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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - Energy Committee - 05/01/2024SOUTH BURLINGTON ENERGY COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA May 01, 2024 Participation Options In Person: 180 Market Street, Main Floor, Auditorium Assistive Listening Service Devices available upon request Electronically: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84778129936 Via phone: +1 (309) 205-3325 | Access Code: 847 7812 9936 Regular Session 6:30 p.m. 1. Instructions on exiting building in case of emergency and review of technology options – Tim (6:30–6:31 p.m.) 2. Agenda Review: Additions, deletions, or changes in order of agenda items – Tim (6:31–6:34 p.m.) 3. Comments and questions from the public not related to the agenda (6:35–6:45 p.m.) 4. ***Consideration of meeting minutes (6:45–6:50 p.m.) A. April 07, 2024 B. June 10, 2015 C. March 01, 2018 5. Preparation for City Committees discussion – Tim (6:50–7:20 p.m.) 6. FY’2025 Work Plan development – Tim (7:20–8:00 p.m.) 7. Events planning update (8:00–8:15 p.m.) A. Spring/summer film – Marley B. Other future events 8. Other Business (8:15–8:30 p.m.) Adjourn 180 MARKET STREET, SOUTH BURLINGTON, VERMONT | (802) 846-4107 | WWW.SOUTHBURLINGTONVT.GOV Respectfully submitted: Nick Atherton City Planner ***Attachments included PAGE 1 SOUTH BURLINGTON ENERGY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES APRIL 7, 2024 The South Burlington Energy Committee held a regular meeting on Wednesday, 7 April 2024, at 6:30 p.m., in the Auditorium, 180 Market Street, and by Zoom remote participation. Members present: F. Kosnitsky, M. Hauser, E. Goldman, R. Meader, S. Cowley, C. McLaughlin, M.J. Reale. Also present: N. Atherton, City Planner; L. Bresee, Energy Systems Manager; A. Chalnick, City Councilor; M. Scanlan, City Councilor; C. Wydman, Intern, Run on Climate. 1. Convene meeting, select scribe, review agenda (6:30 p.m.) 2. Comments and questions from the public not related to the agenda (6:35 p.m.) Mike Scanlan, new member of the City Council, started by saying thank for your work. He is the GMT rep for SB. GMT would like to meet with the energy committee to fill us in on their plans to electrify their bus fleet. 3. Review and approve March 6, 2024 meeting minutes (6:40 p.m.) Rob moved, Carrie second, approved unanimously 4. EV Parking Standards & Planning Commission Feedback (6:45 p.m.) Carrie and Rob attended a planning commission meeting to present suggestions regarding upgrading the EV charging zoning regs. There was a robust discussion. PC is hoping for feedback regarding the cost of adding charging capacity at construction vs. retrofit. This is a significant equity issue for renters. Andrew introduced Caroline Wydman, policy intern from Run on Climate, who has done some research into this question. She shared slides regarding relative costs of installing chargers, at new construction vs. retrofit. Questions remain about the comparison of installing EV capable vs, EV ready. Discussion explored detailed nuances of specific installed outcomes, where situations may vary. Lou is working with an electrician on contract who may be able to offer experienced insight on the relative costs. Othrs would include GMP, Drive Electric, the O'Brien group with their experience developing many all electric homes of different types. PC needed further feedback within the next couple of weeks. Nick is prepared to offer the PC specific language, but only a recommended number of EV ready vs. EV Capable stations. To get at the nuance addressed tonight would take longer. Carrie pointed out ENERGY COMMITTEE MEETING APRIL 7, 2024 | PAGE 2 that the PC has asked for further information about relative costs. Andrew points out that this would not come up before city council for several months; the PC to adopt around June. Nick pointed out that the new state code will be adopted in July; it would be ideal to minimize the gap in adoption timing between the SB code and the state code. He noted that it is also possible to address preferences, “where possible,” in general language and not detailed requirements. The plan is to get additional information to Nick prior to the next PC meeting, May 9. 