HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Energy Committee - 04/13/2022SBEC minutes 2022-04-13
In attendance:Tim Perrin,Sam Swanson,Ken Pulido,Kate Bailey,Keith Epstein,Marcy Murray,
Steve Crowley,Ethan Goldman,Ilona Blanchard (Staff),Lou Bresee (Staff),Phil March (public)
Absent:MJ Reale
Joined by Phil March from Essex Energy Committee -interested in revolving loan fund
Also looking for advice on hiring an energy manager
Minutes from March 9th meeting -Sam moves,Keith seconds;passes unanimously.
Progress review on work plan:
●Outreach to multifamily/low income team will meet to plan how to align efforts with other
community outreach efforts.
●Keith and MJ met to discuss outreach and education,putting together a list of resources
and media outlets that can be used when there is information to share.Looking for input
from other committee members.
●CAP outreach:planning started on an article to let the public know about the plan.CAP
TF has not yet started asking the public for input,SBEC would like to see that outreach
happen sooner rather than later.SBEC members will attend the next CAP TF meeting to
advocate for that and offer to help.Lou described how the Vermont Climate Council
(VCC)asked the public to ask what they wanted the VT CAP to focus on;perhaps we
could do something similar in SB.Steve emphasized that the citizens in SB will
ultimately be responsible for carrying out the actions in the CAP;this will require buy-in
and ownership,and can’t easily be dictated by city leadership without consent.Need to
understand motivation,barriers,level of knowledge in order to craft a plan that will
resonate.SBEC could help suggest organizations that could get the word out and offer
to help spearhead some aspects of public engagement.
Ongoing activities:
●Website/Facebook:Ilona will add a link from the city page on the SBEC to the Facebook
page.
●Solar bike shelter:turnover of SBEC members may require new participants to work on
this project.
●CAP update:moving on to transportation sector;very challenging.Lou pointed out that
semi trucks are a big problem that isn’t being addressed.SB participates in bikeshare
program with BTV.There may be funding opportunities at the city and state level.Steve
asked about electric school busses (4 are ordered),eclectic public busses (1 in pilot),
and microtransit (Montpelier pilot).
●State-level updates:Clean Heat Standard is moving through the legislature.
●POWER-D.city proposal:on Jessie’s desk for signature.
Questions from Phil (Essex EC)
●Biggest problem is “inertia”between monthly meetings,so they established working
meetings.
●Challenged by split of Essex Town and Jct;city council is distracted.City building
manager is knowledgeable about energy issues;acts as half of an energy coordinator.
●Focus:mini building retrofits,res retrofits,renewable energy system installation,
electrifying mini fleet (EVs and bikes),want to build new bike/walk trails (perhaps with
infrastructure dollars).Trying to build a large PV project with muni buildings as offtakers.
●Did a weatherization event last fall at Lowes,seemed like a big success,Lowes and Ann
Janda helped.Did lots of homeowner education.Could not track success in terms of
actual projects (DIY or contractor-built);looking for help tracking completed projects.
●Concerned that the criteria for “comprehensive”weatherization is loose,some partial
jobs sneaking through onto the list of completed projects.
●Looking for ways to enforce energy code on building permits.No local mechanisms.
Perhaps there is an opportunity for regional collaboration to share resources so that all
the new construction in the area can be inspected.Keith notes that SB requires stretch
energy code for new construction,which is also required by Act 250.It’s still
self-certified,but the owners could sue builders if it’s found to not have met code.
●What are opportunities for ARPA funds to do weatherization,particularly when there is a
labor shortage?Ken P:There is $80M ($45M for CVOEO;$35M for EVT)over 4 years -
CVOEO has proposed spending $2M on “Climate workforce”training center for
weatherization,electricians,etc.
Revolving loan fund:
●Sent info to Ann to compile into a report.Lou will share data from past projects so
committee members can see details.Phil mentioned that the Essex City Council has
concerns about how it would work and whether it would pay for itself.
Lou’s update on energy and capital projects
●Bartlett Bay project:city has communicated importance of energy to construction
company…not just minimum requirements,but shoot high:PV,heat pumps,better
sizing and control of motors.Project will be *very*expensive,so city is looking for grants;
energy efficiency looks like a very promising angle for grant applications.
●Looking for batteries to cut peak demand;talking to contractors.
●Getting quotes for replacing windows in the police station;it felt very cold in there this
winter.
●Wheeler House:manager is motivated to upgrade EE.Planning an audit after some
low-hanging fruit is plucked (big gaps around doors,etc.)Facility manager is hiring more
staff to help.Steam heating system is being investigated for possible conversion from oil.
May or may not have historic pres issues,but it’s possible to investigate deep energy
retrofits;VGS may be interested in supporting that.
ARPA Funding Opportunities:
●City is planning an outreach process to find out what projects people are interested in.
$3.5M available;$1M earmarked for “housing”.Interest in looking for “transformative”
uses of the funding,ones that don’t add operational expenses.There will be a formal
process,but we should still be proactive about identifying projects that we want to
support.
●Should not be too late if we wait until the next SBEC meeting.Isn’t required that we
spend on municipal or public facilities.
●Ken pointed out that transportation is the big,tough problem that needs transformational
support.
●We agreed to set up a Google form that populates a Google sheet in the shared drive.
Tim will work on that.Members will not discuss the ideas before the next meeting in
order to avoid open-meeting issues.