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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Energy Committee - 01/04/2018 South Burlington Energy Commiee 575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 (802) 846-4106 www.sburl.com facebook.com/SouthBurlington Approved Meeng Minutes January 4, 2018 Committee members present: Don Cummings, James Mount, Jeremy King, Karen Mckenny, Keith Epstein, Linda McGinnis, Marcy Murray (Scribe), Patty Tashiro, Sam Swanson (Chair) Committee members absent: Drew Gelfenbein, Fred Kosnitsky, Community members present: None City staff present: None Initial business Members agreed on agenda items to be discussed and reviewed the December minutes. Don moved and Karen seconded a motion to approve the December 7, 2017, minutes as edited. Approved unanimously. Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust plan Linda reviewed key points from the letter she drafted on behalf of the City Council to Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources (ANR). Sam will contact Ilona to see if it will be submitted before the upcoming deadline. Linda will ask David Young to submit a similar letter to ANR before the deadline. Support of Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee recommendations to City Council Sam shared the City Council’s itemized response to the letter he had written on behalf of our committee in support of specific projects recommended by the Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee. None of the projects will be funded in the FY2019 budget. Given the critical safety, health and Climate-Pledge-related benefits of the projects; Don moved, Keith seconded and the committee unanimously approved a motion confirming the committee’s agreement with Sam’s letter in support of specific bike/ped projects. We plan to reaffirm our formal support for these recommendations at the beginning of the next fiscal year’s budget process. City of South Burlington’s Climate Pledge action plan Don shared the eight key suggestions for city action that he had communicated to Paul Conner, Tom Hubbard and Justin Rabidoux for supporting the fulfillment of the Climate Pledge. The committee will add more details during the next 2.5 months to maximize the economic, health, and carbon benefits. According to Don, there appears to be staff interest in simultaneously doing all of the key energy efficiency projects up front and then paying them off with a revolving loan fund fueled by the related efficiency savings. A brief list of the eight suggestions for city action includes the following: · Continue the focus on residential energy efficiency · Funnel commercial entities to existing energy efficiency programs · Lower, measure and publicize municipal energy usage · Motivate residents & businesses to use low- or no-CO2 transportation methods · Drive municipal, residential, and commercial renewable energy generation · Collaborate with regional partners on big-picture transportation issues to reduce carbon emissions by 25% by 2025 and to lower vehicle miles traveled (VMT) · Encourage dense energy-efficient housing development near transportation options & work centers · Reduce the impact of heavy commercial transportation Annual Report Marcy volunteered to draft the committee’s page for the city’s annual report. Sam and Keith agreed to review it before the January 17 deadline. Other project updates Members shared key details from the latest project summary in addition to the following: Sam will invite Kevin and Paul to share the status update required by the city’s energy efficiency policy. James volunteered to write the final Georgetown University Energy Prize (GUEP) press release if Coralee would like him to, and Patty will send thank-you letters to our major GUEP donors who will be publicly thanked in the press release. Linda emphasized the importance of ensuring that funding from the city’s solar savings is put to work as soon as possible. Members agreed that the city needs to make a public announcement regarding its Climate Pledge and commitment to fulfilling it. Jeremy reported that the airport-related noise exposure maps showing affected housing are done but that the FAA has decided that sound attenuation efforts will not incorporate energy efficiency (EE) upgrades. Given that the latter would make the housing more affordable while helping to reduce noise and emissions, he and Sam will talk with Kevin, Climate Pledge partner Burlington, and the airport’s Gene Richards about reversing that decision—perhaps requiring EE upgrades with all noise abatement efforts. Assessment of committee operation & practices Members mentioned topics including how we handle our Chair terms, the desire to return to a cohesive working relationship, and the possibility of maximizing committee motivation by having the city take more ownership of energy work and more actively working with us. There was support for exploring the possibility of holding one monthly meeting per quarter at City Hall with Paul Conner and Kevin Dorn starting in March or April—during the day, if necessary. That could strengthen the staff-committee collaborative effort to meet the Climate Pledge’s emissions reduction goal by enabling the committee to share the status of its top three priorities while making it easier for staff to identify specific ways we can support their work of implementing the money-saving, emissions-reducing, health-supporting plans we and others recommend. The City Council will likely need to issue measurable energy-related objectives so staff in various departments are motivated to implement additional energy-related projects. A newer member would like to hear staff explain why the city created the committee and what it values about it. Adjournment & next meeting The meeting adjourned at around 8:30 p.m., and the next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 1st, at 6:30 p.m. in the upstairs meeting room at the South Burlington Police Station (19 Gregory Drive • middle entrance).