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Home My Public Portal About20230508 - Sustainable Green Committee - Meeting MinutesTOWN OF HOPKINTON SUSTAINABLE GREEN COMMITTEE Monday May 8,2023 at 6:00 PM Library Lower Level Google Meet joining info Video call link:https://meet.google.com/chz-ffxe-dtb Or dial:(US)+1 574-328-1059 PIN:936 081 857# More phone numbers:https://tel.meet/chz-ffxe-dtb?pin=7408896311705 MINUTES _________________________________________________________________________ Expected Attendees:Alice Potapov,Diane Hayward,Don Sutherland,Geoff Rowland,Ken Parker,Nicole Simpson,Paul Gallagher,Peggy Barton,Brendan McGowan Guest:Deena Baker-Nel Absent:Linda Chuss,Christine Coffman,Amy Groves,Mary Beth Lavoie 1.General business a.Membership status i.Resignation of Priya Vasudevan ii.One open position,One soon to be open iii.Alice’s final meeting and will be at the end of the June iv.Brendan ends in June v.Will be down to 11 for a while until we find some replacements vi.Reminder to reapply for those whose terms expire in June and would like to continue serving 1.10 out of the 15 terms expire in June 2.Reapply if you would like to stay.Will help with continuity vii.Quorum is based on total seats,not current members so still 8 people needed viii.Alice will put in a note in the student newsletter to try to recruit ix.Review subcommittee membership 1.Removed Priya and Cathy 2.Outreach will just have Linda 3.Environment will be down to Don and Ken 4.Ken interested in the Green Energy committee,switching from Transportation -would still want to be included in any walking/trails discussion 5.Diane will join Outreach 6.Consider whether Outreach is a subcommittee or different type of role.To discuss in another meeting when Linda is here 7.When a committee is two people,wouldn’t be able to talk outside meetings except to schedule meetings 8.Voted,Geoff with the motion,Don seconded,unanimous approval. (Diane on Outreach and Ken from transportation to Green energy) b.Approve minutes from April 2023 i.Alice motion,Ken second,Unanimous approval c.Reminder:required Conflict of Interest training d.Budget i.FY2023 balance:$200 ii.Approve reimbursement to Linda Chuss for purchases totaling $113.90, minus sales tax. iii.Motion from Ken,second by Nicole,unanimous approval iv.Copies can be done by the town for free v.In the future,the committee can vote to allow reimbursements under a certain dollar amount vi.Becomes more important with a $5000 budget e.Sustainability staff member -status i.Job posting:Sustainability,Economic Development and Equity Project Manager (google.com) ii.Applications due by today iii.Will need to follow up to see where it’s at iv.Still the multiple responsibilities f.Meeting location -should be able to go back to town hall for meetings i.Starting next month,booked for next few months 2.Town Meeting retrospective for articles of interest a.Article 46:Net Zero Resolution i.It passed! ii.No counting required iii.Could have prepared more on the cost side.Didn’t expect the appropriations committee to stand and talk iv.Limited opportunity for Geoff to respond v.Plans for schools does already often address this 1.We chose to go through with this for gas HVAC at schools 2.Heat pumps take a more holistic approach for those changes vi.Resolution is the vision,but we will support and consult on the plans b.Zoning bylaws: i.Article 26:Electric Vehicle Parking Spaces 1.Will have overlap with the specialized stretch code we hope to approve at special town meeting in the fall ii.Article 27:Site Plan Review Rooftop Solar Exemption c.Schools: i.Article 14:included participatory budget EV chargers for the High School 1.Submitted by a student ii.Article 18:Hopkinton Public School HVAC Renewal Work iii.Article 19:Hopkins School Addition iv.Article 38:Solar Canopy Leases,Middle School and High School 1.Would have been good to have a formal statement of support on this 2.In the future,we should review the full warrant 3.High school bus lot and middle school lot near the towers 4.Would have saved more money buying,but either way it be the same environmentally v.Also an article for a sidewalk to connect Blueberry to EMC (and all the schools) 1.Will it be permeable? 2.Will it be snow cleared? 3.Will trees need to be cut down?