Middleboro's Green Committee and Knee-Jerk Reactions

During a Middleboro Board of Selectmen's Meeting, Chairman Adam Bond introduced the subject of the Town of Middleboro creating a Green Committee, which other towns have long since accomplished. Several of those committees have been active and involved in reducing their towns' energy consumption. (There is a public discussion forum on nemasket regarding the topic.)

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The first step in the process of reviewing municipal energy consumption is completion of an energy audit.

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Selectman Marsha Brunelle's immediate response was that 'we did an energy audit' to conceal her historical lack of leadership and planning for the future, as well as her abrogation of fiscal responsibility. Of course, she can't provide the date or the information because it was never done, but then that's consistent with Mrs. Brunelle's response: 'we already did it.' Maybe it's time to be honest and acknowledge there's work to be done.

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During a free Town Hall Lawn Concert, organized by the Health Agent, Jean Spalding, to raise funds for the Park Department and the Animal Shelter, ALL of the interior lights of the Town Hall building were on, including those in locked and vacant offices.

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When I blogged about that observation, I noticed those lights extinguished on subsequent occasions. Kudos to those reading the blogs and acting on the comments!

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But maybe we can adopt those first incremental steps toward energy reduction prior to creation of a committee.

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How about the following? (And I would encourage others to toss out some of the basic simple ideas that work.)

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1. Power strips are available for sale at Ocean State Job Lot for about $3.00. How about working with the IT Director to install those strips on every computer, monitor and printer to shut off those hidden energy VAMPIRES when leaving the office?

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2. If the Town's Web Site were externally hosted, would that allow for the Town's computer to be shut down other than during business hours?

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3. The spotlights on the Town Hall lawn become extremely hot shortly after illumination. Would that be a good location to consider the investment of LEDs?

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4. The rear Town Hall stairwell, exiting the stage, is illuminated like daylight. While illumination is necessary for safety reasons, would it make sense to reduce the level of illumination, install CFLs, and motion sensors on the switches? Maybe someone could work with the Building Commissioner to ensure code compliance, but reduce the energy consumption.
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5. Do all municipal buildings have programmable set back thermostats? During a recent radio program, a Middleboro G&E representative commented that the G&E was only now installing those in the Philander Washburn building. So, in other words, that must mean the building was being heated or air conditioned overnight or all weekend when vacant. Would you do the same in your own home if you went away for the weekend? I was in one municipal building that had ALL of the thermostats set at 72 degrees in the winter.

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6. 2 representatives of the Middleboro G&E spoke during a recent radio program. One indicated that you should turn your thermostat down in the winter and your A/C up in the summer.

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OK. So, I'm an MG&E ratepayer. That's it?

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The Coffee Shop Talk program has been posted on nemasket. It's worth the listen.

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I would like to believe that MG&E spokespersons are at the pinnacle of information and education.

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Did I hear a mention of CFLs or any of the other initial first steps?

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One of those representatives was an elected G&E Commissioner, Don Triner. Now Don, you and I have met. You should know better. Some older folks in Middleboro need solid information and they look to you to provide it. Is that the best you can do? If that's all that you can tell folks, Don, you need to call me. My number is 508 946-9761. Don, we can do better. The information is out there. It's on my blog. It's on the internet. We --- all of us -- need to get the information out to folks to reduce the impact of heating costs this winter and energy usage.

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Let's begin with encouraging folks to install CFLs. Do you have CFLs? They're cheap and will reduce electric bills ~ 10%. Then we look around for the other basics. There's a great deal that can be accomplished to reduce wasted energy consumption. The experts say the first 20-30% is easy and inexpensive.

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Now, Don, you may have a new home at Oak Point that is well insulated. What about other folks who have lived their lives in Middleboro and their homes are not as well insulated? Can't we look around and recognize that some folks need some upgrading? Maybe some insulation? Maybe some weatherstripping? some caulking and tightening? Maybe they need some additional information beyond lowering the thermostat in the winter. What can we do for them?

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The G&E knee jerk response was that 'we don't want to participate with the state pool of $$.' Does that make sense? Have WE, the people discussed it? Voted on it? Are we loosing out on a potential annual $10 million grant/loan? Are we missing $10 Million for a surcharge of $.0025 on our G&E bills?

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The most recent enclosure with the utility bills indicates that the G&E reduced electric expenses for municipal buildings in Middleboro and Lakeville by $250,000. What would happen if that money were instead used to reduce consumption? What would happen if street lights were replaced with LEDs for the $25,000 that is being reduced?

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Maybe all of us should abandoned the knee-jerk mindset and look for some real solutions. What else can we do?