we are energy uh towns and energy committee meeting May 1st Wednesday at 7 pm starting uh Michael Brown in attendance and Ron Montgomery um we have no one else here online uh we did inform and invite Kathy um Thompson and um Teresa uh Teresa's away I knew she wouldn't be here all right so uh we first thing on the agenda is to consider the meeting minutes from the last meeting um I don't have them done the last meeting I started I made minutes for the first half the meeting the next day in the morning I just did it ran out of gas then and then the next time I got back to it I I would really needed the recording which I didn't get till yesterday so I I have the recording and I'll finish the minute um when grant program status we have received status information that we you know discussed at the last meeting we have received uh status information which I included in its entirety in the agenda um I don't think there's any need to read that into the agenda right we're both here um Kathy Kathy can read it so Who provided that information it was that looks like an email message this was provided by Frank Davey at rise and he got that he oh is this his an email from him I copied the text of an email from him to Eric Eric copied to me all right I was pleased that Eric did actually contact both the school and rise and you know basically rise coordinated and collected the information right but it it does look like and I did not get any further uh data because I asked him you know because in the course of this he said he was going to have everything done except for the uh retro commissioning study at the library Senior Center uh was going to be done by the end of April so I asked him you know if that was done uh you know what is the time frame for finishing so that we can apply for new Rend of Grants and I have not had an answer for that further in query detail since I asked yesterday so the day before um so on that um is that that's something presumably there'll be a report I mean there they're doing a study to see we should I don't I don't know what that looks like but um there's a lot of detail a lot of lines of detail that would come in the form of a written report I can't be done durable but um they'd recommend you know things that need to happen um it would take some time to write the report they're only in the in the library uh last week the week before and so we'll take some time to to do that um the rest of the work though should be completed and what I'm looking for is for the invoices inspection to be completed you know you know we're not done yet until we have inspected and paid and it's done and now it goes to uh you know at the beginning of this since the last meeting I I I asked uh and R PC if they had heard anything from of completion or activity in town and she said no she hadn't heard a thing and it turns out that there is an invoice outstanding that you know got to move on and then it'll get signed and so this this paperwork process that I don't I'm not convinced that it's natural moving you know it's it's like it's weird um which concerns me and I I think there's a way to to to get around it so I'm not concern I would like maybe it's being handled perfectly and I don't and I it's not visible to me but it doesn't sound like it from past activities and you know the fact that there was a document that hadn't been signed and nobody knew where it was you know it just didn't work so anyway they are uh I have at the end of all that we we need to sign offs and and uh invoices completed first that's what he said so the [Music] um I have this means that we we can probably uh participate in in the fall round which is what I've always wanted just get one done get next and um but what's missing is we have no quotations except for the heating system for this place which is you know uh going to be a uh you know there if we have a quot for this facility that is uh electrification and I know that this going to there's going to be for each of these uh just start back back a little bit since we started this we had very rarely items come up on our plate uh that we recommended to the town that involved capital expenditure we had they they filled in the gaps you know the the the stuff that needed to be done to do the work uh removal of of k&t and stuff like that they they found the funds to do that and get it done but this is you know $40,000 $100,000 at a time for for structures like this that would have to be financed for sure and there should be proberbly be involvement and debate among the people who are recommending to the town that L we have to go to the town if we say we want to do this and and it takes time we can't get an get an opportunity to uh have something done and they give it to us and it take us two years to to figure out how to pay for it and we got to have that Pro you got to involve other people in the process um even right from the quotation if I would like to see them give us a quot on four buildings that need that could be electrified and then we decide which one needs to be done first you know you got two boilers that are four years old and one that's 30 years old well kind of a no brainer right so I don't even know the status of those so that's the kind of thing that I think we need to to get more a jump on in the future we need to quote to present so that so that people begin discussing about mhm we can't get an opportunity to quote and say it's due in six weeks and make up your mind you know choose an item and then it won't happen in six weeks it has to be a and then I guess uh not being intimately familiar with all the processes I'm going to be attending this town meeting I haven't having it in a while so I mean if it's a capital expenditure maybe it has to be approved at time meeting yes yeah I would assume so well what I've learned is that the um that's next item on the agenda yet but so I requested from Rise a new quote and right and I and I copied you the note and it you know said that the town needs time to consider this stuff you know so that right when it comes and it might even take longer than you know fall could take two years to to decide hopefully not two years but you know hope but but you know you have these rounds and I don't know no now now they're starting to introduce uh you