Sustainability, Energy, & Resiliency Committee

Meeting Minutes December 10, 2020 – 6:30 P.M. Remote Participation In Attendance: John Hayes, Jeff Cohen, Chris Cantone, Doug Bowker, Gail Kubik, Esmeralda Bisono (City staff), Jenna Ide (City staff) Not in Attendance: Phil Koch, Rick Nye, Meg Riccardi (City Council liaison) Public: Alan Hanscom (SATV), Pat Gozemba (SAFE), Cindy Keegan (SAFE), Stan Franzeen (SAFE), Patrick Schmidt (Avison Young), Sean Selby (Arrow Street), Vanessa Pineda Introductions Public Comment Review & Approve Meeting Minutes • Jeff Cohen makes a motion to accept the minutes contingent on edits by noon Monday. Gail Kubik seconded. o The motion passes unanimously. Discussion on Shetland Park Development with Patrick Schmidt (Avison Young) and Sean Selby (Arrow Street) • Jeff Cohen – Patrick and Sean were at the Point Neighborhood Association meeting and presented ideas for the neighborhood’s feedback on new development projects at Shetland Park. They are here today to get feedback from SERC as well. 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM • Sean Selby – We have been talking to several people in Salem to get ideas and comments before the fact of development to try something novel by listening first then designing the development second. There are several challenges and opportunities at the site, so we want to make sure that we get community feedback first. • Ideas/Discussion with the Committee: o Jeff Cohen – This area is probably the most vulnerable to climate change impacts. There are a lot of opportunities for renewable energy technology, such as solar PV. We hope you can consider this moving forward. There is great opportunity to make this a resilient and sustainable site for the City. o John Hayes – What is the roof capability and structural integrity for solar and/or green roof? ▪ Sean Selby – it is a good place for PV’s/green roofs structurally and has been modified drastically since it was first developed. ▪ Today, the site is very cut off from the neighborhood, especially with the iron fencing, so there is not much access to the waterfront or the site itself. We are thinking of extending the roadways into the site from the neighborhood to open access. Make the water visible to people while also staying resilient to climate change impacts. o John Hayes – In thinking about climate change impacts down the road and a building’s renovation and/or construction lasting until 2100, how are you thinking about sea level rise and storm surges out to 2100? Will you follow IPCC projections of SLR – and for what emissions scenarios? In terms of your planning, I know the tentative timetable for the new IPCC 6th Assessment: In April 2021 (Working Group I – the Physical Science basis; in Sept. 2021 (Working Group III – Mitigation of climate change), and in Oct. 2021 (Working Group II – Impacts and Adaptation). We had a record-breaking hurricane season this past summer/fall with 30 named storms – and this is a worry for the future. o www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2020/05/2020-AC6_en.pdf ▪ Patrick Schmidt – Our team has a lot of knowledge and technical experience with this type of issue. Sean and Arrow Street have had 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM  extensive work with coastal sites, so we have hired them for this reason. We are hopeful that we will be able to design the site for sea level rise and storm surge resilience. ▪ Sean Selby – Yes, our team has a lot of knowledge in this field. We will continue looking at several strategies to work with the water, not only tall walls, to design things creatively. ▪ Patrick Schmidt – Woods Hole Group recently did a presentation with Salem on sea level rise, which our team will review. • John Hayes – Please also review the Marblehead presentations. o Gail Kubik – What exactly is happening at the Shetland Park site? ▪ Patrick Schmidt – We do not know yet. We know that there will be new development soon, but we are here to hear the community’s concerns so that we know what we will be doing in the future. ▪ Sean Selby – There are so many types of businesses, groups, organizations on the site (many are industrial and offices), but it is so cut off from the community that our goal is to integrate it more. I am sure many people have gone to the site and wondered what else it could be. It is already a mixed-use site, but what else can we do with 30 acres? We are here to discuss that. Restaurants, housing, etc. o Gail Kubik – From a resilient standpoint: Heat island effects are a great issue as well as sea level rise effects. Great opportunity to incorporate more green space. In terms of mixed-use aspect, I do agree. Here are some suggestions: ▪ Community park(s) / growing area(s) (green roofs, farms, etc.) ▪ Tying it into the Point neighborhood better ▪ Tying it into the vibrancy & pedestrian access of downtown Salem ▪ Type of food places – we are considered a “food desert” because we lack places where we can walk to purchase food. Please consider having a supermarket/grocery store. o Doug Bowker – Used to live in Providence, RI during the new development phases: Some of the projects were successful, and some were not. I suggest that 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM  your team look at similar projects from the last 20 years and see what worked and what did not for your reference. ▪ Sean – Ingredients for failures/successes? • Failures: applying ideas without community feedback, lack of connectivity/access. o Chris Cantone – My only comment is that the last thing Salem needs is more vehicles, more traffic, and more emissions. I agree with all that has been said so far. o Esmeralda Bisono – Gentrification has been a huge issue in Massachusetts in the North Shore, so please keep that in mind when thinking about the types of retail/businesses that will be developed there. ▪ Gail Kubik – Incubators would be a great option here. Teach the community how to grow food, how to start businesses, etc. ▪ Sean Selby – What sort of incubator do you think would work in Salem? • Gail – Would love to see a business skill incubator. We have a lot of empty store fronts in Downtown and around Salem, so creating businesses to fill these store fronts would be very beneficial. Give these neighborhoods local technical training to give them the skills and experience to become part of the successful generation in Salem instead of having to move out because of lack of affordability. o Vanessa Pineda – We need grocery stores in Salem. I usually use my bike to travel around Salem. The closest grocery store is the Market Basket on Highland Ave which is over 15-20 minutes bike ride, which is even worse during the cold months. If we do not have access to these places, it is very hard to get food. o Pat Gozemba – Have either of you been in touch with the Enterprise Center at Salem State? They have a program that helps entrepreneurs develop business plans they would use in the real world. This has helped many startups. Suggest that you both talk to the director at the Enterprise Center to develop a synergy instead of starting from scratch. 