Sustainability, Energy, & Resiliency Committee

Meeting Minutes - Final November 20, 2019 – 6:30pm City Hall Annex – 98 Washington Street In Attendance: John Hayes, Jeff Cohen, Gail Kubik, Phil Koch, Chris Cantone, Rick Nye, Doug Bowker, Lisa Peterson, Brittany Dolan (staff), Jenna Ide (staff) Not in Attendance: Public: Esmeralda Bisono (Community Solar Coach), Pat Gozemba (SAFE), Judith Reilly, Tim & Jackie (SSU Students & Sunrise Hub Members) 1. Introductions 2. Public Comment  Jenna Ide – Project updates  MVP (Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness) Plan – We are finishing up analyzing the data from the initial stakeholder meeting in June and are preparing to do a larger community meeting on this in the future. 3. Review & Approve Meeting Minutes  Rick Nye motioned to approve the minutes. Chris Cantone seconded.  Vote passed unanimously. 4. Benson Bill An Act to Reduce Greenhouse Gases and Promote Green Infrastructure  Lisa Peterson – Brought the Benson Bill to the council and it passed unanimously.  Jenna Ide – A critical component of the bill is that low-income and vulnerable communities get extra money/incentives/rebates when they implement sustainable projects to the home. This really resonates with Salem.  We thank Lisa Peterson, SAFE, and CCL for helping to get the resolution passed. 5. Solarize Mass Plus Updates  Esmeralda Bisono –We are currently planning our initial kickoff listed below.  December 9th – 6-8pm, Meet the Installers, Community Life Center, 401 Bridge St., Salem, MA  Finalizing speakers for the event.  Jeff Cohen will reach out to SATV to see if they can record the 12/9 event.  Ideas for future events:  Earth week 4/13/20-4/17/20 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 WWW.SALEM.COM   Jeff Cohen – Open house on renewable technologies. Good way to promote the program and to get people to think about renewable technology.  Lisa Peterson – Sustainable weekend festival/fair in the Spring  Jackie DeHaan – Is there any information for renters, or is this program only for home/business owners?  Jenna Ide - Only homeowners/landlords can sign off on the program, but savings could go down to renters by lowering their utility bills.  Jeff Cohen – Community solar is a great option if renters want to invest in clean energy for their home. Also, starting two years ago, renters can now do the Mass Save home energy audit without approval of the landlord. Although they can not authorize any structural work without the landlord’s approval. 6. Recap of SAFE Event – 11/18/19:  “Re-imagining Salem: From Fossil Fuels to a Green Future”  Pat Gozemba – Thank you SERC for your help in facilitating the event! It was a great success with a spectrum of people & a full house.  Re-imagining Salem Part II will take place on January 27, 2020. More details to come. 7. Discussion of Potential Ordinances for 2020:  Two that we are interested in: Resiliency zoning & Solar zoning  SERC inclusion in future City projects  Examples of ordinances in other communities  Jeff Cohen – Boston city council has a Net Zero Ordinance on the table. Let’s start writing some ordinances and put it in front of the council.  Jenna Ide – A good one to focus on now would be updating our current Stretch Code. We need to navigate the issue of affordability and planning installations well. These ordinances will make the difference in making sustainable and resilient building plans before they’re even built. 1. Jeff Cohen – The savings are greater when we deal with issues beforehand rather than trying to solve it later.  Brittany Dolan – Watertown, MA has done a Solar zoning ordinance. It requires that new commercial buildings over 10,000 square feet or buildings that will have 10 or more units install solar panels on at least 50% of their roof surface.  Lisa Peterson – A suggestion: When thinking about these types of ordinances, adding a seat on the planning board for a SERC member/sustainability expert would be helpful.  Pat Gozemba – An ordinance that SAFE has been discussing is centered around gas leaks. It includes talking to municipalities about banning new gas hookups; developing a ban of using gas in new buildings & enforcing them to look at renewable energy options first. It is imperative to develop strategies on getting people off of gas. Brookline, MA is leading this effort through an ordinance which SAFE is following very closely.  Doug Bowker – Restorative energy/backup energy is a great option, especially when the power goes out a lot.  John Hayes - We will want to work with other communities so that the North Shore has similar ordinances. 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 WWW.SALEM.COM   Doug Bowker – Does the city have at-risk locations in a map of the city? In order to know where we’re really at, we need to be able to visualize these risks in the city.  Jenna Ide – We have new maps for climate change & there are flood maps. 8. Sustainability and Resiliency Coordinator position  It’s posted! 9. Upcoming Events  Solarize Meet the Installers Night  December 9, 6:00-8:00 pm, Community Life Center, 401 Bridge St. 10. Next Meeting  Next month’s meeting will have to be rescheduled. It falls on December 25, 2019.  Rick Nye motioned that the meeting be moved to Wednesday, December 18, 2019. Gail Kubik seconded.  Vote passed unanimously 11. Adjournment  Chris Cantone motioned to adjourn meeting. Rick Nye seconded.  Vote passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 8:05 PM. Minutes respectfully submitted by Esmeralda Bisono. 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. 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 WWW.SALEM.COM