8/4/22 Manchester Energy Committee Meeting Minutes
In attendance: Carl Bucholt, Joanne O’Connor, Jim Hand, Stephen Harvey, Jen Lawlor, Tim Lawlor.
Meeting was called to order by Carl at 7:02pm
Tim moved to approve minutes from 7/15/22. Approved by all.
Tim noted that all past meeting minutes are now posted to the town’s website.
Carl spoke with John O’Keefe about the EC’s preference for holding in-person meetings in the small conference room off the Kilburn room.
ARPA Funds update: The following are grants:
* $2.4 million is allocated to the regional planning commissions to assist towns with grant applications and technical issues.
* $5 million for energy audits
* $36.6 million for energy projects ($500,000 grants maximum per town)
There is also a Municipal Energy Loan Program of $2.8 million for a revolving loan fund for energy projects.
* Applications must be authored by either an elected town official or town employee.
Carl has contacted Callie Fishburn at the BCRC for assistance and more details.
The VT Dept of Buildings and General Services (BGS) is in charge of developing procedures and administering the program. It is scheduled to be up and running by September, 2022. It will likely operate on a first come, first serve basis. Funds do not have to be spent until Dec 31, 2026.
Possible projects for consideration and prioritization:
Comprehensive energy audits of town buildings
Electric vehicles for town and/or school business, including buses
Solar panels and heat pumps
EV charging stations
Weatherization of town buildings
A “walk-through” energy audit of town buildings with John O’Keefe and someone from GMP is set for Aug 12th. Carl, Jim and Tim to attend.
Window Dressers Update:
Our committee members have been added to the group email sent out by Jim Salsgiver.
* A publicity package is being written by a member of the Sunderland Energy Committee and will be ready for distribution soon.
* The Southshire has over 300 window orders so far; more orders are needed from Northshire towns.
* The cutoff date for window measurements is Oct 3rd.
* The Northshire builds will be Oct 20-27 at the Arlington American Legion.
* Jen will work on recruiting BBA students for the build when school starts up. Jim offered to give a quick presentation to the students.
Electric Drive-In Event:
Carl talked about holding an Electric Drive-in showcasing electric cars, bikes, lawn mowers, etc., at the rec center. Carl is waiting to hear back from Brian Van Horn, park director, about a Saturday morning in mid-to-late September.
Efficiency VT will be invited to attend and bring literature and rebate information.
The VECAN inventory tool can be used to publicize the event to the community. Joanne shared the VECAN inventory document ( a google doc) to members so everyone can make updates. It is not a public document. It has been shared only with committee members.
Mission Statement:
The EC would like to create a mission statement. This is a work in progress. See VECAN’s and other like-minded websites for messaging considerations.
Website update:
Steven has created a “placeholder” for our website. There will be a link from the town’s site with the “.gov extension”. More to come regarding content, cost and maintenance.
Next meeting will be on August 25th at 7pm via zoom - unless arrangements can be made for the EC to meet at town hall. John O’Keefe is working on that.
Motion to adjourn by Joanne; approved by all. Meeting adjourned at 8:12 pm.