5. Status of municipal infrastructure & equipment upgrades - Lou Bresee (7:05 p.m.) See slides. Energy Fund balance: we currently have almost $300,000 in the fund. We should think about possible uses. Data collection Possibly Bartlett Bay WWTP adding new solar (not net metering). Recent expenses: all fire department miscellaneous equipment is now electric/battery operated. In some cases, the energy fund has paid for the differential, extra cost associated with the electric options. Lou reviewed a list of the full scope of work Lou does for the city. Government operations implementation (under the CAP). Bartlett Bay upgrade Tour possibilities, Airport Parkway WWTP (especially with regard to geothermal applications). City Hall. Grants: EEBCG (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Program) $75,760 no match award Replace 3 RTUs (roof top units) at Public Works this month MERP (Municipal Energy Resilience Program) Fire Station #2 and Wheeler House evaluated this week. This was a very thorough evaluation. It will be 4-6 weeks before we get a report back. Proposals to be submitted for recommended changes 6.FY’24 Work Plan: Advise and support City regulatory and policy changes to implement the CAP (7:30 p.m.). Lou reported on his efforts under this aspect of the CAP. Request from Council was to balance this out to about $600,000 per year. ENERGY COMMITTEE MEETING APRIL 7, 2024 | PAGE 3 Lou is 70-90% confident in our ability to achieve the targets for 2050 that are identified in the CAP. Lou reviewed the long term plan to replace the city's gas powered vehicles with EV. Reviewed chart showing a full list of proposed facility upgrades. (see slides) This also includes 10 charging stations at the Audette Public Works building. Mainly for employee use. Discussion ensued about the possibilities for adding a fast charger for public use, and which city-owned properties might be suitable for that. 7. Climate Cafes & Potential South Burlington Chapter (8:00 p.m.) Ethan shared that a climate cafe process was described in the NY Times, and suggested that we have a team look into that as a possibility for us. Carrie added that it would be good to facilitate community discussion that revolve around hope, where it can so quickly devolve into angst. 8. Updates on Ongoing Activities & Announcements (8:15 p.m.) Andrew shared a suggestion about establishing a practice or policy where building owners would be required to implement all improvements that have a reasonable payback, such as within an eight year span. Second idea: how to encourage or require existing fossil powered homes to transition to electric. 9. Book discussions Marley reports there is a target to get a panel, or film showing, in May or family friendly event in the fall. More details to come at the May energy committee meeting. 10.Adjourn Respectfully submitted by Nick Atherton, City Planner, on 23 April 2024. South Burlington Energy Committee 575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 (802) 846-4106 www.sburl.com facebook.com/SouthBurlington Thursday, June 10th, 2015 Public Works Building, 575 Dorset Street DRAFT MINUTES Present: Keith Epstein (Chair), Marcy Murray, Don Cummings , Linda McGinnis, Karen McKenny, Patty Tashiro, Staff Present: None Public Present: None Convene Meeting · Keith convened the meeting at 6:50, Don Cummings as scribe. · We reviewed and approved meeting agenda · Linda moved and Karen seconded that we accept the minutes from May meeting. Approved unanimously Elections: · Keith generously offered to continue as chair. Don moved to nominate Keith for another 6 month term as chair. Patty seconded. Approved unanimously · Karen also offered to continue as vice chair. Don moved to nominate Karen for another 6 month term as chair. Keith seconded. Approved unanimously Discussion about our monthly meeting and tracking our projects · There was a lot of discussion about some of the issues we have been experiencing during our monthly meeting. We seem to be rushed and have limited time to talk about important project issues and yet the meetings seem to take too long · Members agreed on the following: · Due to the importance of the Energy Prize we should focus most of the meeting on projects for the prize. · We should limit guest speakers or special topics to 20 minutes per meeting · If there are important topics that will take longer we will schedule special meetings for them · That the chair (or an assistant) would develop an agenda that allows for each project area to be addressed. Mature projects, or those going well would have less time. New projects or larger more complicated project areas would receive more time. This will be adjusted somewhat as the meeting goes on due to the inevitable surprises. · Each project owner will briefly talk about recent successes, problems or areas where they need help, and the plans for work for the next month. · The timekeeper will be extra vigilant to keep the meeting on time South Burlington Energy Committee 575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 (802) 846-4106 www.sburl.com facebook.com/SouthBurlington · If issues with a project are too large to discuss briefly we will set up a special meeting with volunteers to reconvene to help the project owner · We should continue to report written progress because it gives the project leader an opportunity to stop and think about where the project is and where it is going and provides a good record of the work underway · Because there is so much important work going on this will