know hydrogen as a as an alternative fuel and some people may get confused and say well you know why don't we wait till they do hydrogen and then we you know can use the natural gas equipment that we already have or what you know I there that being introduced so there's a lot of information confusing Kathy oh Kathy can't hear you oh she's on oh she's on the okay I'm here hi hi hi I wasn't going to make it so I figured I'd just get online all right thank you great all right you what do you how long have you been here uh I don't know just a little just a little bit okay Zoom had to update yeah I just looked up at the screen we haven't taken any votes so it probably doesn't really matter good uh I don't have the March minutes ready so we'll do that next time all right um but we have we have an inquiry out to uh rise and you know I have to stay on top of that um so there is we know that that we know that rise does not have anything it's like he's got to go revisit all these building he doesn't have any data um I sent him the quotes that we had for but that's no good if he doesn't know the square feet and you know the lineage and how many windows I don't know he doesn't know so they wouldn't have had that from previous things that we did is that the thing that got lost because just to back up couple years ago you know rise had people in here doing the work and those guys after they were done here left their company and nobody can find any of the drawings data files there is nothing so Frank uh last year scurried around and gave us a enough it he asked he asked us to prioritize the items that we wanted to quot so I I gave him a list of items that I thought were you know and he quoted them and it came out to $200,000 we we got and I and I believe that we could probably do something like that one more time before we run into you know stuff that gets a lot of out of pocket huge out of pocket yeah so that's my concern is we get ahead of that we we understand I don't understand the processes either next item on the agenda is the the non uh green communities grant program stuff this is the stuff that uh we have like a 45 $50,000 out of pocket to save $15,000 a year and it's you know reasonable return on investment uh and uh Teresa's advis me that that is going on the warrant for the town for town to vote on uh have you looked I I I've looked through the warrant and I didn't see it but I didn't look that care thing is when and an article number so maybe at the future time well I think well now the quote the question for Frank is how long is the quot good for if the town can't even act on it you know right it's Gotta this is that's not that big of an expend expenditure and it has a good return on investment heat pumps don't have that good a return on investment it's like you know you're best doing it when you're going to change the boiler anyway you know sort of thing and if it doesn't happen for 10 years it's you know all right so I don't know I didn't I I've looked at what they had online and I didn't see it there so maybe it's the this this the what the May 7th yeah we from this coming I don't know how they could possibly do that now if it's not on there right well I'm I'll have to ask Teresa because she's been away she hasn't right I guess there's another time meeting sometime in the fall yeah but I don't know if cotal still be good then right see and and people aren't asking us it's like we had to tell them yeah all right so um outside of that I have some things that I that I need to settle with the town for on behalf of a committee and I just need to let you guys know that I this is what I want to do and see if you're you knowre um I have questions and and ask and we'll ask uh to meet with people to answer some get ANS some questions we're not really sure of the process to deal with these large maybe they would like to uh maybe the the board of Selectmen would even choose to uh reorganize a little bit or or reset the function and and uh who we work maybe maybe we're part of the planning board or something when you got big Capital expenditures involved in and you're going to be talking about making recommendations it's going to be much larger group but um yeah I it's definitely not an expert on that I mean I mean does the finance committee have a role I don't I actually don't know in detail so so the question is I wanted to learn how the town wants to consider major proposals that would involve planning debate finan ing M we need a process for dealing with the green communities grant program opportunities that will involve Capital expense so that that's I guess Teresa and and uh either the board of selectman or the Town Administrator and then um I another important question what has being done to fill the volunteer roles you know I I went to the uh we didn't have a booth we probably should have this year at earthday thought the town would have a booth where they would you know because there are so many o volunteer openings where they would have you know volunteer and and the town didn't even have a booth at this at the one this year because apparently it's an election year and there were booths there for Selectmen and other people running for office I think it probably would be considered bad form for the town to have a booth where the uh current people are and someone you know it's like so they town I didn't find a booth for the town so I I kind of expected the town to be soliciting so the question is what is being done to get more people here I mean what opportunities are there for us to get more yeah so you know can we have a booth set up at the at the town meeting you know people come in and and you have a booth say volunteers needed for the energy committee exciting I don't know I'll try to advertise it and get people but that I I don't know what's being done and nothing's happening obviously anybody calling me saying Hey I want to you know so yeah I did I will note that um I know you contacted forget who was it Eric or just to say I didn't contact I never did contact him I wanted to talk well I saw a message where you said oh there's no there's nothing um announcing that we have a vacancy on the energy committee even though there were other volunteer that's exactly right and um I did notice that that now it's on