Sustainability, Energy, & Resiliency Committee

Meeting Minutes - FINAL February 15, 2018 6:30 PM 120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor Attendance: Jenna Ide, Jeff Cohen, John Hayes, Jeff Barz-Snell, Rick Nye, Lisa Rosenthal Not In Attendance: Chris Cantone, Gail Kubik Public attendance: Beth Gerard (City Council liaison), Scot Sternberg, 3 Salem State students (Ashley, Andrew, and Brendan), Gus Sousa 1. City Council liaison, Beth Gerard, joined SERC for a discussion about our goals and how the City Council and Mayor might be able to facilitate them. Jeff Barz-Snell presented to Beth that we are at a standstill in our committee right now. We have estimated approximately $770K annual savings since 2010 to the City, which is a total of $5 million in savings since 2010. But, we have no budget, no line item, and no funds at our disposal. We would like to hire a local engineering firm to conduct an energy baseline analysis to determine our next energy efficiency project. We have had great success in the past with SSU interns, and we would also like to be able to hire an intern or two to conduct more research on possible big projects such as heat pumps at City Hall (which is currently oil heat), and better heating at the high school (which is currently electric heat). We also aspire to apply for grants at the state level, but without an intern we do not have the resources to do so. We hope for a small line item – a fund – to support our work, and we suggest the fund could self-sustain by being comprised of 10% of the money we save the City each year. Beth suggested we speak with both the Mayor and Laurie (Finance Department) at the City level, and with Tom Watkins, Purchasing Director, who used to be SERC’s staff liaison. She liked the idea of a revolving fund, and said it was successful with Zagster. Beth said there is $94 million from the Footprint Settlement, which funded the Bentley project, but the funds are earmarked for renewable energy. Funds could potentially be used towards an offshore wind feasibility study past Baker Island. Bigger studies could be a line item in the Capital Improvement Plan (talk to Laurie). 2. Meeting Minutes - Review and approve meeting minutes from January 18. Approved unanimously with minor edits. 3. Funding request letter. Jeff Barz Snell distributed a draft of the letter to Mayor Driscoll. He will e-mail it to everyone for feedback. 4. Guidance on presentations/collaboration by businesses. Jenna said she is sometimes approached by businesses that want to work with the City or with residents. They are typically seeking opportunities to talk about products/services. We discussed other possible venues for inviting businesses to speak, such as organizing the Green Fair or a similar tabling type of event.  The Committee agreed that if a business wanted to present on a topic of interest and the primary purpose was educational, we could allow up to a 20-minute presentation during the SERC monthly meeting. Jeff Cohen suggested that a presentation on MassSave energy audits is an example of an educational purpose. Rick brought up that we have to be careful about what we can and can’t do as a City committee. The key takeaway is that the presentation needs to be “educational” versus promotional. Jeff Barz Snell suggested he and Jenna could be gatekeepers for businesses that are interested in educational presentation opportunities. The Committee agreed that is a good approach. Jeff C. brought up topic of energy Omnibus bill and the possibility of increasing solar potential. Jenna said we should take advantage of the timing of the bill as an opportunity to schedule presentations for the community of Salem. 5. Resiliency Event. Jenna met with Barbara Warren, a representative from Salem Sound Coastwatch, who will come to a future meeting. Another guest joining our next meeting is Wayne Castonguay, the director of the Ipswich River Watershed Association. Part of the goal is to understand the larger regional picture of where our water comes from and its ecological impact. How are other communities affected by Salem’s draw from the Ipswich River? Jeff Barz Snell agreed to be on panel at SSU during SSU’s Earth Day week. 6. Project updates. Lighting projects are done. We are currently submitting grants to finish Bates and Carlton projects. Salerno HVAC is doing a retro commissioning project. A new project is developing an electric car charging station for the new city hall annex area. John suggested we publish photos of our solar projects on the SERC website. 7. Other Business - NESEA (North East Sustainability and Energy Association) energy conference is coming up. They offer an emerging professional scholarship program that may be of interest to SSU students in particular. Andrew, an SSU student, suggested that SSU could potentially pay an intern to work for SERC, rather than the City. This is something to explore. Meeting adjourned at 8:08pm. Minutes respectfully submitted by Lisa K. Rosenthal. February 15, 2018 Know Your Rights Under the Open Meeting Law, M.G.L. c. 39 §23B, and City Ordinance Sections 2-2028 through 2-2033. Please contact Jenna Ide at jide@salem.com or 978-619-5699 for more information. 120 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM