HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Energy Committee - 10/05/2017
South Burlington Energy Committee
575 Dorset Street
South Burlington, VT 05403
(802) 846-4106
www.sburl.com
facebook.com/SouthBurlington
Draft Meeting Minutes
October 5, 2017
Committee members present: James Mount, chair, Marcy Murray, Don Cummings, Karen McKenny,
Patty Tashiro, Keith Epstein, Linda McGinnis
Committee Members absent: Jeremy King, Sam Swanson, Fred Kosnitsky, Drew Gelfenbein
Invited Guest: Paul Conner, Planning Commission
Community Members Present: Roseanne Greco, Miranda Jonswold, Andy Johnson
The meeting called to order at 6:35pm
Approval of Minutes:
On a motion from Keith, seconded by Karen, the minutes of the Aug 3rd meeting were approved with no
opposition
On a motion from Keith, seconded by Karen, the minutes of the Sept 7th meeting were approved with
no opposition
Public Comments:
Roseanne: Encourage student body to ride school buses and keep cars off the road; Spoke with SBHS
Principal Patrick Burke, and will continue to work towards decreasing SBHS related car trips.
Andy: Sustainability focus, suggested designs be used that can last for 300 years rather than 30 years so
that they are sustainable, such as bridges, sewer lines, etc.
Paul Connor – Added Role, Chief Sustainability Officer:
Paul is the City’s planning and zoning director and was recently given the addition responsibility of
serving the City as its Chief Sustainability Officer. He spoke to the committee about how the new role
will complement his existing role and shared some thoughts with the committee.
• Two major aspects of the job:
1. Put a framework around and coordinate things we are already doing (e.g., switching out
lightbulbs, landfill solar, GUEP, Water Quality, Rec, Affordable Housing, etc.)
South Burlington Energy Committee
575 Dorset Street
South Burlington, VT 05403
(802) 846-4106
www.sburl.com
facebook.com/SouthBurlington
2. Data driven analysis of how we are doing to assess what we are doing well and where we
have opportunities for improvement, and where we can put our limited resources for the
biggest sustainable impact
• New initiatives:
o Link up with Star Communities and other sustainable community foundations to define
sustainability and break it down into specific sub goals (Bronze, Silver, Gold levels - 20
indicators ranging from Build Environment to Climate and Energy, from Economy and
Jobs to Natural Systems, etc.)
o Identify what we will do as part of the state level climate accord (Climate Pledge
Coalition)
• Regarding the City’s Point Person for Climate Pledge Coalition Nov 8th Summit
o Paul said this should be SBEC decision and that the City will support the committee’s
decision
Budget:
The committee started a preliminary discussion on the budget process to ensure that the committee will
continue to have as great an impact in the future as it did under the GUEP. James asked everyone to
start thinking of spending priorities and potential sources of revenue so that we can go deeper into the
process at the November meeting. Our spending during GUEP was high and will not be sustainable
without new revenue. Because our focus as a committee has started to shift toward transportation.
• What do we prioritize?
• Current Financial Status
o Will receive $1500 in July as we have each year. We could ask for and justify an
increase, and the City budget process is currently underway
o Total available funds were reported by Marcy as $8300
o Don's outreach spending proposal around transportation is $4000 for the rest of this
fiscal year ($2800 above current commitments) and $1000 for the start of next fiscal
year
South Burlington Energy Committee
575 Dorset Street
South Burlington, VT 05403
(802) 846-4106
www.sburl.com
facebook.com/SouthBurlington
Potential new sources on funding for Outreach (esp. related to Transportation) were brainstormed as
follows: car dealerships, NEGEF grants (up to $5000), VTRANS. Patty agreed to reach out to all South
Burlington car dealerships and will give us an update next month.
Project updates:
Members reviewed accomplishments, help needed and plans for the next month
Other Business:
On a motion from Don, seconded by Marcy, the committee asks that the City appoint Paul Conner to be
the point person for the City for all Climate Pledge Coalition actions. The motion passed with no
opposition, and Paul agreed that he would fulfill that role, which includes being the official source of
updates for the City on the Vermont Energy Dashboard (see http://www.vtenergydashboard.org/my-
community/south-burlington/progress)
Prior to adjournment, Paul also shared BREAKING NEWS: The City applied for a grant and today was
awarded $800K for pedestrian and bicycle commuter improvements to the south side of Williston Road
from Midas Drive to Dorset Street.
Adjournment:
The Chair adjourned the meeting at 8:35pm.
Next Scheduled Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for 11/2/2017 at 6:30pm
Draft minutes – subject to committee approval on 11/2/2017