Green Team

Morgantown Green Team: Minutes of the August 1, 2016 Meeting Attending: Ella Belling, Tracy Frisch, Doug Milbrand, James Kotcon, Hari Jammulamadaka, Lisa Jones, Holly Purpura, and Jing Zhang I. Old Business and Updates A. IAC energy assessments of City buildings Alex Davis has still been having difficulty acquiring energy bills from Mon Power. Electricity bills are missing for 80% of buildings, and she needs the square footage of buildings. Most of the bills she has received have not been in the areas where we are looking. She does not have electricity bills for City Hall, Public Safety, Parking Garage by Public Safety, Woodburn, Maintenance Garage, Signs and Signals Building, or Ice Rink. 1. Preliminary recommendations derived from energy assessment Initial observations indicate that lighting, occupancy sensors, and air compressors could contrib- ute greatly to reducing energy bills. In addition to this, furnaces have to be tuned every 20 years, but this preventative maintenance has not been done. This is something that city engineering staff could be trained to do, and the IAC may be able to help. Equipment for tuning furnaces comes out to an estimated $1,000, if not lower. If not done, this can result in 10 percent or more energy loss annually, depending on how long it has been. The IAC has also not seen any building and energy management system, which could also help reduce energy use. These options include central thermostat controls, occupancy systems, carbon dioxide sensors, and automated air ducts. However, these systems will only help once the build- ing becomes air tight, so certain buildings such as City Hall would not be ideal for this sort of ac- tion anytime soon. However, the Public Safety Building may be a potential candidate. 2. Presentation of findings at September 12 Green Team meeting. Alex is required to present her findings to both the “client” and to her academic advisors. Her five-minute presentation will be followed by discussion of next steps. Alex will also ask attendees to fill out an evaluation form. The meeting will take place in the first-floor conference room of the Public Safety Building. Joe Kanosky of NETL and her IAC mentors will also attend. B. Urban Agricultural Ordinance Updates The proposed agricultural ordinance was circulated and reviewed by Green Team members. The ini- tial conclusion of Jim Kotcon was that this latest in a number of versions for the proposed ordinance in the past couple of years took many things from earlier ordinances and made them more restrictive, including:  A four-chicken limit and 10-foot buffer of related structures from neighbors’ property lines   Restrictions on home gardening (including no garden structures within 5 feet of neighbors’ prop- erty lines)  No animal raising activities or gardens in front yards and none in side yards in front of building line.  Particularly concerning: Accessory-use for existing gardens, which Jim believed means you would need a permit to have a garden. City Council delayed the first reading to the third Monday of August 15. The Green Team recom- mendation was to urge city council to strike down the proposed ordinance. Action: Jim Kotcon and Joey James agreed to draft and present a letter to the City Council on their as- sessment of the new ordinance. C. Year to Go Green Updates 1. North Central Solar Co-op. At the first meeting for the North Central West Virginia Solar Co-op, 25 individuals were in attendance. The next meeting will be held at Jim Kotcon’s house (414 Tyrone Avery Road) for a solar tour on Saturday, September 7, from 1:00 to 4:00pm. A suitable location is needed for the public meeting in Fairmont. Two possibilities were sug- gested: NASA IV & V and the Conventions and Visitors Bureau. 2. Other YTGG activities. Holly updated the team on the progress of the Green Business Coali- tion and results of the Paint Exchange. II. New Business A. Turnover of City Staff 1. The Green Team discussed how recent staff turnover at the City warranted a response to en- sure that sustainability is written into the position description of the future City Manager. 2. Ella Belling raised the concern that, with Jeff Mikorski leaving the city manager position, the Green Team and Morgantown as a whole was losing a lot of the history of past programs. For example, many new Morgantown residents do not remember the days before there was a rail trail. Action: Jim Kotcon and Joey James will compose a letter from the Green Team advising on the recruitment of the new city manager. III. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 7:00 pm. The next meeting will take place on September 12, 5:30pm to 7:00pm, in the first floor conference room in the Public Safety Building, 300 Spruce Street.