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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-01-03 Cities for Climate Protection MinutesJanuary 3, 2007 Reading Advisory Committee on Cities for Climate Protection Program Committee Notes for Jan. 3, 2007 (Next Meeting - Jan 24h at Town Hall) Committee Meeting 7:00 PM, present were Tracy Sopchak, Stephanie Anderberg, Michele Benson, Ron Daddario, Gina Snyder, Joan Boegel and Ray Porter. Daniel Blodgett and Steve Goldy joined the meeting approximately 7:35. Chair Gina Snyder opened the meeting and welcomed all present. A motion was made and seconded to approve the meeting minutes of the December 27, 2006 meeting. There was no discussion. The motion passed 5-0. A motion was made and seconded to take agenda item f out of turn. There was no discussion. The motion passed 5-0. A discussion on the presentation for the January 9 h Selectmen's meeting followed. Ray has a draft PowerPoint, which starts out with the basics of mission statement, goals, and methods. The next slide addresses money issues - cost to the town versus gains in grants and value to the town. We are happy to report a positive return on the town's investment thus far. The town budgeted $600, mainly for CCP dues. The committee received a $2000 grant from RMLD, a diesel particulate filter retrofit grant valuing $4000, $1000 in donations from Atlantic Food Mart, and an unknown total of individual donations. The next slide highlights public outreach efforts including Green Sense columns, 1-2-3 Pledge, and information tables at events. The next slides explain CCP and the 5 steps, followed by more detailed explanations of steps 1 and 2, as we have recently completed 1 and are working on 2. In the explanation of milestone 2, some community initiatives are also included, such as the holiday lights (an interaction with DPW and the Chamber), Carpool program suggestion, and the instructional motion regarding LEED standards. Some discussion ensued on how to label these items, and it was decided to simply call them "Community". The slideshow ends by explaining "what's next": developing an Action Plan, looking into more grants, and continuing community outreach, among other things. The Committee asked Steve Goldy for input from his perspective from the selectman's POV. He had several good suggestions such as adding mentions of some of the recognition we've had from state legislators, and to include more details on the "Earth-o-stat" graphic. There was some discussion over whether to hand out a data printout from the ICLEI software, in the Selectmen's information packets before the meeting, Steve returned to his other meeting at 8:05. Discussion moved on to how or if to include mention that the transportation percentage goes up when 93 & 95 highway traffic is included. A suggestion was made to consider coordinating an Earth Day event, possibly including showings of "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Who Killed the Electric Car", informational displays, and possibly invite representatives of sustainable energy (etc) to also have info tables. The agenda item discussion ended with words of appreciation for Ray's work on the presentation. The committee returned to agenda item c, scheduling of future meetings, which Ron has already taken care of for some time into the future. There was a brief discussion over whether to meet on Valentine's Day, as the formula would have it, or to reschedule that meeting. The committee will revisit this question at the next meeting. On agenda item D, offer of help on carpool concept, Gina and Tracy report that they were contacted by a couple from church who offered to work on the carpool matching program possibilities, and offered to form a subcommittee on this project. The couple has math and computer skills very relevant to the issue. A discussion followed on ridematching software options, Transportation Management Association (TMA) services, and some local TMAs and transportation service providers. As our next meeting has a specific purpose (brainstorming on Action Plan items), the Committee decided to invite the couple to a future meeting. It was mentioned that the couple would prefer to meet with a smaller group first, and Stephanie offered to talk with them based on her work experience in this area. There was a request for an email about the town reviews. On Agenda Item E, Global Warming Reading Group, Ron explained that if the committee sponsored this effort, the group would be able to use community meeting rooms free. Michele also mentioned that the RMLD cafeteria is always free for community meetings. A motion was made and seconded to support the effort. No discussion followed. The motion passed 5-0. Gina closed the meeting at 8:30.