usually result in the meeting running from 6:30 to 9:00. SBEP Project Reporting: · An excellent summary of the past month’s project status is available at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZvLSeAzvfr7hMYq5WB83UOZgtDuZOS2FrOK9_R7nHxU/ edit . Only motions and specific new points brought up during discussions are recorded for the minutes · Outreach/150th anniversary: o Linda to invite our solar partners to participate o Karen to invite Building Energy o Keith to invite Common Sense Energy and Green Mountain Zero Draft o Don to invite GMP (EVT & VGS have been invited) o Don will schedule another work meeting to further flesh out a plan · Outreach/House Parties o Team members asked to help find hosts o Karen to draft a “pitch” to use in various mediums to encourage hosts · Outreach/Google & Facebook ads. o Karen asked Keith to ask Ara for regular reports on google and facebook performance and costs. · Fundraising: o City can’t pay any committee member so we can’t raise money to be deposited in normal city accounts to pay a committee member for work as part of an E.C. project o City can’t sign agreement to have NEGEF be a 501c3. City offered an alternative for a special city account that Keith will investigate further. o Keith moved and Patty seconded that we proceed with establishing this special account. Approved unanimously · Solar Signs: o Continued discussions on how to fund this project o Linda and her husband have offered to put up $800 (of the now $1200) project with the expectation they would get paid back. It was suggested by Don that more work to figure out where for funding would come now to ensure that the money will be there to cover their $800. o Karen offered to meet with Linda to develop a plan · Schools: South Burlington Energy Committee 575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 (802) 846-4106 www.sburl.com facebook.com/SouthBurlington o Lots of good things going on (see report) o Linda needs more help to cover this very important area: Help getting Chamberlain & Central going, ongoing support for Orchard & the Middle & High Schools. o Linda asked that we all think of projects where we can use UVM undergrad & graduate classes to help o Linda also asked that we each come up with 3 ideas for Middle School community service · Solar Landfill Project: o Kevin Dorn reported to Don that some movement on this might be underway but because negotiations are underway he didn’t feel comfortable explaining further. · Treasurer: o Marcy asked Don to follow-up with the city that funds budgeted for fiscal year 2015 but not yet spent (house parties) be carried over to 2016 · New Suggested Project Area: o Keith suggested that we think about how to develop a team of city employees to find energy saving ideas. This might work well with behavioral projects and small stuff like programmable thermostats (the meeting room’s non-programmable thermostat A/C was set on 71 night and day!) 9:00 PM Meeting Adjourned - Thanks to all! South Burlington Energy Prize monthly update for June 10th 2015    Treasurer related work, by Marcy Murray  Accomplishments: Standard Treasurer­related work.  Help needed: None at this time  Plans: Continue standard Treasurer­related work.    Community Outreach Events, By Karen McKenny  Accomplishments:  Library workshop with GMP­­well attended  Facebook likes up to 431! One post viewed by 1500 (transparent solar cells).  First Newsletter out! 141 subscribers (69 opens, 5 new subscribers from our facebook post)  Dates for Farmer's Market this summer set  FPF post with all upcoming events  2 house parties booked ( 1 June, 1 July)  Plans underway for 150th anniversary city fest  Bread and Butter Burger Night booked for July 10th  Bridget Hanley (senior) working on video project  Solar House Party BBQ with Sun Common at my house June 26th  July/August/Sept library workshops set  Family Fun Day/Farmer's Market June 7th  Help needed: Help with city fest party planning or working that day at event.  Plans:  Library Workshop June 22nd­­Sun Common  House Party with Adam Bortz June  Twitter posts to start this month  Facebook post that received the most views was about new technology­­will look for more posts  of that nature    House Parties, by Don Cummings  Accomplishments: Developed and submitted a draft application for $10,500 for 15  "Extended House Parties" to Gaye Symington of the High Meadows Fund for her comments.  These parties will include a contractor to work with residents to encourage them to get and audit  and proceed with weatherization. June House party at Adam Bortz’s house scheduled. South  Burlington Rotary donating $500 to fund 2 house parties.  Help needed: Need 501c3 letter approved (Keith working on it ­ Wednesday 6/10  morning meeting). Working with Kevin Dorn & Tom Hubbard to iron out contractor hiring  process.  