HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 17
Draft Minutes
Environmental Initiatives Committee
Meeting Minutes
DATE: September 17, 2007
TIME: 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION: 26379 Fremont Road
Los Altos Hills
Town Hall
Roll Call: Present were Peter Evans, Mark Jensen, Breene Kerr, John Hartpootlian, Walt
Wilson, Ian Earnest and Jay Shideler.
Officer Election: Jay Shideler was elected as the new Chairperson of the EIC committee
commencing immediately. Peter Evans, who has resigned his position of Chairperson
will stay on as a member of the EIC committee.
Single Stream Recycling: The second quarter recycling data from LAG Co. has not
been received. Obtain report and send out to committee members: Jay Shideler
Garbage/Recycling contract renewal Request for Proposal (RFP): A meeting was
held in July of this year to discuss the renewal of the LAG Co. contract that is due to
expire soon. This meeting, chaired by Jean Mordo, discussed the various desirable
aspects that LAH would like to see in the new contract. A contractor was present in the
meeting who will draft the RFP based on the desires discussed by the meeting
participants. A RFP will consist of core items that are mandatory plus extra line items
that will require separate price quotes. The EIC committee would like to see the RFP
accommodate some kind of curb-side pickup of E-waste and other items that LAG Co.
currently will not pick up. Determine when the first draft of the RFP will be available for
review and circulate via email the draft to all EIC committee persons for markup and
comments: Peter Evans and Jay Shideler.
LAH Solar Expansion/Town Hall Monitoring: Jay Shideler reported that SolarCity
has completed the hardware and software for PG&E performance base rebate and the tie-
in of the pre-existing solar monitoring. However, the website monitoring data doesn’t
appear to be consistent with the amount of power generated nor does the Town Hall
power consumption appears to be accurate. Also, the power drain of the cell tower is
unknown. Call a meeting with required and appropriate contractors to modify the solar
website data display to break out separately data from the pre-existing fixed solar system
and the tracker solar system: Breene Kerr. Also, determine how and where to monitor
the power drain of the cell tower: Breene Kerr.
Power Consumption of the Town Hall: A discussion developed pertaining to the
frustration of the committee members of the lack of understating and visibility of where
the power is being dissipated in the Town Hall. Kick-start the effort to solve this
problem and to “drill down” to determine where the power is going and how to better
manage it. Walt Wilson has graciously volunteered to drive this program.
A discussion pursued about using Kill-a-Watt plug-in meters to monitor consumption of
individual electrical items. The committee voted for a recommendation that the Town
purchase 10 such meters and make them available for doing limited monitoring in the
Town Hall and to allow them to be loaned out to residents for monitoring of their own
electrical equipment in their homes. Contingent to borrowing would be a required form
to be filled out by the borrower to share the results of their data. Make request to Carl
Cahill to purchase meters: Peter Evans.
SolarCity Discount Program: SolarCity is offering up to a 20% discount to residents in
LAH for solar installation at their homes if enough residents sign up. The EIC committee
encourages the program but in no way can sanction or abet this effort. Also, it appears
that LAH is continuing its PV solar installation upward trend without direct involvement
in the SolarCity program.
ABAG Workshop/Recommendations: Jay Shideler attended the ABAG Energy Watch
meeting last July and wrote a summary of the workshop. Since the LAH government
infrastructure is minimal, ABAG Energy Watch program would not be of great benefit
for our Town Hall. LAH is currently a member of the Sustainable Silicon Valley. Any
more involvement that requires an extra burden on the Town Staff or volunteers to
comply with the requirements of membership with limited benefit to the Town Hall is not
desirable. Consequently, the EIC committee does not recommend involvement in ABAG
Energy Watch program unless it can be shown that involvement will not involve
burdensome paperwork. However, several members of the AGAG Energy Watch
program expressed a desire to mutually pursue a similar program for residents, especially
the San Jose workshop spokesperson. Investigate expanding this program to include
residential solar applications: Jay Shideler
Water Conservation & Landscape Recommendations: John Hartpootlian talked
extensively about a landscape water conservation proposal that is being drafted by Sue
Welch. This draft, among other things, gives recommendations on landscaping, plants,
monitoring and other aspects dealing with the conservation of water. Obtain and send
email copy of first draft of this proposal for EIC members to mark up and make
recommendations: John Hartpootlian. Another discussion followed about revamping
the Little League Field to accommodate water management (and hopefully conservation).
Breene Kerr would like to see another demonstration program for water conservation and
management of the Little League Field similar to that for solar of the Town Hall solar
trackers. Announce when the next meeting to discuss this subject will occur and arrange
for the proper EIC members to be present: John Hartpootlian. Also, Andy Lipkus gave
a 50 minute talk about water management and conservation a while back. Obtain link of
the meeting recording and send to the EIC members: John Hartpootlian.
Scheduling of EIC meetings: Scheduling a mutually acceptable time for the EIC meeting
is difficult – hopefully, will be alleviated shortly by the availability of another meeting
room in the water district building. Solidify best time for scheduled meetings: Jay
Shideler
Jay Shideler 9/17/07