HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-01-23-SLC-min Town of Lexington
Sustainable Lexington Committee
Minutes of Meeting of January 23, 2018
A meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee (SLC)was held on January 23, 2018
at Cary Hall. A quorum of five was present.
Members Present: Mark Sandeen, Marcia Gens, Rick Reibstein Todd Rhodes,
Dan Voss
Members Absent: None
Other Attendees: None
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.
Drive Green (M. Gens)
• The committee discussed plans to march in the Patriot's Day parade to promote
electric cars (and potential electric lawncare equipment).
• Ideas included have different types of electric and hybrid cars, and placing banners on
the cars and having hand-outs to promote the use of electric cars (availability, cost,
range, etc.). An area could also be set up to park the cars where we could have a
Q&A with interested residents.
Food and Composting (M. Gens)
• Ms. Gens discussed the approach for addressing climate change based on the book,
Drawdown, which places a large emphasis on reducing food waste and composting.
She is working with the school Green Teams to increase composting in the schools
and is looking for opportunities to increase the scope of the activities.
• The committee discussed opportunities for curbside pickup for composting and
opportunities to have low-carbon impact meals at that the schools.
• More information is need on:
• Volume of waste generated in the schools.
• Current/Expected costs for solid waste collection and the impact of diverting
volume to composting.
Eversource Rate Case (M. Sandeen)
• Mr. Sandeen reported that the DPU rejected the Eversource request to reduce the
income Lexington receives from solar installations.
• The DPU did approve the implementation of demand charges for residential solar.
Mark will be providing testimony opposing the decision on January 30.
Getting to Net Zero (M. Sandeen)
• There will be a public meeting in early February.
• The task force is promoting a warrant article for the Town to source 100% of
municipal energy from renewable sources.
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Commercial PACE (M. Sandeen)
• The Board of Selectmen approved the Commercial PACE program at the board
meeting on January 22, 2018.
Community Choice Aggregation (M. Sandeen)
• There was an error in the bill that went to residents— showing a cost of$0.12/kWh vs
the correct cost of$0.10/kWh.
Candidates Question (M. Sandeen)
• The Citizens for Lexington Conservation prepared it's Candidates Questions based on
three Sustainable Lexington initiatives: The Sustainable Action Plan, The Sustainable
Building Policy, and 100%renewable energy for municipal buildings.
Lexington Energy Challenge (T. Rhodes)
• The program wrapped up on December 31. We don't have December numbers yet,
but it looks like we will reach about 75% of the annual goal.
• There will be an awards ceremony on March 15, 2018 at National Grid in Waltham.
Joe Pato and Michele Ciccolo plan to attend.
Plastic Bag Ban (M. Sandeen)
• There is a citizen's article planned for Town Meeting in March to ban the use of
plastic bags at retail establishments in Lexington. The group promoting the article
have requested an endorsement from the Sustainable Lexington Committee.
• The committee agree to endorse the article, but recommended that our endorsement
include a recommendation to develop a more comprehensive policy around the issue
of plastics use in addition to this focused action on plastic bags.
Electric School Bus (M. Sandeen)
• Mr. Sandeen identified that the state has funding for energy efficient vehicles as a
result of the VW lawsuit. Concord is planning to invest in electric school busses. He
is looking at opportunities for Lexington to do the same.
Quiet Communities (R. Reibstein)
• Rick identified that Dave Pinsonneault is planning to move forward to work with
Quiet Communities to purchase some electric lawncare equipment.
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