Sustainability, Energy, & Resiliency Committee

The Salem Sustainability, Energy, and Resiliency Committee held a public meeting on Wednesday, October 27, 2021, at 6:30 PM via remote participation. In Attendance Board Members: Chair John Hayes Vice Chair Jeff Cohen Doug Bowker Gail Kubik Phil Koch Meg Riccardi, City Council liaison Not in Attendance: Chris Cantone Rick Nye City Staff: Jenna Ide, Director, Sustainability and Resiliency Department & Capital Projects Esmeralda Bisono, Manager, Sustainability and Resiliency Department (recorder) Public: Tyler, SATV (recording) Screen Names: Jared Perkins Lev McClain Lindsay Morsillo Stan Franzeen, SAFE Cindy Keegan, SAFE Richard Stafford Introductions Public Comment (limited to one minute per person, anything under SERC jurisdiction but not related to other Agenda items) • Meg Riccardi – Urban Agriculture Ordinance was introduced to the City Council PHS+E Committee last night. There was a motion made by the committee to go to the full 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM  council, with a recommendation made to send to a joint public hearing. It must go to a hearing because it is a zoning ordinance. o John – Any members of the public who showed interest? o Meg – Yes, we got comments from the people who wrote it and someone else from the public showing support. It will have a broader reach now with the full council. Review & Approve Meeting Minutes – September 22, 2021 A motion to approve the minutes, after the incorporation of edits to be submitted to Stacy Kilb no later than 12:00 PM Monday, November 1, and pending public comments, is made by Jeff Cohen, seconded by Gail Kubik, and passes 4–0. John Hayes Yes Jeff Cohen Yes Gail Kubik Yes Rick Nye Absent Chris Cantone Absent Doug Bowker Absent (joined after the vote) Phil Koch Yes • Offshore Wind Development in Salem (Jeff Cohen & SAFE Representatives, Cindy Keegan and Stan Franzeen) o Cindy Keegan – Crowley is interested in purchasing the property from Footprint, which is contingent on Vineyard Wind o Post the OSW with Mayor Driscoll SAFE meeting to the SERC website. There is a YouTube link; ask Cindy for the PowerPoint presentation o Doug Bowker – What they are assembling feels way off the scale of what people are expecting in the City of Salem. The towers are going to be double the height of the electric plant, and slated to get even higher. I am in support of the idea of wind power, but there are very serious concerns about the location and I would not want to live next door to it. o Jeff Cohen - This can be related to people's complaints about the way solar looks on the roof, but we have to think of the bigger picture. The existential threat of climate change and what we need to do about it now. Many people in that neighborhood grew up with a coal power plant being there and its many affects. The only way we’re going to get to where we need to get to is through significant investments in offshore wind. o Phil Koch - Doug, do you know the height of the wind turbines? 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM  ▪ Doug – Looked up the DOER website for the typical tower today, and based 3D modeling off of that, inserted the model into photographs of the location o Jenna Ide – I think it would be helpful for the wind developers to come to SERC and answer these technical questions instead of speculating. This area is also a designated port area in the state, so it is difficult for it to be used for any other purpose besides for port use. It’s not installation, but assembly of the turbines. o John – noise, timing of noise, etc. A public hearing will and should be held o Jared Perkins, – By email o John Hayes – mass.gov website has a lot of information about offshore wind. Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan (add a link) was a study done during Governor Deval Patrick administration. • Discussion of a Tour of the new Forest River Outdoor Recreation & Nature Center New Dept. Celebration & Earth Day event announcement • City Updates Municipal Green Building Ordinance (Jenna Ide) o Many of the “whereas” was taken out o Roof has to have solar power, solar-ready, or green roof. o Jeff Cohen – The City Council meeting tomorrow at 7pm; people can make public comments, register by 6:30 pm, or submit in writing whenever, to testify on behalf of the ordinance. ▪ We have been talking about making SERC more relevant in the public process for new building developments and major retrofits. o Doug Bowker – It's exciting to see this come to fruition. The Ordinance is very comprehensive, though it would have been much easier to do something “less,” but it is such a great thing. Great job to everyone who put all the hours of work into this. o John Hayes – When the subcommittee of SERC was working on this, the square footage was an important point of discussion. What was the final consensus? ▪ Jenna – The state is 20,000 square feet, but they tend to be bigger. But our local projects are around 5,000 SF or 6,000 SF, so we went with 5,000 SF for new buildings, and 10,000 SF for an addition to an existing building. ▪ City buildings are usually smaller except for the schools. They’re mostly around 10- or 20,000. o John – The 6th IPCC report came out and they said it is a “code red” for humanity. Is it too late to have a “whereas” added about this? 