Plans: Waiting for Gaye's response to submit a formal application    Marketing, by Don Cummings and Keith Epstein  Accomplishments: The team put together 1 new ad that was printed in the Other Paper:  Post­it notes with many reasons why people don’t take action on energy efficiency, and a big “I  Page 1 of 9  DID IT!” note covering them all. Developed a series of ideas for the next phase of the marketing  program where we have simple actions showing ways to save energy.  Help needed: Still need to raise more money to fully fund development of ads for Other  Paper, google & facebook and other marketing avenues (est. $3,000 ­ $4,000).  Plans: Start mapping out action ads. Get photos taken and design the captions. Look for  funding sources.    $5 million prize working group, by Keith Epstein  Accomplishments: Solicited ideas and group members through one Front Porch Forum  post by city councilor Tom Chittenden. Held our first meeting on June 2nd. Led by Tom  Chittenden, and had 2 attendees besides me (Chris Gordon and Laurinda Hulce). We discussed  criteria by which the spending ideas would be evaluated. They are as follows, with weighting.  * Permanence. How much the idea will benefit the community perpetually. High  * Accessibility. Full spectrum of the community can engage. High  * Energy Demand. Does the plan lower how much energy is demanded by the city? High  * ES/NPV. Energy Savings relative to the Net Present Value of plan. High  * Average Household Dollar Savings. What is the possible benefit to the average household  who opts into the plan. Medium  * Clean Energy. Reduced demand for energy from non­renewable sources. Medium  * Energy Consumption Awareness. Does this plan educate community members on the  consequences of inefficient energy consumption and the externalities of non­renewable energy  sources. Medium  * Replicability. How easily reproducible is this plan for other communities to do. Medium  Help needed: Encourage anyone who you think would be a good working group member  to contact me or Tom Chittenden to participate. Tom's email is Thomas.Chittenden@gmail.com.  Please share your ideas for how to spend the $5 million.  Plans: Start figuring out how we are going to evaluate the ideas according to the criteria  that we came up with. Hold our next meeting via computer conference. Publish another article  written by Fred in the Other Paper about the working group.    Neighborhood Energy Mapping, by Keith Epstein  Accomplishments: Received some feedback from EVT on my feedback to the draft they  sent last month, but they haven't sent a new version yet.  Help needed: None  Plans: Work with EVT to get a version of the neighborhood energy map that we can  publish in the newspaper, on our website, and on Facebook.    Utility Data Reporting, by Keith Epstein  Accomplishments: 2013 and 2014 baseline data and Q1 2015 data submitted by EVT  and VGS to GUEP by the May 15th deadline. Net metered solar and group net metered solar do  not subtract from our aggregate energy usage for GUEP. The only solar that helps reduce our  community aggregate energy use for GUEP is net metered solar power that directly reduces the  electricity that flows to the meter. This is solar power that is produced while the building is  Page 2 of 9  consuming power. Therefore, solar energy does not help our GUEP score as much as we  thought it would.  Help needed: Your ideas for how we should use the data. GUEP will be publishing a  dashboard for all communities.  Plans: Review the GUEP dashboard when it goes live. I don't know the exact date when  it will be ready.    EVT & GMP Targeted Marketing, by Don Cummings  Accomplishments: Had a general discussion on topic with Brian Otley of GMP ­ they are  interested in helping with SBEP but need a little more info.  Help needed: None  Plans: EVT put this on hold until they got the data to Georgetown. I am now in process of  following up with Jon Floyd of EVT to build project descriptions that we can take to GMP to try to  get their participation.    VGS Projects, by Don Cummings  Accomplishments: Another management meeting to encourage progress, discussed  projects (Opower­like effort, review past audits, "salesify" the audit process, light audit, adding a  coach to the audit process, help with school and municipal upgrades, help with rentals, replace  older rental equip), prioritized them & VGS set some target dates. Ready to proceed on coach,  rental and school & municipal projects. Keith attempting to get UVM Sustainable  Entrepreneurship MBA (SEMBA) program involved in the “salesify” the audit process project.  Help needed: Need to find candidates for rental assistance project  Plans: VGS is naming team leaders responsible & scheduling project planning meetings  on many.    