the website uh when you look under volunteer opportunities energy committee is included among many other many other for two years it wasn't there right right right and then it was there's a posting on paper there's a bulletin board um well I'd like to see him run that sign down at the end of the comment say you know volunteer I don't not necessarily our committee but volunteers needed you know yeah check with town you know I don't I would like to know that something is happening and that someone is responsible if there's no one responsible it's not going to happen if someone say it's part of your job to fill the then it might happen but I don't know it seems tough because I noticed there's there's vac practically every board has you know the zoning board and the Conservation Commission and yeah well I you know and that L I think a lot of them are also the same shape with some the people there have been there a long time right I mean you know well established people and we got to have fresh blood right yeah um okay facilities I would like to meet with him and learn discuss you know what he's thinking what what is the facilities manager thinking about electrification he thinks it's a bunch of crap he thinks it's great thinks he thinks there's a building he' like to do right now I would like to know that so that we can be sort of in sync when we we do these things and then um land use uh we used to have land use you know Mr uh Karen Karen right Karen was land use and and she was you guys know y so now we've got a grant administrator and we're not even hearing from the grant administrator Al the land use coordinator what is are they seriously involved that theyve given us think Teresa's taking her place you know being here involved has been she has been helpful but you can't be here all the time and what role will the the grant administrator play in in the uh in the grant stuff like handling the you know the work is done and we need to invoice it and we need to uh pay for it um who's handling that paperwork is it going through someone who can assure that it's happening it would seem to me me being a grant administrator kind of job done doesn't the company that's doing the work want to get paid in other words I don't know is it what don't they send an invoice and then if there an invoice there's a there's a fund that the grant tribut program deposited an account for towns and account and as the rise sends in the bills it's supposed to be paid from that account and then the green communties grant program you know can see that it was paid um it's just as part of it and then the inspection uh thing and the paperwork getting to care but it's not done until it's it's till all this stuff is done and I don't know who's who's like I said earlier I don't know who's coordinating this there ought to have a coordinator because there's so many people in moving Parts maybe they've got a system but uh I mentioned earlier Kathy that that uh in in checking this time I started off by contacting Karen since the last meeting yeah and I asked has any of the work been completed yet have you heard anything from town she say hasn't heard a fact and then I when I got into it found out that there were there was an invoice outstanding sitting there I don't know what's happening to her I who's got it um so question is what is what is what use is the grand administrator to this Committee just let me know contact her myself and ask her to do something that's not her job I don't know I got to be told by her boss what her job is if I can invol I would yeah she would she would handle all the grant funds and the payments and things like that she's the one that should have all the invoices and who gets what gets signed off and everything I would think right I I think they're they're making a mistake thinking that you know this just is going to go because we we we our our information our experience is that it doesn't it's almost got to and I would I I would like to know that the work we are doing is moving forward because we want to do more that's all we're got to finish it all right and planning board I was wondering what are they what is their plan regarding the the publication of our goals are they trying to keep it a big secret for now or or are they trying to um you know do anything with it C can we put it on our website like you know as a proposal not you know necessarily towns and goals but the the proposed towns and goals begin you know conversation about it you can you can talk to someone about it towns and has energy goals and they say what are they and you say oh they're on our web page I don't know what I don't know what's happening with it so those are those are the things that I would like to be working on between now and the next meeting and if if I could get help with any of that that'd be great I'd be happy to help you know pick [Music] one yeah I would like to do the land use coordinator one because that's going to be yeah close to me all right do the facilities one too because I've um talked with Rob before and I and I've done the kind of work that he does directly with the equip okay as far I mean I could uh now the planning board um those first those first uh the first first two are the ones that especially the second one how how does the town wants to yeah okay and and so who would be where do we start with Eric start with Eric or you could you could start with Teresa when she gets back because she's she has to be here anyway yeah and when she get I think she's getting back like uh Friday maybe tomorrow she said the second she on vacation um but anyway she's away yeah all right yeah so I can um talk to him about those both of those I guess I mean the volunteer roles I'm not really sure what what answer there is you know uh it's something to keep in mind certainly I have to admit it doesn't occur to me you know if I'm talking to people around in in town to just sort of if it's somebody who I think might be interested in this kind of thing you know let them know that we need more people well you know there's things that I I haven't even tried but you I don't you probably need permission is uh you know take counts and letterhead and you hang it up at the grocery store you know get permission you know to hang it up the grocery store