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM  • Thank you both for coming to the meeting and listening to our ideas! Green Building Ordinance Updates • MAPC Technical Assistance (Jenna Ide and Esmeralda Bisono) o The City of Salem staff who meet biweekly and discuss the Green Building Ordinance (Jenna Ide, Esmeralda Bisono, Brittany Dolan, and Tom Daniel) reached out to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (“MAPC”) to seek technical assistance on the ordinance. Cammy Peterson met with us a few weeks ago to let us know that there is a small budget to assist the City with this project for the next couple of months. To continue working with MAPC throughout 2021, we are submitting a proposal for the MAPC Technical Assistance Program (TAP) grant next week. We are not sure how much we would get from that grant yet. We will continue to update SERC. • Next Steps (Jeff Cohen and Meg Riccardi) o Jeff Cohen – The ordinance has been sitting in the Public Health, Safety, and the Environment (PHS&E) committee for a few months and is set to “die” there by 2021. Meg Riccardi will be re-submitting it for the new year. This is our chance to add any edits/feedback/suggestions we have gotten before we re-submit. We are glad to partner with MAPC because they could give us great technical feedback. ▪ Beth Rennard and Victoria Caldwell (City Solicitors) will do a legal review after January. Then we will re-submit to the PHS&E Committee, where they hopefully will refer it to the full council. Updates on City Projects Resilient Together – Beverly/Salem Climate Action & Resilience Plan (Jenna Ide & Esmeralda Bisono) • Esmeralda Bisono – Plan Updates: o Our website has been updated with the final video, which John, Pat, and I are in! Please go to Resilient-Together.org/home to view it. o The website also has several fact sheets on each of the 7 Plan Elements. 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM  o We submitted the first round of draft goals for the plan which we will send to all of SERC in an update email. o The second Climate Action Advisory Committee (CAAC) meeting took place last week. o Engagement Phase II: ▪ Social media posts ramping up - We hired a new intern for the City who will take over social media posting on Resilient Together platforms. ▪ New engagement platform called MindMixer where community members can share ideas with one another like a discussion board. • John Hayes – Has the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Summary been posted online? o Yes! Beverly+and+Salem+GHG+Inventory+Report_Summary_Final-11-20.pdf (kladashboard-clientsourcefiles.s3.amazonaws.com) • Jenna Ide – We would like to engage with the committee on this action planning process more. Especially with the goals, which is defaulted to align with the State goals, we really want to be more aggressive in Salem. We should structure a time to meet to discuss best practices around goal setting and implementing actionable steps. Rocky Mountain Institute’s (RMI) Building Electrification Accelerator Program (Doug Bowker, Pat Gozemba, Cindy Keegan, Esmeralda Bisono) • Discussion on a Proposed Resolution similar to Brookline’s (Pat Gozemba) o This resolution was drafted from a template given to the municipalities who are part of this program from the RMI team. The resolution would help push the State legislature to enact climate policies. In essence, it would be a powerful move for several cities and town to pass a similar resolution to show the State that we are serious about moving forward with climate policies and building electrification. o Pat took out the whereas section about gas stoves, even though there is ample evidence that using gas in our homes is dangerous, we know that it is less likely to pass in the council with this whereas section included. 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM  o The draft resolution was sent out to SERC. The Salem RMI team is requesting that SERC review the draft, add any edits necessary, support it, and pass it on to the Salem City Council for their review and approval. o Doug Bowker – This has been spearheaded by the RMI team, which is great because it gives us a multi-regional approach instead of doing things all individually. o Chris Cantone – How does this relate to the Green Building Ordinance? ▪ Doug Bowker – this is our communication up to the State. Brookline’s ordinance was rejected because they tried to go beyond the State regulations, so this would be a push to change those regulations. ▪ Jeff Cohen – This is a resolution, not a bill in front of the Statehouse. ▪ Pat Gozemba – Rep. Tommy Vitolo has asked for support prior to submitting a bill. o Pat Gozemba – The Salem RMI team will discuss all these ideas with the larger RMI team. We will ask them about the timing of this and how crucial it is to get this into council sooner rather than later. o Please get edits in by Friday, January 8, 2021. SERC will vote on the resolution in January. Signature Parks Initiative (Jenna Ide) • The Signature Parks Initiative has passed through City Council! More info below: o The Mayor has launched the Signature Parks Initiative. This funding will provide a large revenue source to support resilient and sustainable improvements at parks. All these parks are on the front lines of climate change and have already seen the impacts of rising seas and stronger storms. o The Signature Parks Initiative is a key component of our community’s quadricentennial planning, for when Salem turns 400 years old in 2026. This initiative is focused on planning and carrying out improvements and preservation work in six of Salem’s busiest and most beloved public parks and open spaces, ensuring they will remain available and enjoyable for future generations to 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM  come: Forest River Park, Palmer Cove Park, Pioneer Village, Salem Common, Salem Willows, and Winter Island. More information is also located here. New Business Upcoming Events Next Meeting – Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 6:30 P.M. Via Zoom Adjournment • Jeff Cohen motioned to adjourn the meeting. Doug Bowker seconded. o The motion passes unanimously The meeting ended at 8:33 P.M. Minutes respectfully submitted by Esmeralda Bisono. Persons requiring auxiliary aids and services for effective communication such as sign language interpreter, an assistive listening device, or print material in digital format or a reasonable modification in programs, services, policies, or activities, may contact the City of Salem ADA Coordinator as soon as possible and no less than 2 business days before the meeting, program, or event. 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