HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-10-14-SLC-minTown of Lexington
Sustainable Lexington Committee
Minutes of Meeting of October 14, 2010
A meeting of the Sustainable Lexington Committee (SLC) was held on October 14, 2010
in the Legion Meeting Room, Cary Hall. A quorum of three was present.
Members Present: Mark Sandeen, Chair
Ken Moraff, Todd Rhodes
Members Absent: Rick Abrams
Other Attendees: George Brunell, Selectman
The meeting was called to order at 7:15.
The committee addressed the following topics:
• Review and approval of the September 28, 2010 meeting minutes.
• Mr. Sandeen led a discussion of goals and objectives for the committee. The
discussion included a review of key points from the Energy Use presentation
reviewed during the 9/28/10 meeting. The committee observed that some
sustainability plans (e.g., Keene, NH) included social and economic elements of
sustainability. The committee discussed that it would be valuable to include such
factors within the scope of our sustainability discussions, acknowledging that those
elements may not be priority areas for this committee in the near term.
• The committee approved a motion to set the following two areas as our priority for
initial action: (Vote: 3 for, 0 against):
1. Energy efficiency
■ Residential building
2. Water
• Storm water infrastructure
• Supply
• Conservation
• With regard to energy efficiency, there was some discussion about whether we
should focus first on commercial energy efficiency, given the much smaller
number of buildings and decision makers in that sector. Several people on the
committee felt that while residential sector program implementation may be
more difficult, it represented a larger opportunity than commercial and would
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• The role of these two areas in addressing both "mitigation" and "adaptation"
was also discussed:
• Residential energy efficiency:
• Mitigation: Lower energy use will reduce consumption of
fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gasses.
• Adaptation: Lower energy use will reduce the impact on the
community should there be a disruption in energy supply or
increase in energy cost.
• Water issues:
• Mitigation: Water use is energy intensive. Managing supply
and conservation will reduce consumption of fossil fuels and
the release of greenhouse gasses.
• Adaptation: Projects implemented to manage storm water will
reduce the potential for flooding due to intense storms.
Management of supply and conservation will reduce the impact
on the community should there be a disruption in supply or an
increase in water cost.
• The committee reviewed the list of Lexington Town Committees and identified that
the Energy Committee (with regard to municipal buildings) and the Economic
Development Committee (with regard to the industrial and commercial sectors) were
the most relevant to our committee's activities. There are no immediate plans to meet
with these or other committees.
• Mr. Moraff will take the lead on water issues for the committee. He agreed to speak
with Bill Hadley, DPW, prior to our November meeting to better understand what
types of plans are currently in place with regard to storm water management, water
supply, and conservation. Mr. Moraff will report on water issues at the November
meeting.
• Mr. Rhodes presented a model for programs intended to change individual /group
behavior, identifying that the model could be a helpful checklist to consider when
developing programs for the community.
• Mr. Sandeen presented several pages from "When Selling Energy Efficiency, Don't
Say 'Retrofit,' Say 'Upgrade "', from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, that provides
specific advice for developing local energy efficiency programs.
• Throughout the meeting, specific ideas to address residential energy efficiency and
water issues were discussed. They are captured here for reference, to be considered in
future meetings:
• Residential energy
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■ A website could be created that would provide homeowners with
contacts and step -by -step direction on implementing home energy
improvements, including information on funding /rebates. The website
could include a list of local, third -party certified contractors.
• Water issues
■ Rain barrels could be sold at the DPW or commercially (ACE, etc.)
and their use could be promoted by the committee.
• The committee agreed that our next meeting (10/26/10) would focus on residential
energy efficiency, and that our November meeting would focus on water issues.
The meeting adjourned at 9:00.
The following documents /exhibits were reviewed during the meeting:
• Meeting minutes from 9/28/10
• Presentation of Energy Use
• Behavior change model
• "When Selling Energy Efficiency, Don't Say 'Retrofit,' Say 'Upgrade "'
Respectfully Submitted,
Todd Rhodes, Scribe
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