HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016_01_05 Sustainability Collaborative Minutes TOM Sustainability Collaborative
2016.0105 Meeting Minutes
Town of Mamaroneck Sustainability Collaborative
Meeting Minutes,January 5, 2016, 6PM —8:25PM, VFW
Attendees: Nancy Seligson,Steve Altieri, Mitch Green,, Marc Karell, Michele Lewis, Frank Owens,
George Roniger,Stephen Moser, Tony Gelber, Ernie Odierna,Sue Odierna
6:10 PM Greetings &Call to Order
6:15 PM Minutes of December 8, 2015 Meeting—Approved
There was dialogue regarding the minutes and what should be included minutes. It was agreed that
discussed topics should be mentioned and that follow up action items be highlighted.
TOM Board and Officials Swearing-in Ceremony:
Nancy invited everyone to the Reception and Swearing-In Ceremony for the newly-elected Town officials
the following night,January 6th to take place at the Town Center. She noted she would be giving her
"State of the Town"address.
Collaborative Meeting Schedule:
Ernie Odierna mentioned that the Sustainability Collaborative's meetings are not on the website. He
suggested meetings be on the website and also listed on relevant community calendars. (Update: Feb
meeting is now listed on the website on both the Town Calendar and Sustainability Calendar. Sue will
update dates going forward. It was subsequently discussed that it would be more consistent and easier
for the Public to consider attending if the meetings were held on the same Tuesday of each month—for
example, the 2nd Tuesday of the month. A proposal for the 2016 Meeting Calendar will be presented at
the February Meeting.
CCNY—Collaborative Initiative:
Ernie Odierna gave an update about the potential of working with City College. Ernie's contact,Andy
Holz, has left his position for 1-2 months. However, Elena Sturman, Executive Director of The City
College Fund, who worked with Andy, agreed to continue the discussion and put Ernie in touch with
another CCNY staff member. Ernie will follow up to see if someone from CCNY can attend the March
Collabs meeting (Ernie is away for the Feb meeting).
Sustain ability-Energy Use and Cost Database:
An update on the status of Monica Barach and Ralph Tamlyn, the two people working on greenhouse gas
data management:Monica has come in twice and learned the basics of inputting energy data into the
Facility Dude Utility Track program. She is waiting to, hear back from Ralph since he left for vacation in
mid-December. Nancy asked Mark Karell if he could create spreadsheets using his energy formulas
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2016.0105 Meeting Minutes
(instead of Facility Dude's) to track energy usage. Marc said he could. It wasa agreed that the main
focus of Monica's work should be the last three years of energy usage(2013-2015). A greenhouse gas
data management meeting was set for Monday,January 11th with Nancy,Steve A., Mark,Sue and
Monica to discuss further(Ralph Tamlyn, having returned from vacation, was added to the meeting a
few days later.)
Sustainability-Honeywell ESPC results:
Nancy and Steve mentioned that the First Quarter results of the Honeywell Systems Report will be out in
the next few weeks. It appears greenhouse gases have gone down, but we need more detailed
information. Nancy plans to discuss the Town's dollar and energy savings at her State of the Town
Address and asked Steve to call Honeywell to get a range of what the savings are expected to be. She
added that there is$67,000 already saved outside of the Energy Performance Contract.
Quality of Life&Sustainability-Bike-able, Walk-able Consultant Schedule:
Stephen Moser discussed when Jonathon Orcutt, the bike consultant could make his presentation to the
Board. The decision was made that he would present to the Sustainability Collaborative on Feb 2nd and
then plan to come to the Town Board on March 2nd. Discussion followed as to whether or not Jonathon
would need data from the Collabs before he starts his work and Steve M said he would follow up with
him. Steve Altieri added he thought it a good idea to have Jonathon present to the Traffic Committee as
well.
Sustainability-Rain Barrels Project:
Michele Lewis gave an update on the Rain Barrel project. The Town has ordered 66 rain barrels, (2 are
donated)"The Ivy"by Rain Barrel Solutions was the chosen barrel. The next steps is to determine how to
educate residents about them. Michele is willing to do a demo on this. The following ideas were
discussed:
• Possibility of working with Dr. Weitzman, Principal of Hommocks School to see if he and students
can help
• Marketing barrels at"Grow it Green"expo in April
• Selling rain barrels at Town events Demonstrating them and selling them at the Town Yard
Recycling area
• Demonstrating them on LMC-TV
It was decided to sell the rain barrels for$50 each including installation.
Selling points for residents for the rain barrels:
• Reduce flooding in your area
• Improve water quality
• Save money on water bills
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Sustainability& Resilience- Water Conservation and Sewage Infrastructure Reconstruction:
Nancy pointed out that NYC is requesting all water customers to reduce consumption by 5%as part of
their Demand Management Program. It was noted that any reduction in overall water usage by TOM
may contribute to reducing the costs of Sewer Infrastructure Replacement, which will be quantified by
the 2016 External Consultant Engineering Study.Also likely to reduce Sewer Infrastructure Replacement
costs is TOM's Private Sewer Laterals Inspection regulation, currently under discussion and likely to be
adopted by the end of Q2 2016.
