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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Energy Committee - 11/08/20231 South Burlington Energy Committee Meeting Minutes November 8, 2023 Committee members present: Steve Crowley, Keith Epstein, Fred Kosnitsky, Ethan Goldman, Tim Perrin (Chair), MJ Reale (Vice Chair) Frans Van Boden Committee members absent: Sam Lipschutz, Carrie McLaughlin, Rob Meader City staff present: Lou Bresee, Nick Atherton City council member present: Andrew Chalnick Community member present: Steve Comeau Convene: Tim called the meeting to order at 6:35 PM. MJ volunteered to serve as scribe. Committee comments not related to the meeting agenda – Keith pointed out that the Bike and Ped Committee is working on bike lane changes to Spear St. Minutes. The Committee reviewed and adopted an amended version of meeting minutes from the October 11 meeting. Fred motioned to adopt the minutes and Keith seconded. The members present voted unanimously to adopt the minutes. 2024 Community Engagement Events The committee talked about options for engaging the community this winter and beyond. Book discussions Fred and Nick met with Mira from the library to discuss a book discussion series. The location is likely to be in the Library’s upstairs community room – 6:30 – 8pm. Hybrid format – in person/online option. The Library staff will handle organizing, ordering books and promotion. SBEC will promote in The Other Paper, Front Porch Forum and Facebook. Fred will lead the discussion. They lined up 4 book discussion event dates: •January 18, 2024 – Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer •March 21, 2024 – Ministry of the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson •September – TBD •November – TBD It was suggested that an additional one could be for families – with The Lorax ACTION: Fred/Nick will ask Mira about digital books availability and decide titles for remaining dates. Film viewing/discussions The auditorium is the likely location. There is the option of serving alcohol and snacks. Perhaps a panel discussion – ideally with the filmmaker. These were suggested: •The Letter - https://www.theletterfilm.org/ •300 Miles Melting - https://www.300milesmelting.com/ •Climate Change: The Facts-David Attenborough- https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00049b1 •PBS – Carbon Cycle - https://www.pbs.org/video/chasing-carbon-zero-mzijvs/ https://vermont.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/eclips-sci-realworld-essentialcarboncycle/real-world- the-carbon-cycle-essential-for-life-on-earth/ •Tree of Life - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478304/?ref_%3Dfn_al_tt_1 •Don’t Look Up - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11286314/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 •Encounters at the End of the World - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BB3YRtzRxE 2 Family movies – •Wall-e - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910970/plotsummary/ •Princess Mononoke - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119698/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_6_nm_2_q_princess%2520m ACTION: Fred/Nick will discuss with Mira Workshops The group discussed topics and how to facilitate. Committee member Rob Meader has expressed interest in managing these. Ethan created a google doc for workshop ideas from committee; https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScDaSJK-ObrT7yL_roG5EMEffOprTs4Pe7moz- AoBZK12pzFA/viewform The topics the group discussed include: •EVs – how to buy on a limited budget •Recycling urine •How citizens can get involved in local and state government •Food waste and climate MJ has limited feedback (14 responses) from the SB Energy Committee newsletter – the link has been shared with Keith for posting on Facebook with the hope of getting more community input. So far, the most preferred topics: •Electric vehicles •Sustainable transportation options •Heat pumps •Electric Bikes •Bike repair •Energy efficiency rebates A goal with these events is to build a community coalition. Encourage attendees to “Join Us” and “Be Part of the Solution” Consider a consistent format for the workshops that includes: Intro/briefing – what is going on in the city related to energy and how they can be involved. Ask participants how they want to be involved. Provide data - stats and growth – tie to CAP Aim to recruit participants as ambassadors at the end and request they spread the word. Take a poll. The group discussed whether we could hold multiple events for one topic in different neighborhoods. Could we hold them at schools, places of worship, condos? Promotional help from the city, The Other Paper, FB, FPF and CCRPC. Should we consider webinar format? ACTION: Tim will ask Ann/CCRPC what kind of viewership they get from the Button Up webinars. ACTION: Rob will weigh in on his role in managing. Fred/Nick may need to circle back with Mira on auditorium dates. 3 Work Plan: Coordinate with and learn from other Energy Committees In addition to working with other energy committees directly, can working with CCRPC and GMP to coordinate with other committees, be more efficient? It had been suggested that other towns (Shelburne and St. Albans) might be interested in being involved with one larger festival with us. It would be challenging to coordinate an event with other volunteer organizations, but other city committees could join us at our event with a table and promote to their constituents. CCRPC has a history of supporting energy committees and wondering if their role could expand in coordinating events. VECAN had a role in connecting Vermont energy committees but we are not certain of the status of that now. It was suggested that one way that CCRPC could support energy committees in the county would be to gather and share all of the annual reports. ACTION: Ethan will reach out to Ann Janda of CCRPC to learn more about their role as a convenor. GMP engineer Kamran Hassan has been in contact with Steve regarding gathering South Burlington energy data. SBEC would like to invite him to speak at one of our regular meetings. We can offer other energy committees to attend in person or online as well as Ann and Melanie from CCRPC. In addition to energy data, would a discussion include grid readiness, what is the carbon free mix of their sources, plans for growth etc.? ACTION: Steve will reach out to Kamran regarding this. City/State Policies What is SBEC role in city and state policy? We can directly provide input to City Council and others for city policies. We need to keep an eye on what is going on at the state level. If there are issues pending, we can reach out to our local representatives. One issue SBEC is interested in is net metering rules. SB Schools Andrew is involved with the task force related to energy. There is a sub group working on getting solar onto Chamberlin and Marcotte Central Schools who qualify for lower income federal subsidies. 50% off for up front costs. Andrew has questions regarding megawatt capacity and whether the school/city contract would need to be renegotiated. ACTION: Lou will provide information for Andrew Misc Tim updated the group that the Energy Festival budget which ran over our estimated costs. The SBEC originally approved $5,000 for the Energy Festival during our September meeting. The actual expenses came in at $5,194. The electrician services bill was $947.50 and we estimated $400. The group approved the additional funds with a motion by Steve and seconded by Keith. Adjourn: Meeting adjourned approximately at 8:40pm. Next Regular Meeting: Wednesday, December 13, 2023 at 6:30pm.