The Marion Energy Management Committee met on Monday to discuss a list of items such as solar panels for the new Department of Public Works facility and township vehicles.
EMC member Bill Saltonstall read a statement from his conversation with Town Administrator Geoff Gorman. “I would like to suggest some of these savings be spent to help find the rooftop solar project at the DPW building. … We will need more electrical power for town buildings, as we bring efficient heat pumps online, and the DPW roof is an ideal site for a municipal solar array.”
According to Saltonstall, Gorman said the town is not allowed to “earmark” a specific revenue, instead “placing it in the General Fund to offset ongoing expenses.” Instead, Saltonstall said he understands there is potential to find another way and “transfer certified free cash in the interim to set up” a climate grant.
“I think that this is an important way to get this in the budget early on, whether it’d be through a capital improvement planning, and definitely within (the Cape and Vineyard Electrical Cooperative) CVEC,” EMC member Alanna Nelson said.
Saltonstall said he hoped some Select Board members would just jump in and say, “Do it.”
After some deliberation between the committee members, member Jen Francis (attending the meeting via conference call) said she doesn’t think “the Select Board is going to give us direction” and that they should talk more concretely.
The committee also talked about the recent meeting that Saltonstall and EMC Chairman Christian Ingerslevhad with Green Communities regional representative Lisa Sullivan about the potential removal of the state’s Stretch Code from the town’s building regulations.
EMC member Tom Friedman said that he had spoken with Select Board member Randy Parker about the issue at the recent Old Rochester Regional High School graduation and said Parker “needs more information.”
In other discussion, the committee discussed a New York Times article discussing profitability in plug-in hybrids for township vehicles. Ingerslev forwarded the article to Police Chief Richard Nighelli but had not received comment by Monday’s EMC meeting.
Saltonstall mentioned a report he read that said Massachusetts towns also reported benefits from using hybrids. Nelson mentioned that Cambridge has benefited from the use of hybrids.
The Marion Energy Management Committee will meet next on Monday, July 22, at 6:00 pm at the Police Station.
Marion Energy Management Committee
By Jared Melanson