Sustainability, Energy, & Resiliency Committee

March 22, 2023 6:30 P.M. Remote Participation Board Members Present Chris Cantone, Vice Chair Doug Bowker Jack Nessen Erin Casey City Staff Present: Stacy Kilb, Sustainability Engagement Coordinator (recorder) Vanessa Pineda, Energy Manager Absent John Hayes, Chair Rick Nye Elvis Alvarez Andy Varela, City Council Liaison Public: SATV (recording) Pat Gozemba. SAFE Paul D. Michaels Seamus Crowley Tricia Arrington Introductions Guest Speaker: Neal Duffy, Director, Sustainability & Resiliency Dept. • Professional background: 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM  o Swampscott Renewable Energy o Professional experience more on the GHG emissions, mitigation, energy side vs. resiliency but eager to be involved in Resilient Together: The Point project o Department must move forward with purposeful urgency and focus on Resilient Together Plan, and be a central hub for it o Interested in listening and finding out about work of Committee and its goals • Chris Cantone: SERC tries to get City to align and be a stronger voice o Ordinances being discussed at City Council would put SERC more at the forefront, and help drive changes to new incoming projects in the City  Green Building Ordinance  Department is discussing this o SERC can always use more support to help drive things in the right direction • Doug Bowker: Years of work are paying off • Neal Duffy: o Need to focus on federal opportunities now that we are at almost a full department (minus a manager) o Salem is well positioned to take advantage of these because of internal capacity but also because of the City’s demographics o Much of our work will impact what the City looks like • Erin Casey: Welcome, SERC member for ~6 months, background in water resource management, a new piece to come into sustainability conversation, enthusiastic to discuss water and how it relates to City’s growth. Shares excitement over grants and happy to help get them. • Chris Cantone: Professionals on SERC are here as a knowledge base • SERC members should feel free to let SRD know about opportunities; but don’t get distracted “chasing” opportunities. We may not have the bandwidth to pursue, but do want to hear so we don’t miss out City Updates • Energy Manager Project Updates (Vanessa Pineda) o Ameresco Investment Grade Audits: Vanessa and Neal accompanied Ameresco, waiting for full audit results. Vanessa will share when available o 60 buildings were audited (60 or 16?) o Update on EV charging station status and locations to be provided in the future o It is a long, drawn-out process; still finalizing options • Outreach Updates (Stacy Kilb) o National Grid Energy Fair, Thursday, 3/16/23  21 attended  CEO of NGrid posted on LinkedIn w/footage from Salem event: 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM    Test wells drilled for geothermal at Old Town Hall on same day • OTH project taking the right approach  Will there be the same feasibility studies on new school proposals? • Neal: Unknown but hoping to be involved in master planning and high school MSBA project. Conversations will be had about other buildings and how that works, our Dept. will be part of that and help with it o Sat. May 13 , Salem Living Green Expo th  Erin/IRWA will reach out to SSCW and partner at a table  Seeking SERC members to volunteer at table – we will do sign-ups at our April mtg. City Council Liaison Update (Andy Varela) Not present/no updates provided New Business • Meetings required to be in person or hybrid with an in-person quorum after the end of March if remote participation not extended o Clarification o Will be more flexibility for subcommittees and advisory committees like SERC, but full City Council meetings will be shifted to live only 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM  o Many towns/cities requested ability to still meet remotely as it led to increased participation • Discussion of the demise of the Getaround program. 9 Hybrid Ford Escapes to be incorporated into the City’s Fleet; under Green Communities Act - all replacement vehicles must have better gas mileage than the ones they’re replacing. Not a problem as Escape hybrids get 40mpg, but this highlights the need for our Dept. to work with the City to make sure other Departments consult us first in such matters. Public Comment Pat Gozemba, SAFE, looks forward to meeting Neal in person • 2 goals for the year: promote offshore wind, transition Salem off gas • Test drilling for geothermal at OTH is exciting, and SAFE will be interested • Excited about Beverly Public Library geothermal, SAFE has been hoping to get geothermal in Salem • Was this grant funded testing in OTH? Next steps in securing funding for the project? o Unsure/don’t have that info yet re timeline and financing o No one dedicated source for funding, exploring all possibilities. Will explore all HVAC measures including geothermal but if not possible will make it as green as feasible • Salem is well positioned to look for grants for geothermal. Pat Gozemba: Father Nathan is very interested in geothermal at St. Peter’s Church. How much interest is there in the City? Point Neighborhood geothermal microgrid? How to position Salem to be a choice for NGrid geothermal Erin Casey: • There has been a regulatory change regarding water use during drought • At end of Gov. Baker’s term, he updated water use restrictions during drought. Salem has not been affected by these restrictions in the past but now all MA city and towns will face restrictions during periods of drought. • Limits outdoor water use – cities have 2 years to come into full compliance with this. Salem public education and outreach will be a key piece. Has the City considered how we will do this? • Chris Cantone: Penalty? Having 2 summer seasons to educate people is important. Put educational outreach on the agenda Doug Bowker: • Groundwater springs on Salem Common that were filled in still exist, places in the area still get sink holes • For one neighbor nearby, a spring bubbled up onto his property, iced over, but he got it to flow out of his house into storm drain. There is continuous water coming out, not City water • We can see where springs were 150 years ago; they are not gone and could be a resource • Erin: The Challenge with local water supplies is treatment. The treatment plant is by Wenham Lake, so to have a local water supply we would have to pipe it up there (which defeats the purpose) or have a facility nearby if using for drinking water • Is there no separation between drinking water and water for outdoor use? Some places do have this, but not many in MA as you need a separate pipe system. Salem does not have this 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM  • Chris Cantone wonders if this is an opportunity for a dug well for gardening use? April Invited Speaker: TBD Approve Meeting Minutes – March 1, 2023 A motion to approve the minutes is made by Doug Bowker, seconded by Jack Nessen, and passes unanimously. John Hayes Absent Chris Cantone Yes Doug Bowker Yes (motions) Jack Nessen Yes (seconds) Erin Casey Yes Elvis Alvarez Absent Rick Nye Absent Upcoming City Committee Meetings Agendas can be found at: https://www.salemma.gov/minutes-and-agendas Recycling Committee: First Tuesday, 4/4/23, 6:30-7:30PM Tree Commission: Third Monday, 4/17/23, 6:00 PM Conservation Commission: Third Tuesday, 4/18/23, 6:30PM Food Policy Council (Food For All): First Monday, 4/3/23, 6:00PM Upcoming Events • Salem State University Earth Week Events, 4/10 - 4/14/23 https://www.salemstate.edu/earthday o Stacy to present to Guy Bellino’s class Friday 4/14 o Find out about events like bacterial dye and share • Living Green Expo, Saturday, 5/13/23 Next SERC Meeting - Wednesday, April 26th, 2023, at 6:30PM on zoom or hybrid Adjournment A motion to adjourn is made by Erin Casey, seconded by Doug Bowker, and passes unanimously. The meeting ends at 8:10 PM. John Hayes Absent Chris Cantone Yes Doug Bowker Yes (second) Jack Nessen Yes Erin Casey Yes (motion) Elvis Alvarez Absent Rick Nye Absent 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM 98 WASHINGTON STREET, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 ♦ TEL: 978.745.9595 FAX: 978.740.0404 ♦ WWW.SALEM.COM