Solar Initiative, by Linda McGinnis and Don Cummings  Accomplishments:  1. Solar – Landfill Array (Encore, City, School): Delays in signature  2. Solar Consortium (Ara, Steve, Keith, Linda)  Current community contribution status is approximately $800  3. Solar installs (Steve, Carson, Linda)  Update on first quarter from Steve (May 5) ­ 10 new rooftop installs. This makes the total 32  total homes in SB since Dec 1 (21 CSA, 11 rooftop), the date by which we are measuring our  progress toward 400 homes (200 rooftop and 200 CSA).  4. Tuttle Solar Mapping/Testimonial Project (Steve Wright)  Middle school students working on data gathering, interviews and mapping  5. Solar Lawn Sign Competition (Philip Galiga, Monica Ostby, Linda McGinnis)  March – 15 contestants, 25 design submissions,  Early April – Winner selected – Chloe Zinn (Judges: Monica, Keith, Pat Nowak, Linda)  May – Pizza Party (Sponsored by Mont Vert), Certificates awarded, $100 prize to winner (from  Monica and Linda) and ice cream coupons to other entrants    Page 3 of 9  Decision to print 70 of the home solar, and 30 of the CSA solar signs. Price increased for two  batches from $800 to $1200 (May 8 Quote) Don drafted letter to be sent to solar consortium  members asking for sponsorship. Need feedback on draft letter.    Mont Vert offered to pay $800, no word from Suncommon, All Earth had agreed to match  Suncommon    Catie Michael offered to go door to door with signs    Help needed:  ­ Funding for Solar Lawn Signs Printing (need $400 to match the $800 from Mont Vert)  ­ Ideas on how best to distribute the lawn signs (by neighborhood? with brochure on how to  spread the word? Energy Committee members? Students?)  ­ Ideas on how best to feature the designs and winner (articles, website, FB, calendar, etc)  ­ Solar home parties (combined with Efficiency parties?)    Plans:  1. Solar Landfill Array: Final signature    2. Residential Solar Installs    Second Quarter update, including December installs on the online tracking system as part of the  agreed upon time frame toward our 400 goal. Need to verify baseline number of homes as of  Nov 31, 2015    3. Solar Consortium    Send letter for sponsorship of solar lawn signs, from Linda and Steve.    Encore will propose a one time larger contribution linked to the landfill project coming on line  (several thousand $). Chad will decide on details once the contract is signed.    Linda/Steve will work with Ara to create an online solar form to guide potential customers to the  consortium members who fit their needs    4. Tuttle Solar Mapping/Testimonials    Consolidation of residential data points from PSD, GMP, and consortium updates    Draft testimonials for feedback    5. Solar Lawn Sign Competition    Page 4 of 9  Print 70 home and 30 CSA lawn signs    Decide on distribution mechanism, begin distribution    Fundraising for Marketing Outreach, by Patty Tashiro  Accomplishments: Approached members of SBBA and SBBA to ask for support. Am  looking into getting funding through the climate ride, where Keith may unicycle for 320 miles  over 5 days in September to raise money and awareness for SBEP and NEGEF! Have looked  into applying for grants from Dealer and Seventh Gen. Dealer's 2015 donations are closed for  the year, but they also fund projects through employee recommendations. Will approach a  family friend who was their 8th employee to see if he could help. Seventh Gen is invitation only  grants. Am working on approach high net worth individuals who are interested the the cause.   Help needed: If any of you have contacts that would be interested, either let me know  and I will send you a one­page pitch, or give me the contact info and I will contact them.   Plans: Send out some pitches and get some more donations!     SBBA promoting energy efficiency, by Patty Tashiro  Accomplishments: During the General Meeting where members were voting on the  board, asked what the SBBA was going to do to support the energy prize. Some members had  still not heard of it. The Chairman of the Board said he wasn't sure what SBBA would do, but  that we ought to have a meeting to discuss it.  Help needed: None at this time  Plans: Get a date on the calendar to put the Energy Prize before the members.    Hardware store engagement, by Patty Tashiro  Accomplishments: Spoke to Assistant Manager at Lowe’s who said they still would like to  make an end cap for an 'energy efficiency' center. He said they haven't forgotten about us, but  are trying to work it in. As for tabling, since the summer is booked with events, we might target  the autumn, to tie in with DIY weatherizing.   Help needed: None at this time  Plans: Get a date for the end cap. Get a date for tabling on a Saturday.     