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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-06-06-ECC2-min Lexington Energy Conservation Committee Chair: Joe Musacchia Secretary: Alan Sherman Meeting Date: June 6, 2018 Member attendees: Chris Haines, Roger Borghesani,Alan Sherman,Joe Musacchia Other attendees: (none) A meeting of the Lexington Energy Conservation Committee was held on June 6, 2018, 6:OOpm to 7:30pm at the Public Services Building, Bedford St., room 211. The Agenda for the meeting was: 1) Approval of prior meeting minutes 2) Discuss ECC input to Board of Selectmen's priorities (due 16-June). Final proposal edited to become: 3) Update from DPF 4) Update from DPW 5) Communication status 6) Ongoing projects Much of the meeting was spent in discussion of how the ECC can have more of an influence on design/construction of new buildings in Lexington, rather than being asked for input when it is often largely too late. Joe is going to have a discussion with the new Board of Selectmen representative to the ECC, to express our disappointment and ask for improved engagement. The group also discussed asking the new Head of Facilities to meet with the ECC. The group also discussed getting one or two additional members to join the ECC to help re-energize the committee and for additional depth. Design firms can come up with a 5% improvement without input from the ECC, so if that is all the goal is, then the ECC charter is of limited value. If the ECC's challenge is to make a meaningful difference, we need to emphasize to the town that the improvement should be more in the 50, 60, or 70% range. What is the best way to have that impact? Net Zero is one concept, but by itself probably isn't enough. Passive House drives down energy usage to as close to 0 as possible. Energy production (like solar) is added to offset energy usage. Other aspects of Living Building Challenge include other aspects such as toxicity. Chris shared that Living Building Challenge is a challenge, but it is worth doing. Next steps: • Joe will pick a date in September that works for most/all committee members to meet. He will then contact the representative from the Board of Selectmen to invite him/her to the meeting. • The ECC will encourage the Board of Selectmen to take a more radical approach, Living Building Challenge if possible, or at least Passive House. • Depending on the Board of Selectmen's receptivity,the ECC can start planning from there. The following documents/exhibits used at the meeting are attached: none