), Marcia Gens The meeting was called to order at 6:03 pm. Cindy referenced the opening statement requested by the Town Clerk and all members present responded that they could hear. Minutes: The draft minutes of November 28, 2023, were unanimously approved as written. Comments from residents; emails to committee inbox; new business: Todd briefly reviewed emails sent to the committee and announced that nothing needed action this evening. SustainabLY update: Dora and Sophie reported that they are working on several projects. They will be going in person to all the restaurants in Lexington with flyers on programs (Too Good to Go, LexZeroWaste) that can help to reduce food waste. They met with Diane Pursley about the Power Down and Sustainability Champions programs, and plan to connect with the two teachers serving as Sustainability Champions at Lexington High School. They also are planning to educate young voters about the positions of candidates on sustainability issues. Charlie will connect Dora with CLC about the annual issue the latter does on candidates’ positions on an environmental topic. Review of SLC member participation in upcoming LHS Focus Group meetings. Cindy explained that SMMA is pulling together four separate focus groups to offer input on various topics, and have reached out to committees, LHS staff, other town staff, and more for participants. Over the next three months there will be four meetings for each focus group. Cindy asked whether anyone was interested in attending, or have feedback for those who will? Dan, Cindy, and Todd will be .1 Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of January 16, 2024 attending many. Rick mentioned the need to not only avoid red list materials but to affirmatively prefer green list. Ricki asked what it means to say that we’ll use energy storage when it’s cost effective – Cindy replied that that is how the topic is described in the Integrated Building Design and Construction Policy. Celis noted that SMMA is used to working with communities that have not done the work we have, and the town is sharing the energy model we have used in the past; he underscored the importance of aligning with SMMA’s process and informing them about the process we have used for many years. Dan added that while SMMA has the focus groups scheduled that they have not detailed related meetings with the Permanent Building Committee (PBC) and SLC. He said that the process is not currently set up to allow PBC/SLC to assess technical issues before decisions need to be made by the School Building Committee (SBC). Cindy asked to be informed if there are any meetings anyone is interested in attending. Tina noted that she has written advocating for the possibility of a combination renovation/rebuild; she will share her comments with Cindy who will share them with the committee. Lin asked if any thought is being given to the size of the building - referencing the large size of the Police Station that could potentially have shared space on the campus to reduce the size. She asked about how the LHS population may fluctuate and how to design a campus with flexibility for expansion. Discussion of Town Meeting resolution on the importance of trees. Charlie explained that the group of residents (including him, Rick, Ricki, and Marcia) who launched the Tree Statement of Concern have filed a Citizens Petition article for Town Meeting on the importance of trees. The purpose is to ask Town Meeting to go on record in support of action by the Town to build and maintain a robust tree canopy, and to demonstrate public support for additional measures beyond the modest bylaw and budgetary steps being considered at the 2024 Town Meeting. Andy emphasized the importance of tree maintenance to minimize storm damage and to maintain a healthy canopy. Discussion of Town Meeting noise article - proposed delay in the implementation of the gas- powered leaf blower prohibition by one year. Maggie explained that a Town Meeting article under consideration by the Select Board would amend the noise bylaw to improve its effectiveness for construction noise and to postpone the effective date of the commercial gas- powered leaf blower ban for one year. She and Dave Pinsonneault have provided information to the Select Board about the availability and cost of battery-powered leaf blowers. Maggie and Todd spoke to the availability of equipment and lead time, and noted that it is not clear what a delay would accomplish. Arlington’s ban is still scheduled to go into effect in March 2025 (same as Lexington’s). Considerable discussion followed, including mention of: phasing the ban would be better than a simple postponement, Michelle Ciccolo’s efforts to provide financial support to landscapers for the transition, the importance of landscaper eduction, and the value of .2 Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of January 16, 2024 enforcement forbearance. After further discussion is was moved, seconded and unanimously voted that “the Sustainable Lexington Committee asks the Select Board to retain the current deadlines for compliance in the noise bylaw, but consider alternative pathways to compliance reflecting good faith efforts.” Cindy will write the Board to inform them. Sustainability & Resilience Officer discussion and updates: •FFF Program (acceptance and ATM amendment): Maggie reported that we’ve been accepted into the Fossil Fuel Free pilot program. DOER requested two amendments in our previously enacted bylaw: removal of exemptions for indoor cooking and fireplaces, and a change in our definition of major renovations to include additions over 1,000 square feet. These are not requirements but requests, and will come to Town Meeting. Ricki asked if there has been much builder pushback on the specialized stretch code, to which Maggie reported little so far, but will check in with the Building Commissioner later. •Sustainable Capital Projects (ATM article): Maggie explained that there is a Town Meeting article to begin a sustainable capital program to be funded by Town Meeting annually, so that there is a reliable source of capital funding for sustainability projects rather then having to bring each one to Town Meeting. Considerable discussion followed about the possibility of a revolving or enterprise fund to capture savings from sustainability projects, and Maggie and members noted the challenges that came up before when that approach was considered. Cindy and others noted that it was important that there are sustainable measures that should be part of all capital projects. Maggie agreed that this was not designed to be a vehicle to pull out all ’sustainable’ parts of capital projects. •Compost pilot funding: Maggie reported that funding for the compost pilot did not make it into the FY25 operating budget, but the Select Board is willing to use ARPA funding to keep the program going and possibly expand it to 4,000 households. Celis asked about savings to our tipping fee expenses if we’re removing organics from the waste stream; Lin noted that the most likely path to significant savings is to move to trash collecting every other week and trash metering, which becomes more feasible if organics are removed. •High Performance Building Policy update: Maggie reported that the policy was approved by the Select Board on December 18 and will come up for a vote by the School Committee on January 23. •Resilient Lexington update: Now that the plan has been formally adopted, Maggie is considering how best to move implementation forward, and will be discussing this with the Senior Management Team, department directors, and lead implementers. •EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant listening sessions by MAPC: The state and MAPC are working on a plan that will allow them to offer implementation grants to municipalities. Maggie sits on the municipal advisory group. Public listening sessions are scheduled for January 24 and 25, and they hope to have a plan by March, with implementation grant .3 Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of January 16, 2024 applications due in April. Environmental justice communities are likely to be prioritized, so Lexington is unlikely to see grant funds. Public comments on the state plan are due by January 19. •BlocMaps software for electrification retrofits: Abode is now contracting with Mass Save to provide heat pump consultations throughout the Mass Save territory. The funds currently allocated for Abode in the Heat Smart program will now become available for other projects. One option is a more targeted outreach program for retrofits. Working with LexCAN and Andy Joynt, the town is exploring using block maps built by BlocPower with private data sets containing more detailed information about how homes are heated; these would help target retrofit assistance. The committee offered encouragement on this approach. Police Station Solar+Storage. Celis and Todd reported that all is going well; some technical retrofits are necessary to ensure smooth operating, but they are in the works. Review of potential actions in the Municipal, Commercial, Institutional, and Residential sectors for solar buildout. Todd presented a progress report from the solar needs and potential analysis working group, and asked for feedback on the list of actions identified and what was missed. Considerable discussion followed and Todd made notes on many suggestions, and will return to the working group to update the list and discuss next steps. Next Meeting: The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee is scheduled for 6 pm on February 13, 2024. The committee voted to adjourn at 9:32 pm. Respectfully submitted, Charlie Wyman .4