Resilient Infrastructure- TOM MicroGrid Study, Phase 1:
Frank spoke about the MicroGrid and suggested Tony Gelber sign the confidentiality agreement so he
can receive the Booz Allen documents. Frank still has concerns about the competition among
communities for the MicroGridd. The next step for the microgrid is to send documents to NYSERDA.
NYSERDA will review the proposals and come back with comments. Booz Allen will make the final Phase
1 MicroGrid submittal before the end of February. NYSERDA will select 10 microgrid projects in July.
Frank Owens spoke about the concern of efficient battery storage related to the MicroGrid. It was agreed
that, once the initial study is submitted to NYSERDA in February, TOM would investigate a variety of
enhancements/expansions/financing options for the MicroGrid while NYSERDA considers Phase 2
funding awards.
Sustainable Westchester Activities and Budget:
The Collaborative raised questions about the revenue and expenses of Sustainable Westchester. Nancy
will forward Sustainable Westchester's budget..
Sustain ability and Resilience-Municipal Solar Buyer's Group:
Nancy reported that the Municipal Solar Buyer's Group(MSBG)program is moving forward. Sustainable
Westchester has released an RFP for a vendor. Some Town Board members expressed reluctance about
MSBG due to the long term contract. SW's Executive Director, Leo Wiegman will come to the Town
Board meeting tomorrow night to discuss the details and benefits. The Collaborative noted that it
supports the Municipal Solar Buyer's Group as a program that is reasonably transparent, is likely to offer
tangible benefits to TOM and its taxpayers, and could be implemented relatively quickly once qualified
and reliable installers were identified, vetted and their price proposals received and evaluated.
Community Choice Aggregation:
Nancy reported that the documents for the Community Choice Aggregation Program have been
finalized. These CCA documents will be forwarded to the Collabs for review. Sustainable Westchester has
stated that, as the result of the power provision auction, there will be 3 energy types to choose from:
Renewable Energy;Fossil Fuels;or Mixed Choice.
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Sustain ability-Green Gardening and Landscaping Initiative:
Nancy and Sue reported on the Fairway Green Homeowners Association and the model pesticide free,
low nitrogen fertilizer neighborhood project. Sue and Nancy met with the Co-Presidents of the
Association in mid-December along with Patti Wood. The Co-Presidents were to follow up with their
Board. Sue followed up with them with minutes of the meeting and an email.
Resilient Infrastructure and Quality of Life—Reduce Flooding Impacts:
Tony Gelber was congratulated for being named Chair of the Village of Mamaroneck Flood Committee.
Tony noted that the Flood Committee's 2016 activities would emphasize Community Outreach and
Education,particularly for those areas that have been hardest hit by flood events in the past decade.
Also discussed were some initial ideas about innovative, locally-based flood management and mitigation
initiatives that might also include educational opportunities for MHS students in the Enviro or OSR
Programs. The Collab agreed to work closely with the Flood Committee where possible for mutually
reinforcing results. Also regarding infrastructure,Stephen Moser asked to see the preliminary design for
the Town Center's parking lot plan for green infrastructure.
Quality of Life:
Stephen Moser discussed the Complete Streets Workshop that he,Steve A., Ernie and Sue attended in
December. He mentioned that a Boston Post Road Taskforce is being put together from the areas
between Rye and New Rochelle to discuss how to build roads that are safer, more accessible, and easier
for pedestrians, bikers and drivers. It was agreed that Steve Moser would be the Collab's liaison to the
Post Road Task Force, emphasizing the overlap with TOM's 2016 Bike-able, Walk-able Master Plan and
implementation initiatives. Stephen Moser asked Steve A. if he could get the NYS DOT plan for Boston
Post Road that was prepared in the 1990's. He also asked Steve A. to provide the preliminary plan for
the sidewalk plan for Weaver Street.
8:20 PM Next Meeting—Tuesday, February 2, 2016 @ 6PM -VFW
8:25 PM The meeting was adjourned at 8:25PM
2016 Priority Initiatives—Task Force Leaders
• Air& Noise Pollution George R
• Walk-able, Bike-able Mamaroneck Stephen M
• Improve Water Quality Nancy S, Michele L, Beth R
• Maintain & Improve Infrastructure Steve A, Frank 0
• Improve Community Preparedness Tony G
• Renewable Energy& Local Energy Frank 0, Marc K, Mitch G
• Near-Zero Waste Community Mitch G, Steve A
• Education &Awareness Michele L, Beth R
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