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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Energy Committee - 07/13/2022South Burlington Energy Committee Meeting Minutes July 13, 2022 Approved 8/10 Committee members present: Ethan Goldman, Keith Epstein, Ken Pulido, Sam Swanson, Steve Crowley, MJ Reale, Frans van Boden, Ahmad Abdel-Fattah, Robert Meader Committee members absent: Tim Perrin (Chair), Carolyn McLaughlin City staff present: Ilona Blanchard, Lou Bresee, Tim Barrett City Council’s charge: The charge of the South Burlington Energy Committee is to promote energy conservation, energy efficiency, and the use of renewable energy resources among the city's residents, businesses, and in municipal affairs. The committee assists the city in addressing the goals to promote energy efficiency and affordable energy, and to lessen reliance (per capita) on non-renewable energy resources. MJ called the hybrid meeting to order from City Hall and via GoToMeeting shortly after 6:30 p.m. Introductions All present introduced themselves including several new committee members. Minutes Keith moved and Steve seconded a motion to approve the June 8 draft minutes with no change; passed unanimously. New Meeting Structure MJ reported a new approach to how committee meetings will run including starting each meeting with a brief review of Work Plan and updates from committee members – this can also include update on projects not officially on the plan that picks up the previous meetings “next steps”. Each meeting should end with a review of next steps for various members. FY23 Work Plan Ilona described the purpose of the work plan is to organize and track progress of the committee’s work towards meeting its goals in the fiscal year which runs July 1 through June 30. The group discussed the status of several items from the work plan including: Low Income Weatherization Outreach Ken stated he would meet with Tim to develop an initial approach and would report back next meeting. Ethan noted VGS had previously done some outreach in the city and they may have data on target populations the group should contact. Robert agreed to work with Tim and Ken on this task. Public Outreach on Benefits of Energy Efficiency Measures MJ noted she and Tim will meet on this is task. Expand General Outreach on Energy Related Issues MJ said the city agreed to add a section to the South Burlington website related to energy efficiency. She also noted that the Norwich energy committee agreed to allow the SBEC to use its information and collateral as a starting point for building out the South Burlington website. MJ will forward a link to the Norwich energy committee website. Ahmad asked if the committee could engage an outreach consultant to support this effort which led to the question of what funding is available to the committee for this type of work. Ex-committee member Marcy reported the committee has $7,560.30 in unrestricted funds currently available. Ilona mentioned there may be additional funds available in other city accounts and will report back. Ethan asked what expenditure levels would require an RFP and Ilona reported that expenditures over $10,000 require multiple bids and expenditures over $25,000 require an RFP. Climate Change Resolution Paul Conner is the city staff overseeing the creation of the Climate Action Plan. A draft of the plan is currently available online and the CAP task force is looking to present a final version to the City Council in September. Paul has created a survey to collect feedback on elements that are important to the public. He has identified several public events for committee and CAP task members to host a table, engage the public on the CAP and collect survey feedback. MJ reminded members to sign-up to host the CAP table at various events with the goal of having three individuals at each event. Steve stressed the importance of engaging with under-represented groups in developing the CAP. MJ will share a VECAN outreach framework with committee members as a resource in this effort. Ahmad asked if he could volunteer for the CAP task force. Ethan reported the task force was already formed but the general public could still provide feedback. The task force includes members from six committees – two from energy and one from each of the others. Ilona noted that no more than five committee members should work on an individual workplan item so as to comply with open meeting rules. Website, Facebook & other outreach Keith is continuing to regularly update the committee Facebook page and asked for members to share any content they think relevant. High School Solar Project Marcy provided some general history of the solar project and an update on the solar covered bike shelter project. Approximately five years ago as part of the energy prize several solar installers agree to donate a portion of the projects they installed to the school district to fund a solar project at the high school. Over the years, members of the committee have worked with Gary (Dir of Operations for the school district) to evaluate several projects including most recently adding solar to bike shelters. The bike shelter project was deemed too expensive and new potential projects need to be identified. Frans volunteered to work on the effort and MJ noted the school district has approximately $15,000 for a project. Intern Search Process The deadline to submit a proposed capstone project with the Rubenstein School is August 1st. Ethan reported one potential project is to identify and estimate the area available within the city to host solar projects. Steve, Ahmad and Ethan will reach out to the Rubenstein School to discuss engaging an intern. MJ will forward the Rubenstein contact information to Ethan. POWER-D.CITY The city has signed the Power-D.City contract. Initial kickoff meeting is scheduled next and will include Tim, Lou and Paul Conner. ARPA funding opportunities Tim prepared a draft recommendation to the City Council for how best to use South Burlington’s unearmarked American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funding to invest in energy-related solutions to help address the climate crisis. Ilona stated there is not immediate time pressure to report back to the City Council and noted that the City just sent out a survey seeking public comment on potential uses for the funds. MJ requested that committee members review Tim’s draft recommendation and provide any comments/feedback to him. Keith reported he did speak with Green Mountain Transit regarding the idea of building more bus shelters and they are open to the concept but will need additional information. Ethan believes more in-depth thinking about possible uses of the funds is warranted and suggested a stand-alone meeting to discuss. Ken and Robert agreed to join Ethan in such a meeting. Other State Legislation Steve asked if the Municipal Fuel Switching bill passed. Ken said he would investigate it and report back to the committee. Lou reported that VGS has offered to run a natural gas line to the Wheeler House at no cost to replace the fuel oil heating system. Currently the building can not support an electric heating system because the building has a steam heating system and not a hot water system. Organizational Ilona reported the committee needs to discuss organizational issues at the next meeting. She will send out the committee’s by-laws and suggested they may need to be amended to be consistent with the City’s new by-laws. The committee also needs to elect several roles including Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. Ilona invited everyone to a City-wide committee organizational meeting scheduled for Aug 4th from 6-8pm. MJ will send new committee members information on the open meeting policy. Next meeting The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m., and the next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, August 17th.