Schools Programs, by Linda McGinnis  Accomplishments:  1. School Solar ­ Landfill  a. Delay on signing    2. School Efficiency  a. Mar, 2015: SBHS Walkthrough Audit and follow up with Commons Energy  b. April 2015: Tuttle Walkthrough Audit with Commons Energy  c. May 2015: Boiler Burner pricing    3. Elementary (Carol McQuillen, Ann Mason)  Page 5 of 9  a. Orchard:  • Summary of Elementary Efficiency Projects/Actions (April­May) online resources, books, etc  • Energy Prize Video (May­June): Assistance to high schooler, Alex Escaja­Heiss to create a  video for SBEP (see HS section) (Carol McQuillen, Jay Hoffman, Karen McKenny)  • First Grade “Save Energy” Posters – Gift from Villanti Printing (Mar­April) – originally designed  for Orchard School Science Fair (March). 800 posters printed (May) 13x19 inches. Also 18x24  poster incorporating all entries (Carol McQuillen, Dan Emmons – Orchard parent, Lawrence  Francis – facilities)  b. Chamberlin – no contact as yet  c. Central ­ Ann Mason volunteered to coordinate. In touch with Susan Luck (Principal) and  Bobbie Pennington (teacher) to share ideas from Orchard    4. Middle School  a. April 15 – SBEP Presentation to entire administration and faculty, including proposed next  steps for in­school activities. Lots of positive feedback  b. May – Summary of “Spreading the Prize” actions for Middle School  • MS Resources and next steps, including VEEP teacher training, workshops, resources, etc.  c. June 4 – Green Team brainstorming (Deb Paul, Chair)  • Members: Deb Paul ­ teacher, Chair; Paul Yoon – Administration; Steve Webster – District;  Caryn Olivetti and Matt Guyette – counselors, Jeff Novak – Peer Leadership coordinator, Robert  Metz – Student Council Coordinator, students to be identified in the fall  • Decision: Form a Green Team for 2015­2016 school year, meet monthly, core team to meet  over the summer to outline monthly themes and projects for students, discuss possibility of  incorporating energy into team P3 project­based learning  d. June 6 – Professional Development Paul Yoon sent notice to all teachers of VEEP  professional development workshops this summer  e. April­June Solar Mapping/Testimonials Project (Steve Webster)  • April: 10 students signed up  • May: Solar addresses from DPS (total = 111), regular team meetings  • June: Four students working on testimonials, collecting information from homeowners – data,  pictures, audio and video interviews  5. High School  a. Solar Lawn Sign Competition (Philip Galiga, Monica Ostby, Linda McGinnis)  • March – 15 contestants, 25 design submissions,  • Early April – Winner selected – Chloe Zinn (Judges: Monica, Keith, Pat Nowak, Linda)  • May – Pizza Party, Certificates awarded, $100 prize to winner and ice cream coupons to other  entrants  • Decision to print 70 of the home solar, and 30 of the CSA solar signs. Price increased for two  batches from $800 to $1200 (May 8 Quote)  • Mont Vert offered to pay $800, no word from Suncommon, All Earth had agreed to match  Suncommon  • Catie Michael offered to go door to door with signs    Page 6 of 9  b. EXPO Jobs Fair ­ April 7 (Don, Patty, Linda)  • Activities List provided, 30 students signed up for more information  c. Green Team Actions:  • April ­ SBEP Schools Coordinator named (Catie Michael)  • Mar­May: Participation in Vermontivate!  d. Community Service/Internship activities (Nancy Lavarnway, Matt Dransfield)  • CDC Correspondents on Energy ­ 2 articles in The Other Paper: March 19: Unplug and  Become a Champion (by Megan Harton); and March 26: “Saving the Environment: SBHS Takes  on the Whole School Energy Challenge” (by Ali Barrett),  • Two more possibilities: SBEP community service opportunities, Lawn Sign Graphic Arts  winners  • Home Energy Assessments: 2 students interned with Fruitful to carry out energy assessments  (Patty Tashiro)  e. Student Projects:  • Senior Project: Alex Escaja­Heiss to promote the Energy Prize, and to illustrate how children  are powerful communicators to help us learn about energy at school and home, and to help lead  the change in our habits.  • AP Environmental Science: Kailin Farrell and Adam de Costa – documentary on how solar is  being used in our community    6. UVM  a. Graduate level: Jennie Stevens “Energy Systems Transitions” class – two grad students,  Elizabeth Palchak and Emil Tsao providing project support to work with Marketing team on best  strategies for changing behavior  • March 25 (Don, Keith, Linda) – Elizabeth and Emil presented initial findings, and we provided  feedback. Two areas of specific emphasis going forward: demographic analysis of SB to  indicate what strategies might work best for different neighborhoods; specific recommendations  based on successful outreach in related cities around the country  • May 7 ­ Present final recommendations to the SB Energy Committee  • May 22: Final Products (on Dropbox): i) Final Report; ii) Final Presentation; iii) Energy  Behavior articles; iv) SB Neighborhood Analyses: Maps  • May – Working level meeting with Marketing team  b. Undergraduate level: NR206 “Environmental Problem Solving” – 5 undergrads to work on  Form Based Code and Solar Ready Buildings (esp for new City Center)  • Theme: “Crawl, Walk, Run” Crawl = encouraging solar ready roofs; Walk – require solar ready  roofs; Run – Require solar installed.  • Meeting on March 12 (Roseanne, Carson) to provide feedback on preliminary work  • April 2 ­ Presentation to SBEC  • April 13 – Public Forum  • April 14 – Present Findings to Planning Commission  • Press release on their work    Help needed:  Page 7 of 9  1. School Solar: Signature from City  2. School Efficiency: Follow up with Commons Energy  3. Elementary  Need an ES Volunteer Coordinator  Need to reach out to Chamberlin ( with Chris Provost, teacher)  4. Middle School  Need MS Volunteer Coordinator  Ideas for MS projects/activities for 2015­2016  Solar mapping/testimonials – need someone to consolidate address information on SB  residential solar between DPS list, GMP list and SBEP list.  5. High School  Monthly Readouts on Energy Use from VEIC  Ideas for Projects/Community Service Actions for 2015­2016  Solar Lawn Signs: Need to raise $400 to match $800 from Mont Vert; ideas on promoting door  to door, posting winners (and others on website and FB), ideas on how to use the designs in  future (calendar with solar tips?)  6. UVM: Ideas for projects for 2015­2016 (e.g. Community Energy Dashboard)    Plans:  1. School Solar: Final signature  2. School Efficiency: Agreement with Commons Energy  3. School Coordination:  a. Meet as a group over the summer to identify 2015­2016 priorities  b. School Board presentation of accomplishments  c. VEEP Workshops for teachers  4. Elementary  a. Identify uses for the “Save Energy” Posters in the fall (The Other Paper, senior housing,  pre­schools, fitness, pediatric offices, etc)  b. Meet with Principals of Chamberlin and Central to discuss participation  c. Meet with Orchard team to plan 2015 roll­out  d. Implement VEEP wind/sun workshops in classrooms  5. Middle School  a. Summer – core Green Team to meet and establish monthly themes and goals for coming  school year, with particular project options for Peer Leadership and Student Council  b. Solar mapping/testimonials – complete production  6. High School  a. Solar Lawn Signs – order printing, organize distribution  b. Determine priorities for 2015­2016 school year  7. UVM  a. Identify new projects for Fall semester (e.g. Community Energy Dashboard)      Landfill Solar Array, by Ilona Blanchard  Page 8 of 9  Accomplishments: Progress is being made towards a landfill solar array with all parties  engaged.  Help needed: None needed at this time  Plans: Will keep the committee updated as they develop.  Page 9 of 9  South Burlington Energy Commiee 575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 (802) 846-4106 www.sburl.com facebook.com/SouthBurlington _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Draft Meeting Notes March 1, 2018 Committee members present: Karen Mckenny, Marcy Murray, Linda McGinnis, Sam Swanson (Chair) Committee members absent: Don Cummings, Fred Kosnitsky, James Mount, Jeremy King, Keith Epstein, Patty Tashiro, Drew Gelfenbein Community members present: Carrie Fenn (Suncommon), Mark Benton (350VT) City staff present: Paul Conner (Director of Sustainability), Sharon Murray (Front Porch Community Design) Note: Because the meeting lacked a quorum of Energy Committee members, those present could not take any action. These notes record what transpired during this meeting. Committee Chair Sam Swanson initiated the meeting at 6:35 PM. Linda McGinnis volunteered to record meeting notes. Public Comment Suncommon- Carrie Fenn · Reaching out to SBEC to identify how to further engage the next round of residential solar customers · 8000 households without solar, how to get more linkages with EVs, · Would like to schedule an Energy Carnival (with GMP, Vermont Energy, electric lawnmower, EVs, etc.) · March 29th, dinner for SB customers and SBEC members, tour of Net Positive facility 350VT – Mark Benton · Wants to work with EC to get resolution in front of selectboard Approval of Minutes from last meeting: NO QUORUM TO VOTE City Staff Presentation (Paul Conner and Sharon Murray) gave an overview of the SB Planned Unit Development Strategies: Phase 1 Project Report, with a particular focus on discussing the role of energy. The PUD was described as a way to waive zoning, where waivers are tied to benefits to the community. The goal is to have greater predictability and creativity in meeting the city’s goals. In the report that was shared with the committee, 7 types of PUD were covered. Some of the key issues that were discussed were: · Solar ready subdivisions – what is the best way to address it? o How to incorporate community solar and/or solar orientation of houses in zoning? o How much do stretch codes cover solar ready roofs or solar orientation (now it’s primarily an incentive. Is there a way to make it have more impact?)