(Should be able to work around it) 4.Trails also trying to connect to the high school from the apartments to be much closer 3.Workgroup Progress [45 mins] Goals and Progress Summary Sheet Reverse alphabetical order by workgroup name. a.Zero Waste i.Alice’s final presentation on High School composting 1.https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YozmTnWxk4lVGS9WUP RCG7Q3yq92ocwQlOf2FoLLZr8/edit?usp=sharing 2.In 2021 communicated with Black Earth and the administration 3.Got funding from the school committee 4.In November started composting daily 5.Found Juniors to take over the administrative side–organizing volunteers,running the instagram 6.Met with the food director and they were supportive of kitchen staff composting 7.Their concern was attracting pests,so they are looking to airtight bins 8.Will see if can still just do one bin or if need more for weekly pickup 9.Currently a quarter to half full bin 10.Hoping to incentivize composting and competition between grades 11.Meeting with Dr.Cavanaugh on Thursday,very supportive.Will explore composting at all schools 12.Visited Marathon to see how they do lunch.They do have reusable trays.More to learn on how to adopt with kids.Great chance for habit building 13.Middle school already has a teacher looking into composting.May even do in the courtyard in the middle.Meeting with that science teach Thursday 14.Will you need more bins /budget?Black Earth charges by the bins/number of stops 15.If town has more households participating,not sure how it impacts overall price? 16.Is there an opportunity for community to donate money in support of composting if budget is an issue? ii.Meeting next week with Fred and the Green Team 1.Will be June 17th 11-3,with Holliston,Marathon School iii.DPW thinking about subsidizing 100+bin for Black Earth 1.May be on pause with John W retiring 2.Talked with Select Board member and supportive 3.The more people who sign up,the cost goes down b.Transportation i.Meeting with Chief Bennett of HPD on Thursday 1.Refer to the net zero resolution 2.Refer to Westborough 3.Look into if there is a brand they use today–if it’s Ford,MachE / F-150 ii.Education 1.Charging,EV rebates,impacts of flying c.Outreach/Communications i.Need replacement members for this subcommittee ii.Results of recent events,such as Hop101 1.Had 4 people at the booth much of the day 2.Many people stopped at the table 3.Sean McCaluff,Health Director –environmental background so very engaged iii.Need members to reach out to groups to share the sustainable events iv.Need more info from committees to update website d.Green Energy i.Municipal aggregation status 1.Town engineer is reviewing vendors for this 2.3 vendors in the state 3.Will interview with consistent set of questions then will make decision 4.Proposed different levels of plans a.default hoping to be about 20%greater green than today while still costing less b.Low cost for residents who need it c.100%green for people who would like it 5.Will nudge towards emissions reductions goal 6.State DOE approval,then can start rolling to residents ii.If resident get solar from another source (not rooftop),still helps calculation for the town e.Environment i.Put a resource page on the website on food,lawn,upcoming legislation ii.Brendan can’t make it to next meeting,but will share presentation 1.Forest coverage,sequestration iii.Reached out to insect /pest management coordinator for schools but haven’t heard yet 1.May 10th state legislation review that may impact chemical product usage -school and municipal to organic iv.In future will get on more Parks and Rec agendas f.Climate Action i.CAP consultant status–Geoff helped town planned apply for MVP grant to help finalize Climate Action Plan,community sessions ii.Some progress on Greenhouse gas inventory 1.Have numbers for 2020 to 2021 2.Looking at numbers,not on track for 50%by 2030 a.Not increasing,but not in aggregate b.Decreasing per capita,but town is growing c.Would need 4%decrease a year to be on track d.You do see a drop for 2020 e.EVs will help,stretch code will help,heat pump rebates will help f.Grid is greening faster g.Schools solar panels,Eversource net zero operations 3.Paul and Brendan to talk about incorporate numbers g.Buildings i.Specialized Stretch Energy Code investigation ii.Building code adoption by municipality iii.Talked with the building inspectors and John G 1.The inspectors weren’t too supportive yet,but partially because they didn’t get training on it 2.They are supportive of overall goals 3.We will email state to say they need support and changing 4.We would be July 2024 4.Announcements from members a.Municipal Property Master Planning public forum -May 24th,6:30pm,Senior Center i.How to reuse old buildings in town (Center school,Elmwood,etc) ii.Survey to fill in iii.Diane,Ken planning to attend b.[Added 5/5]Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources,hearing on pesticides and pollinators -https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/4520 5.Events [Reminder]-see hopgreen.org/about-us/events for details a.Hopkinton Garden Club table -Saturday,May 13th,9-12 b.Westborough Environmental Action Fair -Saturday,May 13th,12-4 c.Recycling Event -Saturday,June 17th d.Polyarts -September 9 e.EV Expo -October 1 6.Upcoming meetings a.June 5 is the next meeting -Town Hall lower level -this is a change going forward i.Expected known absences for next meeting -ensure quorum:Brendan, Alice b.Suggestions for upcoming agenda items i.Potential items ii.Annual calendar June 5,2023 -Minutes unanimously approved