pretty soon they'd be 12 of them for all the other committees that are looking for people right especially if it worked yeah yeah but uh you know the games you know a lot of lot of lot of people can't do this we we had a conversation uh the other day about volunteers and you know there are people with with kids we know busy with sports and everything all summer long but this is in the evening it's not you know shouldn't interfere with that all right so uh so Mike you'll handle the the um you you'll contact the Teresa and um Eric about that second item yes and I might as well take the planning board then Pard me I might as well take the planning board check with you want yeah okay you want to do the planning board one I can I can contact somebody do we have anybody any kind of a contact with them or no um is it Beth Faxon kind of their staff she's the head of yeah she's uh who is the she is the uh planning board board administrator um Beth fax Beth fax oh okay okay because did did did the um border of selectman like the goals that were submitted I mean does it does that have to be approved before it get published they appreciated the work that we had done and uh I I think in the planning board actually spent Mike and I came to a planning board meeting and they actually spent more time going over the individual goals than the bers SP than the board of selectman did but the board of Selectmen are heard our presentation and sent us to the planning board the planning board I think actually read some of the stuff and understood it ask some questions about it so that's where you know that's where the rubber meets the road you know at the plan board because they they left it that they were going to um try to uh distill the items so that they would put in front of the uh Chiefs you know the the department heads and and committee chair people only things that were relevant to their committee and I I discouraged them from doing that I thought everybody should see everything because they're related you know you know one works off the other I don't think I don't think you you should be S watering it down or distilling it when you know they're all every one of them is concerned whether you're at work or and working for the town or whether you're at home you're doing things for your own home the whole thing is relevant but it's up to them and uh we don't have we don't I did learn that we don't have any further influence on that I guess they may ask ask us questions now and then but um okay so uh any more questions on that Kathy call feel free to uh text me or uh email me if you have any other questions okay um topics not reasonably expected right SH now this this probably should have expected this I got a a note from [Music] um Sabrina Moore letting me know that there were was an opportunity to record information about a topic that you know was of Interest presented by the energy committee oh you talk about the lighting bylaw yes right and you for and I gave that to you and I I and just I'm having a I don't think the energy committee should have anything it wasn't it was just Mis understand it's the convenience of of you and Teresa being here at the same time and you communicate that and that's fine with me yeah but I I he really should have said bylaw committee because I'm on both committees it should be on the bylaw byw you know that and and hopefully you know you'll get to do your recording if I already did it and I'm gonna also speak at town meeting about it good all right um public forum none scheduling the next meeting um my constraints are um that trip that I was going to take now I'm now I'm taking it in late May and early June so it's two weeks around W you just what I think is that we ought to try to um we ought to try to get back together and discuss you know what what we found in our our meetings and uh so so that's really the main purpose of the next meeting if we I can also report it that time you know whether Frank is gotten back to me quote or not right um because we can begin you know once we have a quote from him we can begin ciphering things that you know sorting things out and uh planning how we want to present to the to the town um C I don't know if you're here for this part of the meeting but we we were discussing there are there are in the future not necessarily this round the future rounds of green communities grant program that will involve large Capital expenditures and I don't think we are you know necessarily properly organized or understand processes that would entail that would involve moving that sort of stuff forward so uh that's one of the questions that we have um going to the to the bard of selectman and town administrative okay scheduling next meeting but what were you thinking as far as getting back together first far meeting yes next meeting time um we're May 1st we could go the uh beginning of June uh yeah the first week I'll be the first week what about the last week of May uh it'll also be away that week that we okay so one's too soon the other one's okay so they're going to be uh so the week June calendar go to June that's June 10 something on the calendar oh my annual checkup okay well first week is the fifth the second week is the 12th how does the 12th look for you Kathy that looks good good and and Mike yes the 12 it is 612 612 7 o'clock I'll see what meeting what Arrangements I can make since that is the second Wednesday of the month I'm not sure we'll have this meeting room because the first meeting first Wednesday of the month is free here I have no idea what's going on the second okay okay Hey Ron yes Dave foli here on the calendar conservation is meeting that night upstairs so you'd be downstairs in room two good that works great I'll uh I'll uh I'll ask uh them to put that on the calendar tomorrow I'll text them and ask Sabrina to reserve that room for us thank you Harley yeah um have a CC it today funny oie as well when you talk with Sabrina what's that if you're going to email Sabrina CC at today funnyi fatig camp and we can make sure we're all on the same page I got that thank you okay um we schedule the next meeting I need a motion to adjourn right I make a motion we adjourn the meeting second second second and third Mike yes yes yes Kathy yes Ron yes thank you folks