Meeting Minutes of June 29, 2010 Clean Energy Committee Meeting
Called to Order
A regular meeting of the Clean Energy Committee was held at the Enfield Town Hall, Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on June 29, 2010. The meeting was called to order by Chairman LaPlante at 5:32 pm.
Roll Call
Roll call was taken, all members present.
Public Comment
There was no public comment.
Minutes of Preceding Meeting
Motion was made to approve the minutes of the May 25th meeting by V. Higley, seconded by J. Myjak. All in favor, there was no discussion.
Old Business
Energy Challenge
K. LaPlante distributed charts showing the data reported by the buildings and status of the challenge thus far and J.Cox distributed the most current Connecticut Light and Power bills for the month.
K. LaPlante noted that in comparing the bills to the reported readings that only 3 or 4 of the buildings had been able to accurately read and report the meters. There are discrepancies between the bills and she noted the Town Hall bill and questioned if the numbers reported should be used or the numbers on the actual bill. The numbers reported seem accurate in terms of usage but do not correspond to the bill, if used it would represent a 44% savings over last year. K. LaPlante noted that CL&P used an estimated reading for the prior month. Currently the Village Center has reduced its daily average by 3 and is second place. The Committee discussed the rankings of the remaining buildings. Pearl Street Library and the Family Resource Center were both up in terms of usage. It was noted that it could be the air conditioning. K. LaPlante mentioned that is might be necessary to do degree days but the calculations are difficult.
The Committee discussed CL&P estimating bills for Town Hall. K. LaPlante reported that she thought CL&P should be doing actual readings for all commercial properties.
R. Gwozdz inquired about dollar for dollar comparisons between this and last year’s usage because the information isn’t presented. K. LaPlante stated that after the readings are all calculated she definitely wants to present a dollar amount. R. Gwozdz inquired about just comparing bills from last year to bills from this year and K. LaPlante noted that rate increases and demand days have to be accounted for also. The Committee informally discussed comparing dollar figures.
The Committee went on to discuss how to go about figuring out the Town Hall meter readings.
J. Myjak noted that the Senior Center’s increase in usage probably has a lot to do with the poorly placed thermostats and the exterior lights that continue to turn on very early in the evening. The Committee discussed the lights at the Senior Center and whether or not they are on a sensor, who has control of the sensor settings and how to go about rectifying the situation.
K. LaPlante stated that overall the results of the challenge are not encouraging. The Lamagna Center's numbers appear to be up 51% from last year. V. Higley noted that there were problems with the lights in the facility and perhaps that accounts for some of the usage.
K. LaPlante asked the Committee for suggestions on what to do now. C. Hall stated that she thought going at least another month would be good in order to collect adequate data on usage.
J. Myjak asked if there was someone that could come and show people how to read the meters, V. Higley reported that the person who showed the Town Hall how to read the meter was a brother of the staff person and not local. K. LaPlante suggested maybe having CL&P come out and asked J. Cox if this was possible. J. Cox stated that it sounds reasonable but it should be a request of Town Staff and not the Committee.
C. Hall questioned who verifies the billing from CL&P and wondered if it is something to bring to the Town Manager. K. LaPlante noted that maybe Mark Gahr or Dave Tuttle should be involved. J. Cox noted that there are staff members that manage the electric accounts however, he was unsure if anyone actually verifies the billing and usage.
R. Gwozdz asked that dollar figures definitely be included in next spreadsheet. From his perspective as a tax payer dollar numbers are the most important. He also asked J. Cox if an update to the website could take place. J. Cox stated that he could update the website if someone wanted to send him information or graphics.
K. LaPlante asked the Committee for a final decision regarding extending the challenge. The consensus being that it should continue until the August bill is generated. K. LaPlante asked that Committee members go to their assigned buildings and take the readings.
EPA Grant Funding
K. LaPlante reminded the Committee members of the grant funding that is available from the EPA for Climate Showcase Communities. She noted the efforts in other communities such as West Hartford where they used Clean Energy grant funding for 544 solar panels owned by SunEdison on Bristow Middle School. West Hartford and SunEdison signed a power purchase agreement, where West Hartford will purchase the power produced. Also noted were 2784 ground mounted solar panels in Windsor at the Walgreens Distribution Center. Sun Edison will own, operate and maintain the system and sell power to the distribution center.( installed them and in turn gets the contracts.) She stated that the possibility is there for Enfield to do great things but we have to be creative.
J. Myjak noted that one problem with trying to get things done is that due to charter Enfield cannot enter into agreements for longer than 3 years. K. LaPlante noted that due to this the Town is definitely missing out on opportunities.
Fourth of July Celebration
K. LaPlante asked if there were any updates on the celebration and if the Committee was sharing a table with the Town. J. Cox reported that he had heard from the Town Manager’s office and that the Town Manager’s office was still waiting to hear the details but yes, a table has been requested for the Committee.
The Committee discussed preparations and ideas for the event and K. LaPlante informed them that a sign up sheet for the table would be sent out soon.
Sterling Planet Agreement
J. Cox reported that there were no further updates on the agreement. C. Hall made note and might ask the Town Manager for an update.
New Business
Energy Fair
J. Cox informed the Committee that he has reserved Saturday November 6 for the next Energy Fair. K. LaPlante asked J. Myjak what he needs in order to prepare and he responded that he needs all of the graphics and contact information from the last event. J. Cox will get those items to him as soon as possible.
Misc.
S. Moriarty noted that the number of residents participating in the Clean Energy option is up to 139. The Committee discussed the idea that this might be due to S. Moriarty’s open house and he reported that he hopes to have another in October.
Sterling Planet
K. LaPlante asked if there were any updates from the Town Manager regarding the agreement with Sterling Planet. There were no updates from the Town Manager’s office thus far.
G. Mark noted that his solar panel installation should be happening in the next two weeks.
S. Moriarty checked with V. Higley regarding a clean energy table at the Farmers Market. V. Higley informed him that he could have a table.
Correspondence
No correspondence was presented at this meeting.
Adjournment
V. Higley made a motion to adjourn that was seconded by S. Moriarty, adjourning the meeting at 6:55.
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