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Town of Lexington
Sustainable Lexington Committee
Minutes of Meeting of September 28, 2010
A meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee (SLC) was held on September 28,
2010 at 7:00pm in the Selectmen Meeting Room, Town Office Building. A quorum of
four was present.
Members Present: Mark Sandeen, Chair
Rick Abrams, Ken Moraff, Todd Rhodes
Members Absent: None
The committee addressed the following topics:
Mr. Sandeen proposed a change to the meeting agenda. The amended agenda
(attached) was accepted unanimously.
Mr. Sandeen led the review of the following agenda topics:
Committee charter – no comments from the committee
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Rules of order – no comments from the committee
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Committee Process
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The committee discussed the importance of setting priorities and
moving projects individually through the four-stage process to ensure
that projects to address high-priority topics are implemented. The
committee agreed that preparing a set of additional projects so that
they are ready for launch would help to ensure that we maintain a
steady stream of activity.
Roles and Responsibilities
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The committee discussed having each member commit to a focus area
(e.g., buildings, water, communications, etc.). No assignments were
made.
The committee also discussed the value of having “Team Members”,
as described in the committee charter, involved in the development
and implementation of plans to address specific topics.
Mr. Sandeen delivered a presentation of national, regional, and local energy use that
emphasized the significance of buildings in the consumption of energy and, therefore,
the importance of projects focused on buildings to reduce energy consumption. The
presentation is attached.
Mr. Moraff commented on a statistic in the presentation that identified that
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energy use in a particular building may vary by 40% based on the behavior of
the occupants, suggesting that projects that address the behavior of the
building occupant could be valuable.
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Mr. Moraff delivered a presentation of water issues that identified that the intensity of
rain storms in the U.S. in general, and the New England region in particular is
increasing. He then presented several examples of surface water management
techniques that have been implemented in other towns and cities. The presentation is
attached. He identified that the University of New Hampshire’s Storm water Center
has done research on this topic that would be relevant to our regional climate.
The committee discussed the importance of implementing techniques such as
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the ones presented in the near-term so that the mitigations are in place when
needed.
Mr. Sandeen delivered a presentation of “best practice” sustainability plans that have
been developed by other towns and cities. He identified that the focus of the plans
ranged from efforts to reduce the town’s carbon footprint (i.e., mitigation), to efforts
to ensure that the town was prepared to respond to the likely implications of a
changing climate (e.g., flooding; rising temperatures affecting electricity use, flora,
fauna; etc.). The term for the latter approach is “adaptation”.
The committee discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the
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sustainability plans that were reviewed. The committee also discussed the
potential tradeoffs of focusing the SLC’s efforts on adaptation versus
mitigation. The committee decided to defer further discussion of this topic
until our next meeting.
Mr. Sandeen identified that the best practice plans would be made available
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on a publically-accessible site, but that the best way to make them available
was still being discussed.
Mr. Sandeen opened the floor for public comments. Adam Sacks offered the
following comments:
He would be available to discuss the topics raised during the meeting with
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committee members at any time.
The committee has not offered a definition of “sustainability”.
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Mr. Sandeen stated that that would be placed on the agenda at a future
meeting.
Much of the discussion and many of the referenced plans addressed the
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timeframe of 2030 and beyond, but there is no reason to assume that the rate
of change will not accelerate. Therefore, what planning timeframe is
appropriate? For example, food is vulnerable. The committee needs to
consider the short-term physical realities that will affect Lexington.
Mr. Sandeen agreed that this was good point and that the Portland
plan, in particular, was specific about timeframes and could serve as a
good model for Lexington.
As the meeting closed, Mr. Rhodes gave each member a list of Lexington Town
committees to review. At the next SLC meeting, the committee will prioritize the list
and establish a plan to reach out to relevant committees to communicate the SLC’s
plans and learn more about the activities of these committees.
The committee agreed to meet again on October 14, in addition to the previously
scheduled meeting on October 26.
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The SLC meeting adjourned at 9:00pm
The following documents/exhibits used at the meeting are attached:
Revised agenda
Sustainable Lexington Committee Charter
Presentation of Energy Use
Presentation of surface water management methods
Respectfully Submitted,
Todd Rhodes, Scribe
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