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM  ▪ Jenna – This point is important for public comment. Please bring it up for WHY we are doing this. Get people to think, engage, and talk about these issues. o Cindy Keegan – Does it still include anything related to electrification, or is it built into the LEED certification? ▪ Jenna – we have not done this yet because the LEED standard is pretty high. We are not confident yet that something like a school can go fully electric, but we will push for it as much as possible. This is something we can add later. ▪ John – it could be a separate ordinance. ▪ Cindy – this is for municipal owned or leased properties only? Yes, we are working on one for private properties. o Jared Perkins – Ward 7, Precinct 2. None of the technologies and green energy we are talking about make a difference unless we have battery storage or storage of the energy. Any talk about this being had for City or Community wide? ▪ Jeff Cohen – We don’t have the same power that other cities do that own their own electricity or utilities. ▪ John Hayes – We had a presentation regarding the Peabody Peaker Plant, and there was discussion on cities having large battery storage, an example in Oakland, CA. We are aware of it and discussing it, knowing it is part of the future. Resilient Together Update/Presentation to Joint Beverly and Salem City Councils (Esmeralda Bisono) o I was not able to attend, but Erina told me that it went really well, and the Councilors were receptive to the work we are doing. They asked good questions and want to stay informed on the process. o We are working on updating the website’s action implementation dashboard, which provides information on each action that each City is taking. o The City has several projects and programs we are working on, including a local developer and City staff training on Zero Net Energy buildings and retrofits; community engagement on MassSave programs and incentives; technical assistance on transitioning our City fleet to all electric by 2030; and a new climate change modeling and engagement project in the Point Neighborhood. o Any questions before I move on to speak a little bit more about that project? Grant-funded project: Climate Change Deep Dive Model, Alternatives Analysis, and Targeted Outreach & Engagement in the Point Neighborhood (Esmeralda Bisono) 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM  o The City has lots of data from resources from the State, Woods Hole Group, and others on climate change projections and how that will affect certain areas of the City. This project takes that data a bit further by focusing on one neighborhood, The Point, and doing a “deeper dive” by looking at our drainage systems, precipitation, coastal and inland flooding, sea level rise and some others. We will communicate with the neighborhood throughout the process on this data and ask them what kinds of solutions they would like to see, while also working with the consultants on other types of solutions. These solutions can range from new infrastructure systems, drainage systems, seawalls, etc. To social solutions such as a fast and easier way to communicate with the City and each other on storms or flooding, a place to retreat when these things do happen, or a plan to have in place if a home or business is severely impacted. o Process – We are currently interviewing consultants, and they should be signed on to the team in the next 2 or 3 weeks. We are working on an outreach plan that will be finalized once the consultants are on board. We are planning an internal kickoff soon as well as a community kickoff to officially announce the project. That will take place sometime in December. The project is going to be ending by June 30, 2022. o If anyone would like to learn more about the details, I’d be happy to send some information out or get on a call. I’d also be happy to speak with the consultants at a future meeting. We are already planning on presenting the final project report in May with SERC and the PNA. • New Business o Discussion of November/December combination meeting date o Jeff Cohen makes a motion to combine November and December meetings into one meeting on Wednesday, December 8th at 6:30 PM. Doug Bowker seconded. o Jeff Cohen adjusts the motion to December 15th at 6:30 PM, Gail Kubik seconded. ▪ Unanimous voting • Upcoming Events o Recycling Committee (First Tuesday of the month, 11/2/21) o Conservation Commission (Third Tuesday of the month, 11/16/21) o Tree Commission (Third Monday of the month, 11/15/21) • Next Meeting – Wednesday, December 15, 6:30PM. • Adjournment A motion to adjourn is made by Jeff Cohen, seconded by Doug Bowker, and passes 5–0. 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM John Hayes Yes Jeff Cohen Yes Gail Kubik Yes Chris Cantone Absent Doug Bowker Yes Phil Koch Yes The meeting ends at 7:53PM. 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