Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-05-28-SLC-min Town of Lexington Sustainable Lexington Committee Minutes of Meeting of May 28, 2019 A meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee (SLC) was held in the Board of Selectmen Meeting Room in the Town Offices Building. A quorum of five was present. Members Present: Celis Brisbin, Marcia Gens, Todd Rhodes, Dan Voss, Charlie Wyman Members Absent: Rick Reibstein Other Attendees: Joe Pato (Board of Selectmen) Paul Chernik Mark Sandeen (Board of Selectmen - last 30 minutes) The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm. 1. Review and approve minutes of previous meeting  The minutes of the meetings of April 23, 2019, and May 9, 2019, were approved as written. 2. Sustainable Lexington Committee Charter – Proposed updates  The draft discussed at the April meeting was reviewed and changes made, including an expansion in the number of members to nine.  A revised version was approved for forwarding to the Board of Selectmen for review and approval. 3. Nomination of Paul Chernik to Open Seat on the Committee  The Energy Conservation Committee is being merged into the Sustainable Lexington Committee, and there had been earlier discussions about Paul Chernik and Alan Sherman, as the only remaining active members, joining the Sustainable Lexington Committee. Alan has declined, citing other obligations.  Dan Voss extended an invitation to Paul Chernik to join the committee to fill the one current open seat, subject to the Board of Selectmen’s approval. Paul replied that he would be interested, and Dan will recommend Paul’s appointment to the Board of Selectmen. 4. Competitive Electricity Suppliers – Communication/Action Strategy  There was a consensus that the recent “correction” sent by Constellation Energy doesn’t eliminate the confusion generated by the original letter to residents, and that an ongoing strategy is needed to inform residents of the advantages of Community Choice.  Paul and Todd will follow up with Lexington’s Public Information Officer, Sean Dugan, to develop a long-term strategy. Sean may be invited to our next meeting. 1. 5. Waste Task Force – Update, planned actions  Marcia reported on recent activity of the Waste Task Force: working on goals for the fiscal year; looking at the state’s municipal grant cycle; investigating potential programs - particularly interested in curbside composting and resident education (e.g., what is recyclable?, what are pink bags?, etc.).  The committee discussed goal setting in general and how our goals feed into the Board of Selectmen’s goals. Joe explained that following the Town Manager’s lead, they are taking a new approach this year and not asking committees for their goals. Still, it was decided that we should provide the Board of Selectmen with a summary of our goals soon that they could consider in setting theirs; this might include an update of Peregrine’s 2017 report.  During the discussion it was recognized that a common depository for documents would be useful, and Todd will look into setting up a Dropbox for the committee.  The Waste Task Force will discuss goals further, with an eye towards providing some proposals to the committee for FY20. 6. Potential zoning changes to encourage construction of solar energy systems  Charles Hornig brought to our last meeting potential changes to the zoning by-law to remove barriers and encourage solar development; the Planning Board would like to get our input on whether and how changes might contribute to achieving sustainability goals.  Changes fall into two categories: those that remove barriers to solar (such as reducing setbacks), and a mandate to include a certain amount of solar for developments with parking lots or structures (modeled after provisions recently adopted in Watertown).  The proposals were recently presented to the Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) who expressed concerns about the solar energy mandate; also residential neighbors may push back on reducing setbacks and other reductions in barriers to solar.  The Solar Energy Task force (Dan and Paul) agreed to review the proposals carefully and return to the committee with recommendations. 7. Sustainable Building Policy - Review latest updates  Dan explained that there is a meeting next week with the PBC, at which the Town Manager wants to finalize the Integrated Building Policy and hopefully finalize outcomes for the new police station. Dan and Celis are double-teaming this; their strategy is to ask the PBC to focus first on the priorities (among the list of outcomes), and then see where this leaves us in terms of LEED accreditation, rather than start with the accreditation criteria. 8. Solar Task Force – Update  At a meeting this Thursday, Dan, Mark and Shawn Newell (Asst. Director, Public Facilities) will assess the solar options presented by Amaresco and Cadmus. Amaresco was selected by RFP to design and install solar canopies on municipal buildings and car parks; Cadmus is the third-party consultant providing independent review. 2.  Celis asked if there was a way to leverage the purchase of solar panels for this contract to obtain a good price for residential projects in town; conclusion is that it would be difficult, given the different scales of the projects and with the RFP already accepted. 9. Indoor Air / Natural Gas Study – Update  Dan reported that the School Superintendent is very interested in having indoor air monitored. The assessments will be completed for about $500/school. Dan will follow up with the Superintendent. 10. Planning for Sustainable Lexington Committee strategy meeting  A meeting solely to focus on how the committee goes about its work and how to achieve the goals of the Sustainable Action Plan was set for Thursday, June 13, at 6 pm. 11. BBRS letter – Status  It is on the Board of Selectmen’s agenda for Monday. Agreed that it will be stronger if it comes from the Board of Selectmen instead of the Sustainable Lexington Committee. Celis will attend the meeting to advocate for it and answer questions. 12. Sustainability Director Role and Job Description – Status  There was considerable discussion about the draft job description for a Sustainability Director. Points made: the job description needs to focus on implementing and achieving goals of the Sustainable Action Plan, in concert with the Sustainable Lexington Committee; it should reference Lexington’s commitment to the Paris Climate Accord; it is too focused on energy, needs to be broader; it is too detailed in some respects (e.g., managing the website); it needs to be clearer about relationships with committees, including special relationship with the Sustainable Lexington Committee; the position should report to the Town Manager; the job title should be Sustainability Director, not Manager; a reference to grant writing should be added; it should include the role of public speaking and public engagement, and should say something about financial analysis.  Todd will distill the discussion and prepare a memo presenting these points to the Town Manager. 13. Discovery day  Todd reported on a couple of useful contacts at Discovery Day, referring one to Celis about a Net Zero house, and another where a resident reported having trouble signing up for Community Choice. th Next Meeting: Meetings will be held in June on the 13 at 6 pm (special planning meeting) and th on the 25 at 7 pm (regular monthly meeting). The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 pm. Respectfully submitted, Charlie Wyman 3.