\ · How best to incorporate transit into every type of PUD? (we discussed the use of solar carports/canopies with charging stations, increased public transit/carshare infrastructure options, among others · The current thinking is to establish minimum density levels to ensure compact development and maximum density levels to ensure walkable/bikeable communities with green spaces · Biking: ultimate goal is to have about 80% of neighborhoods connected by bike paths · The PUDs are encouraging more mixed use neighborhoods, but many are still traditional designs (e.g. no services in neighborhoods). They are looking for ideas on how to try for more mixed use to allow for walking/biking to services wherever possible They asked for SBEC to share specific regulations or examples that could help meet the energy goals. Linda and Karen offered to send examples of solar carports /canopies in states that receive a lot of snow (Minnesota, Michigan, Utah, Colorado, Massachusetts). Climate Action Overview (Paul Conner) Paul Conner provided an overview of what has happened to date. He has met with all of the committees who serve a role in a sustainable SB. He defined this as a community that is: · Walkable · Affordable · Economically viable · Greenspaces · Energy Efficient/Renewable SB became a member of STAR Communities that provides a framework to develop metrics and data around what it means to be sustainable with a goal of enabling data driven decision-making. In addition, City Manager Kevin Dorn asked Paul to work with Dept heads to ensure that we are also fiscally sustainable, providing our municipal services in a way that is financially efficient. For example, a building built on Farrell St. costs no additional services to the city, whereas a building on a new street in SE quadrant can cost us much more in terms of operational expenditures. Sam indicated concern that the city is losing focus on carbon emissions reduction both as a goal and as a metric. The STAR Communities framework puts GHG emissions as one small subset of many categories rather than as a lens by which to assess all categories. He underscored that the point of signing up with the Climate Pledge Coalition was to ensure that we measured our city investment decisions with a climate lens. Paul responded that it will be important for residents (and committees) to keep the attention on this issue. The City will need assistance to translate the work of the city into carbon emissions reductions, as well as assistance in the outreach to community members to encourage them to help reduce our emissions (through solar, efficiency, public and electric transportation, etc.). He asked if SBEC would be willing to help develop this type of metric. Lacking a quorum the Committee did not respond but Sam indicated that he believed the Committee is eager to assist in developing carbon emission metrics. We also discussed the importance of building a climate lens into describing (or ‘rebranding’) as well as tracking ongoing SB projects, to help reinforce and strengthen the efforts of other committees. The example was given of the sewer bond ($2.98 million to be voted on Town Meeting Day) and wastewater treatment facilities improvements. Very little mention is given to the energy/carbon emissions savings (and financial), that the City and its residents will accrue by supporting this project. The most important example discussed was the City Center project. The SBEC can strengthen the links to carbon emissions reduction, as well as strengthening the messaging of how SB is a community where we place a premium on a low carbon footprint, achieved by investments in, among others, smart growth, efficient buildings and systems, renewable energy, bike paths, public transit, vehicle electrification, etc. We agreed that: i) SBEC could help Paul strengthen the carbon emissions metrics used in the City’s climate action plan; and ii) SBEC would meet regularly with Paul to discuss tracking the city’s efforts, and identifying areas that could use SBEC support. The tracking would include regular updates on the use of the Efficiency Fund and other key projects that have an important carbon reduction impact. Sam agreed to follow up with Paul on establishing a regular meeting schedule. Additional project updates Since there wasn’t a quorum, we opted not to do specific project updates. Karen noted that the newsletter went out today and that regular FB updates were scheduled during her absence. Sam shared that he will be drafting a first cut of a FY 2019 Committee Work Plan requested by City at the Leadership Meeting attended by Sam and Keith on February 22. Sam will present a draft for consideration by the Committee at the next meeting. Adjournment & next meeting The meeting ended at 8:45 p.m., and the next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 5, at 6:30 p.m. in the upstairs meeting room at the South Burlington Police Station (19 Gregory Drive • middle entrance).