Clean Energy Committee

Meeting Minutes

January 26, 2010 6:30 PM

Called to Order

A regular meeting of the Clean Energy Committee was held in the Enfield Room at the Enfield Town Hall, Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on January 26, 2010.  The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Chairman LaPlante.

Roll Call

Roll call was announced by Karen LaPlante. Virginia Higley was absent.  Also present at the meeting was Geoff McAlmond, Deputy Director of Public Works.

Public Comment

There was no public comment.

Minutes of Preceding Meeting

A motion to accept the minutes of the December 29 meeting by Raymond Gwozdz was seconded by Gerard Lafleur, all in favor.

Old Business

2010 Energy Expo/Fair

Karen LaPlante noted that she thought the vendors were all happy with the day.  The raffle tickets were counted and there were approximately 147 tickets entered.  Gerard Lafleur estimated that an additional 50 or so people entered the event and did not want to participate in the raffle.

Karen LaPlante asked for suggestions for next year’s show and noted that whatever happens she does not want to step on the “toes” of the annual home show.  Gerard Lafleur stated that it would be important to find out how people heard about the show.  Jeffrey Myjak noted that he thought it would a good idea to have the next show in the fall before the heating season begins.  Gregory Mark stated that the planning should begin earlier, that there should be more variety in vendors and to expect continued growth each year.   Jeffrey Myjak suggested improved communication between members.  Raymond Gwozdz suggested locking down vendors earlier.  Karen LaPlante noted that the seminar schedule got messed up and asked how to avoid that in the future.  Jeffrey Myjak suggested having the schedule set early and getting the word out earlier.  Raymond Gwozdz also suggested getting feedback from participants.

Stephen Moriarty congratulated the Committee on the event and thanked everyone for their hard work.

Jeffrey Myjak suggested October for the next event.

New Business

Discussion with Public Works

Karen LaPlante introduced Geoff McAlmond and asked if he had any information on the benchmarking of the municipal buildings.  Mr. McAlmond reported that the town has benchmarked the buildings and will get a copy of the report to the Committee. 

Karen LaPlante noted that as part of the EPA challenge the Town must make a 20 percent purchase of clean energy.  Mr. McAlmond noted that the Town purchases 100 percent from TransCanada but noted that hydro is not recognized.  Stephen Moriarty noted that TransCanada is considered “large hydro” and that is why it is not recognized.  Karen LaPlante noted that another option is to only sign up a few of the municipal buildings for the clean energy option as other towns have done.  Mr. McAlmond noted that in order to sign up with any other provider, the Town would have to break a contract with TransCanada which is in effect for another 2 years.

Carol Hall noted that she spoke with Manchester, CT and was informed that they also use TransCanada but they also buy credits at a cost of nearly 30 thousand dollars per year.  Mr. McAlmond noted the difficulty of this considering the current economic climate and asked what the return would be.  Karen LaPlante stated the Town would receive a 20 thousand dollar solar panel.  Mr. McAlmond noted the difficulty deciding to invest that amount of money. 

Jeffrey Myjak noted that the Town agreed to make this purchase and questioned going back on the decision.  Mr. McAlmond stated that he would like to know the real implications of not making the purchase.  Karen LaPlante stated that it would just be going back on the agreement.  Karen LaPlante noted that the Committee is unsure of its future if the Town does not make a purchase or follow through with clean energy. 

Karen LaPlante informed Mr. McAlmond that often times the Committee is unsure what information to pass along to the Town.  Carol Hall noted that this is why she asked someone from Public Works to be present at the meeting.

Jeffrey Myjak asked what the stimulus money is going to be for.  Mr. McAlmond reported that the money is going for building lighting improvements, and that the Town is anticipating a payback on those improvements in about 15 months.  Mr. McAlmond stated that they felt this was an easy “low hanging fruit.”  Karen LaPlante noted the Town resolution and any energy savings are to go to the purchase of clean energy.  Mr. McAlmond noted that he has read the resolution and believes it was made in good faith but that the economy is different now. 

Mr. McAlmond went on to note that the biggest savings are going to be from effective heating and cooling.  He noted that replacing the old boiler at Town Hall could save 60 percent in costs but that it would be an investment of 100 thousand dollars up front.  Karen LaPlante inquired about the compressors at the schools.  Mr. McAlmond stated that the town is looking to retrofit the school buildings.  He went on to note that the Town just recently took over the school buildings and it has been difficult. 

Mr. McAlmond noted that in looking at the municipal buildings that if everyone shut off their computers it could save 8 thousand dollars per year just from the Town buildings and 16 thousand dollars per year at the schools.  He noted that he could give the Committee an entire list of these types of things and that the Committee would be a big help in working on some of these issues.

Karen LaPlante asked about the status of the Water Treatment Facility project.  Mr. McAlmond stated that the Town has received 2 million dollars towards the project but it is a 10 million dollar project.  Now the Town must figure out how to fill the funding gap.  Mr. McAlmond stated that if it goes to referendum without nearly 100 percent of the funding in place it will be difficult to pass.

Mr. McAlmond again noted that he will see where the data for benchmarking is and will assist in getting that information into the EPA database if it is not already.   He went on to state that he feels benchmarking is a good tool because it shows where improvement is needed.  Mr. McAlmond noted that it is good to be somewhere in the range of 65 cents per square foot for energy costs and the Town has buildings that are currently averaging over one dollar per square foot in costs.  He went on to note that some costs might be higher due to mismanagement and that the data will be very useful in pinpointing where problems exist.  Raymond Gwozdz asked if guidelines have been established to prevent mismanagement in buildings and Mr. McAlmond stated that the Town is working on policies and has purchased software to prevent problems in the future.

Stephen Moriarty stated that as a resident he feels the Town is doing a good job of managing buildings but feels more needs to be done to educate the public.  Karen LaPlante noted that the Committee wanted to get some sort of energy challenge going in the schools and made note of the solar car challenge that just ended at Commerce high school in Springfield, Massachusetts, she went on to state that there are grants and resources available but does not know where to go now.  Mr. McAlmond reported that in order to get something into the curriculum for next year the Committee should be working on it now, he went on to note the recycling challenge that will be happening.  Mr. McAlmond noted that since he is working on this perhaps he can help get some Clean Energy items into the schools as well.

Stephen Moriarty asked if the Town was doing anything for Earth Day and Mr. McAlmond reported yes and the Clean Energy Committee can be a part of it.  The Committee went on to discuss partnering with Public Works to be on the agenda for the February meeting of the Board of Education.

The Committee discussed several other items with Mr. McAlmond. 

·        Retrofit of walk-in coolers at both high schools and JFK.

·        LED lighting upgrade for Central Library, planning to be completed in Feb.

·        Street lights, town ownership of lights, and progress of changing traffic lights, walk/don't walk lights, and possibly town Christmas tree to LED lighting. Geoffrey's biggest concern for Xmas tree is the regular theft of lower strands of lights each year off the tree. LED's more expensive to replace.

·        Town recycling contest planned for schools

A Special meeting of the Committee was planned for February 10 to discuss the presentation to the Board of Education.  Members were asked to think of ideas for criteria they wish to pursue. It was suggested to use West Hartford's ideas and agenda for a school energy challenge and prizes such a plaque for participating schools.

Correspondence

No correspondence was presented at the meeting.

Adjournment

A motion by Stephen Moriarty was seconded by Gerard Lafleur to adjourn at 8:15 p.m.