HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-04-05-SLC-min Town of Lexington
Sustainable Lexington Committee
Minutes of Meeting of April 5, 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: Charlie Wyman, Joe Pato
The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm.
Plastic Bag Warrant Article (Mark)
• Article was adjusted to not allow bags < 2.25 mils, due to feedback from Wilson
Farm and others.
• It will important to watch to see if CVS, Stop and Shop, and Walgreens move to
larger bags or if they go to paper. The Town may need to revisit this motion if this
motion is not effective.
• In the future, could consider requiring that bags, cups, etc. be "compostable".
School Green Teams (Marcia)
• All six elementary schools (Green Teams) are participating in composting program.
• Rob Beaudoin is buying totes/receptacles for the collection of food waste.
• Black Earth is close to getting 300 households at which point they will be able to
lower prices.
Solid Waste (Joe)
• The new contract is up for bid—recycling is now more expensive than solid waste.
• The new bid is still being discussed. All are single stream. Will likely be manual.
Gas Leaks (Mark)
• 2 of 15 leaks were fixed completely. Others fixed to some extent.
• The pilot project showed that it's easy to locate leaks.
• Best approach is to use a gas detector, define the perimeter or the leak area, and
calculate the area of the leak zone.
• Lexington has largest leaks in region because of higher pressure lines.
• The committee reviewed Nathan Phillips' presentation which recommended a
"Pruning the Tree" approach to addressing leaks (i.e., starting with the terminal ends
of the pipe infrastructure and converting those residents to all-electric).
• The committee discussed whether fuel swapping is cheaper than replacing gas lines?
Pagel of 3
• District heat (steam or hot water) could be used to provide heat instead of gas (i.e.,
replace gas lines with steam or hot water lines).
• The committee discussed whether there were any gas pipeline dead ends in Lexington
that could serve as a pilot project.
o HEET with funding from the Bar Association could fund the pilot.
o One approach would be to find a dead end with gas that is scheduled to be
replaced (or otherwise considered to be replaceable) and convince the residents to
switch from gas to all-electric heat and appliances.
Getting to Net-Zero (Mark)
• 80% of Lexington residences will need to switch to electric over the next XX years to
meet our goals.
• Could also get a cluster of oil-burner homes to convert. (where would the funding
come from?)
• The Getting to Net Zero Report is in process —will bring to Board of Selectmen soon.
Board of Selectman (Mark)
• The committee needs to get on the BOS agenda to discuss:
o Sustainability Plan
0 100% municipal energy procurement
o Getting to Net Zero Plan
o Sustainability Director
Solar Energy Task Force (Mark)
• Need to put out an RFP together for Hastings and LCP and Fire Station.
Driving Green (Mark)
• We'll have 6 electric cars in the parade and park cars at Hancock.
• Mass Energy will man a table at Hancock with the cars.
• Rick will look into bringing an electric lawnmower.
Discovery Day (Mark)
• Planning to have electric cars at Discovery Day.
• Black Earth and Rob Beadreau will have a tent for composting.
• Have tents for HomeWorks and SLC
o Focus on solar (energy savings for the town), community choice aggregation,
Getting to Net Zero.
Quiet Communities (Rick)
• The program with Lexington is going forward.
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Better Buildings (Mark)
• The PBC is putting backup gas boilers in Hastings (and maybe LCP and the Fire
Station) which is counter to the agreement with BOS and School Committee.
• Need to get in front of BOS to question why the agreement is not being followed.
Toxics (Mark/Rick)
• BOH has said they approved a letter that identifies a toxics red list
o Based on the Living Buildings Challenge and another list
o They asked if they should pass a regulation—the SLC recommends that they do,
but to be prepared to push-back from the chemical industries.
o We should get on the BOS agenda to make the recommendation.
Sustainability Director (Mark)
• Will need to make it the number 1 item on annual goals —for BOS goal setting in
June
• State funding is only available to towns with sustainability/vulnerability plan
• The staffing budget is set at the fall Town Meeting.
Homeworks
• Potential Tabling Days:
o Patriots Day (April 16)
o Missa Gia—First Parish (??)
o Bike Day
o Discovery Day
• The committee agreed that one outreach letter from the Town (using the Town seal)
per year was appropriate. Additional letters from HomeWorks and the SLC would be
okay, but not too often.
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