Green Team

Minutes Morgantown Municipal Green Team August 7, 2017, Meeting Attending: Jim Kot con (acting chair), Abby Cayt on, Dan Pan, Janis Gunel, Hari Jammulamadaka, Karen Kalafat, Joseph Kanosky, Jing Zhang, Mark Brazaitis, Annabel Brazaitis, Kim Kelly, and Christine Wallace. LED Street Light Study  Abby present ed her findings t hus far on her summer internship st udy for the team and indicat ed she had t ried but was unable t o reach City engineers. Hari and Joe suggest ed Abby do a cost comparison between high-pressure sodium and LED st reet lights.  Abby also said she will be st art ing an energy audit project. The team discussed which cit y buildings would be best t o st udy. There was a consensus t hat a comparison of the north side and t he south side fire stations in t own would be valuable. City Climate Action Plan  As part of a larger discussion on a proposed Climate Action Plan for the City of Morgantown, t he quest ion was raised on whet her t he team had definitely received a mandate from the City to develop or supervise development by experts of a Climate Action Plan (in response t o adoption of a City Council Resolution to follow t he goals of the Paris Accords). Action: Mark Brazaitis will ask the City Manager definitively if the City want s the Green Team to create a Cit y Climate Action Plan (see below).  Jim Kot con began a discussion of what t opics could be included in t he plan and recommended t hat a City Climat e Action Plan Committee be formed in the next several weeks. Action: Christine Wallace will ask Dr. James Van Nost rand (WVU Professor of Law and Director, Center for Energy and Sust ainable Development) and ot hers to consider being on t his committee and or act as consult ant s to the City Council. Jing Zhang and Christine Wallace volunteered t o work on this committee. Action: Mark Brazaitis will contact Paul Brake (City Manager) to det ermine whether the City would ask a volunt eer committee of expert engineers and ot hers (including from the Green Team) to prepare a plan, or would he rat her that the City hire a consultant or assign t he work to City engineering st aff? (Note: P aul Brake replied t o Mark Brazaitis on August 8 t hat the Green Team should t ake the lead, alt hough t he City might seek addit ional technical information from equipment vendors or consultants for specific measures.)  Karen Kalafat said she had already seen some backlash t o a City Climate Action Plan and t hat educat ing t he community should be an important effort if plan development was t o move forward. 1  August 18, 2017 Action: Mark Brazaitis will write an op-ed t o submit to the Dominion Post to articulate plan benefits t o the Cit y and cit izens and t o correct misconceptions. Long-Term Planning: Meeting with Key City Officials  Jing Zhang will meet with two City officials (City Planner Chris Fletcher and City Engineer Damien Davis) on August 14 as part of the t eam’s long-term planning effort to regularly consult and coordinate projects wit h Cit y staff. Action: In addit ion to general discussion and feedback on priorities, Jing will ask quest ions related t o current t eam projects: For Abby’s LED study: can t he city uncover an inventory/spreadsheet that was done on st reet lights in the past and what is t he present tariff on streetlights? On the Climate Action Plan, what in t he current City Comprehensive Plan can be incorporated into it? Pleasant Power Plant Transfer Hearing  Jim Kot con described First Energy company activities related t o the purchase of the Pleasant Power plant and how it will impact our community. The WV Public Service Commission will hold a P ublic H earing on t he t ransfer on Sept ember 12 at 6:00 pm in Judge T ucker's Court room, third floor, Monongalia County Judicial Cent er, 75 High St reet, Morgantown. Action: Jim will recommend that the City oppose the purchase of t he plant by Mon Power at a public forum t o be held in Sept ember (possibly t he 7th, sponsored by t he Sierra Club and Mount aineers for Progress, to which Cit y officials are invited. The Public Service Commission will be holding a hearing on the plant proposal on Sept ember 12, to which City officials have also been invited. Presentation to Council of IAC Energy Audit Study August 29  Rem inder: Alex Davis will be presenting t he IAC’s efficiency recommendations to City Council (a study t hat she undert ook during t he summer of 2016 and has worked on since t hen to complete) during t he August 29 Committee of the Whole Council meeting beginning at 7:00pm. Joey will follow up her present ation wit h a request for implementation. (Note: Alex later injured her foot and is unable t o do t he presentation. Joey will take this over as well as ask Council t o begin implementing IAC recommendat ions.) Joey’s Replacement as Green Team Chair  Joey’s t erm as chair expires in November. He has just accepted an appointment on the BOPARC commission. The team has to dat e not found a candidat e wit h the experience and willingness t o take this on. T he Green Team needs new leadership t o step forward t o keep things moving. Anyone interested should cont act Joey for more information. Jim Kotcon had agreed t o serve as act ing chair this fall for a mont h or so. Action: Hari nominated current team member Holly Purpura for the position of Green Team chair. Holly was not in at tendance at the meeting but she won unanimous support .  Hari also suggest ed a vice-chair position be created. This position, while created when t he team was creat ed in 2007, had not been filled in a number of years. The team’s original “Procedures and Guidelines” as well as t he recently updat ed version in 2017 had furthermore not defined t he dut ies of this position, other t han act ing in place of the chair when absent at meetings. September Meeting Date / Meeting Adjournment  Action: Due t o the Labor Day weekend, the team agreed t o postpone the Sept ember meeting unt il Monday, Sept ember 18 when most of those attending could come. The meeting will t ake place at 5:30 pm at the Morgant own P ublic Library, 2nd floor conference room. The meeting adjourned at 7:00 pm . 2