HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016_05_03 Sustainability Collaborative Minutes TOM Sustainability Collaborative
2016.0503
Town of Mamaroneck Sustainability Collaborative
Meeting Minutes, May 3, 2016, 6PM —8PM,
Attendees: Steve Altieri, Mitch Green, George Roniger, Tony Gelber, Frank Owens, Michele Lewis,Sue
Odierna
6:15 PM Greetings &Call to Order
6:20 PM Minutes of April 4, 2016 Meeting—Approved
Sustainability—Grow it Green Event(GIG)/Rain Barrel Update
6:25pm Michele L. and Sue O. updated the group on the outcome of the above tri-municipal event. Michele
wondered would it be better next time around if residents reserved barrels but didn't pick up at event;would that
be easier? Although Sue O. was "held captive"by almost continuous rain barrel sales,Sue said she liked the idea
of"one stop shopping"for the residents. Rain barrels sold at GIG=37;diverters=25. From this point forward,
barrels are to be sold at the Maxwell Avenue facility on Saturday mornings. Regarding attendee count,from Co-
chair of GIG,Sally Maca (via email): "We had approximately 450-500 people in attendance, which includes
almost 400 attendees who pre-registered and registered at the door,plus the volunteers,speakers and
vendors/organizations who had a table."
The Collab agreed to decide whether or not to order more rain barrels at the June 8 Collab Meeting.
Sustainability—STEMtastic Event/Leaf Blower Update
6:35pm Discussion regarding whether or not the Collabs should participate. Tony G, Mitch G and Frank 0 felt the
TOM should have a presence there and all were willing to be at the event. George R also said he could help. Sue
O and Michele L were not available but offered to get materials prepared for the others.
There was discussion regarding the availability of a quiet leaf blower which George R would bring. Steve A. said
the TOM was experimenting with a backpack electric blower or gas blower that is less noisy(max 65 decibels).
Sue, Tony and Mitch agreed to organize the Collab effort for STEMtastic and report on results at the June 8
Collab Meeting.
Resilient Infrastructure—Green Infrastructure
6:50pm A sketch was created by Steve M and(Jan?)of parking lot. Discussion ensued about recommendations
to Town Board for items not in current plan (solar carports, green roof, bike path). Design firm in Albany under
contract for$47,000, could be awarded at next Board Meeting (tomorrow night). Frank asked if Solaire could
contribute;said Lawrence Mockler could be involved;he is the largest developer of solar carports and is a
Larchmont resident. (Mitch suggested the Collaborative and Solaire should discuss options to create solar
carports at the Town Center with little or no additional TOM capital expenditure).
Frank was encouraged to invite Lawrence Mackler to the next Collabs meeting, and TOM was asked to
organize an "Informal Review"of the Design Firm's work at the June 8 Collab Meeting.
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Resilient Infrastructure-Microgrid Initiative
7:00pm Discussion on current status of the microgrid. (mentioned again that Booz Allen claims the microgrid is
not economically feasible based on it being an investment that people make money from)...
Booz Allen set it up such that the microgrid would need to power all facilities under peak conditions with the
school using the most wattage. They were not particularly creative regarding the Microgrid, but they were to
present to TOM Board and Collabs on May 18th or June 1st. Steve A and Frank 0 spoke about bringing in other
firms to discuss alternative implementation strategies based on the work done so far:
• Genesys:(a partner of Honeywell)is interested in considering either the micro-grid or back-up power
generation
• Tesla (batteries): Mike Gordon of Sustainable Westchester referred Tesla to Nancy and Frank;a
conference call was scheduled with Tesla Friday. Frank was to try and get Mark Manley of Black&
Veatch on call
• Foredo: Frank spoke to the contact from this company who suggested using natural gas for a combined
heat and power plant(CHP)instead of battery power or the power-only gas turbine proposed by BAH
• Mark Manley:re-stated Black& Veatch's willingness to review options for TOM and the microgrid
potential uses if the baseline electricity consumption information could be provided
Tony asked about the benefit of using a battery;he has concerns about batteries. Steve said it's more practical
because you can store and then use electricity from a battery as opposed to solar(and no greenhouse gases
used.) The Collab encouraged Frank, Tony and Steve to pursue all available options during May and report to
the Collab at the June 8 meeting
7:20pm PACE Financing(Property Access Clean Energy)
Frank notes PACE financing has proved to be an excellent solution for energy-efficiency financing in neighboring
states such as Connecticut. Nancy noted that the NYS law establishing PACE financing in NYS differed from the CT
law in ways that created additional liabilities for Towns and Villages. Because NY State Constitution says a Town
cannot guarantee a loan, TOM's Town Attorney and Bond Counsel, are to review the latest proposal from
Sustainable Westchester. This proposal brings in M&T Bank as a "third-party guarantor", but the current draft
would require TOM to "pay in"to access this feature.
TOM to report on next steps on June 8.
7:45pm Site Plan Law
Steve reported that Town Board may set public hearing at tomorrow night's TB meeting. Board struggling with
not wanting to create too much of a headache for residents vs. dealing with these large teardowns.
7:55 PM Next Meeting—Wednesday,June 8, 2016 @ 6PM—VFW
The meeting was adjourned at 7:55pm.
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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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