Clean Energy Task Force Regular Meeting October 9, 2013 - APPROVED

CLEAN ENERGY TASK FORCE MINUTES - APPROVED
October 9, 2013
REGULAR MEETING

The meeting was called to order at 6:40 p.m. by Commissioner Ray in Simsbury Town Hall, Room 103, with the following members present:  Jim Ray, Melissa Valentin, and Susan Van Kleef. 

1. Review and Approval of Minutes from Meeting on September 11th, 2013:
The draft minutes from the September 11th meeting were reviewed by all.  Commissioner Valentin made a motion to approve the minutes as is with no noted changes.  Commissioner Van Kleef seconded the motion.  All voted in favor. 

2.  Public Audience:
Commissioner Ray opened the floor for public audience. 
Ms. Claudia Szerakowski asked about the process in order to become a member of CETF.  It was noted that the open position was for an unaffiliated in regards to voter registration.  Ms. Szerakowski indicated that she was registered as an unaffiliated.  Commissioner Van Kleef indicated the process would still require that one of the parties provide the nomination to the Board of Selectman and that Mr. Jack Sennott had done that in the past for unaffiliated positions.  Ms. Szerakowski will send her resume to CETF members and Commissioner Van Kleef will forward it to Mr. Sennott.
No additional topics were discussed and Commissioner Ray closed the Public Audience.

3. Review of Simsbury Energy Plan: 
Commissioner Valentin indicated she had not seen the updated Simsbury Energy Plan that Mr. Tom Roy had provided.  Commissioner Ray indicated that he had sent it out and would resend it.  The update had included the suggestions from CETF from prior discussions so it may not need further changes.  All were requested to review the plan prior to the next meeting so any final comments can be passed on to Mr. Roy. 

4.  Review of Preparations for Presenting the New CEFIA Municipal Pledge:
Commissioner Beinstein had planned to put together a draft letter to the Simsbury Board of Education, but was unable to do so due to work commitments.  As such, it was agreed to put together an outline at this meeting.  A general discussion was held in regard to what it should say and who it should be addressed/copied.  As part of this discussion, Commissioner Beinstein was called to get his input.  It was agreed to send the letter to the BOE Chair, Ms. Lydia Tedone along with copy furnished to all BOE members, Superintendent Matthew Curtis and Business Manager Burke LaClair.  The letter will request that CETF be included in the agenda for a future BOE meeting to allow a presentation about the pledge and allow for questions/answers.  Commissioner Van Kleef volunteered to prepare the draft letter based on the key items discussed and send out for review to CETF and Mr. Tom Roy.  It was not clear from prior discussions with Mr. Roy as to whether the Board of Education needed to give support or participate.  Commissioner Valentin sent an e-mail to Mr. Roy from the meeting asking for clarification to aid in the finalization of the letter.  A review of the upcoming dates for the Board of Education meetings and Board of Selectman meetings will done to target which dates CETF will plan to present the CEFIA Municipal Pledge.  Commissioner Van Kleef also will discuss with Selectman Shannon Knall as to her recommendations for presenting to the Board of Selectman.  The next meeting will include an agenda item for presentation planning that will be used for both the Board of Education and the Board of Selectman.   

5.  Future Meeting Dates Discussion:
Based on various feedback from members and noted request from Mr. Mark Scully, there was an indicated preference for meetings to be on Mondays.  Commissioner Ray will get information from the Town as to the possibility of changing a CETF meeting date this year and the procedure.  For next year, the choice of dates has not yet been done so it can easily be done then if the majority approves a change.  

6.  Open Forum: 
Based on the comments made at the Septemberfest about the lack of bike racks at the site, Commissioner Valentin had volunteered to research availability and prices.   Commissioner Valentin reported that there were many available for prices from about $200 to $500 so very feasible for CETF if decided to purchase one.   With all the exhibits and people at the Septemberfest, although none were found by those making the comments, they may be there and just not seen.  Verification of any there will first be done before any follow up discussion. 

7.  NEXT MEETING
The next scheduled meeting is October 23rd.     

8.  ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Van Kleef motioned to adjourn the meeting at approximately 8:10 p.m. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Valentin and unanimously approved.