Sustainability, Energy, & Resiliency Committee

Meeting Minutes- FINAL September 26, 2018 – 6:30PM City Hall – 98 Washington Street Attendance: Jeff Cohen, Rick Nye, Lisa Rosenthal, John Hayes, Chris Cantone, Staff Contact: Jenna Ide Not in Attendance: Gail Kubik Public Attendance: Phil Koch, Andy Varela, Ryan Morrison, Judith Riley (League of Women Voters), Pat Kazemba (SAFE), Stan Franzine (SAFE) 1. Upcoming events:  October 1 – Offshore wind presentation by Jeff Barz-Snell, Nov 12 – Honoring Jeff Barz-Snell at Hawthorne Hotel.  Citizens’ Climate Lobby – meeting at First Church – delayed until October 13.  Sustainability Marblehead is having sustainability fair on October 6 (10am- 2pm). 2. Sustainability Coordinator/Internships. Salem High School launched a program that connects local high school students with local organizations looking for unpaid interns for one semester. SERC secured two interns for this fall semester. John Hayes is hopeful to find an SSU intern for the spring, as well. Katherine Wilkins is the coordinator for the Salem High School program and anyone interested in having an intern should contact her directly. 3. Current projects:  PV project is up and running; the City is completing some last steps, which should be done by the end of October.  Salerno: the City secured the grant from DOER and will be installing an infrared system for the Auto Tech center. The building is currently the most energy-intensive building in Salem’s portfolio, using the most energy per square foot.  Artists Row is now open three-seasons because of the installation of new air source heat pump units, so they now have heating and cooling.   Bertram/Forest River: the ultimate goal is to reach zero net energy. Both projects are still in the design phase.  Will be starting project at the Willows soon, restoring the parking area and the eroded hill in that area. The project will hopefully integrate green infrastructure through new drainage systems, etc. 4. Outreach. How can SERC become more visible in the community? Some ideas include: meeting with elementary and high school students in the area schools, doing individual outreach in our respective neighborhood meetings. 5. Reviewed SERC goals from 2017-2018, and made updates for this new year:  Opportunities for solar projects. Goal is to explore new sites as a committee.  Potential to take advantage of revenue and spaces related to marijuana facilities.  Phil asked if geothermal energy had been discussed within the committee. There is a potential for a deep energy retrofit for Bentley, and Phil can help us explore this option. Jenna asked Phil to think about a goal for this next year and prepare some information about geothermal for the SERC website.  One goal is to get a full-time Sustainability Coordinator position for next year. The part-time person can help to make the argument for a full-time position, based on the savings the position will create for the City.  Chris pointed to #7 on our goals list (Generate 100% Clean Energy Strategy and Map pursuant to City Council resolution. Analyze the data, and determine best ways and timeframe (feasible, cost-effective, adaptable) to achieve 100% clean energy) and reiterated that reaching out to other city committees is crucial. Everything we do should work towards this goal.  John would like to develop FAQ on resiliency with SERC’s spring intern and get us started on a PowerPoint on explaining resiliency to the public. Salem is the community with the most need for resiliency on the north shore – Jenna has reports showing that we have the most houses likely to be under water (1,400 out of 12,000 addresses).  Draft letter to Tom Daniels to request that a member of SERC joins the stakeholder group for providing suggestions for new subdivision regulations. As an advisory committee, we should be advising on processes such as this one. Goal: develop a package/outreach materials for different boards/commissions (Housing Authority, etc.)  New goal: discuss fossil fuel consumption. Opportunities for school programs, Salem green space. Instead of DPW or City of Salem purchasing soil from outside services, we could use soil currently in Salem.  New goal: Sustainable food. Think through some concrete actions and goals for this upcoming year. Potential to target marijuana operations. Goal could be getting a site assignment in the City of Salem. 6. SERC Membership. We currently have 7 members, including our newest member Phil. Alternates are permitted to vote, but associates cannot vote. The general goal is to increase interest in SERC and build a team. Chris motioned to keep our membership total at 7 members, request up to 3 nominates alternates with City Council approval, and allow for unlimited number of associate members to support project identification and growth. Alternates can provide a quorum and vote in the absence of a current member and have full membership rights for that meeting. The chairperson will determine which alternate will fill in for current member, in the situation where two alternates are available for one current member absence.  The committee voted unanimously to approve the motion. 7. Chairperson and vice-chairperson. The roles of the chairperson include: developing agenda more completely, making sure train runs on time, allowing for public comment, and serving as the point person for vetting vendors with Jenna. The role of the vice-chairperson is to fill the role of chairperson when the chairperson is absent. Chris suggested that John Hayes could serve as chairperson and Jeff Cohen as vice- chairperson. Rick moved to elect John Hayes as chairperson and Jeff Cohen as our vice chairperson as per nomination. Lisa seconded the motion.  The committee voted unanimously to approve the motion. 8. Meeting minutes. Chris motioned to approve minutes for May and June with revisions. Rick seconded.  The committee voted unanimously to approve the May and June board minutes. Meeting adjourned at 8:44. Minutes respectfully submitted by Lisa K. Rosenthal.