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M <br />16 Great Neck Road North <br />Nashpee, Massachusetts 02649 <br />Energy <br />Mr. Lehrer reminded everyone the goals of the 1998 plan were to minimize per capita overall energy <br />use related to transportation, space, heating, lighting, land use, and other local factors, and to optimize <br />benefits made possible by the deregulation of electric and gas utilities. Goals and actions were to <br />create a Mashpee Energy Committee, which there was one at one time and composed of staff people. <br />It consisted of Town Manager, DPW Director, and Town Planner. After some years it was decided by <br />the former Town Manager the Committee was no longer needed. <br />Mr. Richardson asked why that decision was made. For a town designated as a green community and <br />they get rid of the committee, it does not make sense. <br />Mr. Lehrer stated a lot of these actions were defined prior to the town becoming a green community. To <br />maintain our status in this program there are a bunch of reporting requirements which essentially <br />fulfilled many of the actions in this plan. The DPW tracks our green community minimums and <br />mandates and submits the annual and quarterly reports to the state. Perhaps maybe that was why the <br />energy committee disbanded. <br />Ms. Waygan stated maybe they would want to put this on the short list of action items to have a <br />citizen's energy committee. <br />Mr. Lehrer asked Catherine Laurent if the Planning and Constructing Committee fulfilled any sort of role <br />after disbanding the energy committee, to which she said it did not. It is really up to her to compile the <br />data and usages. <br />Mr. Lehrer went on to another action to work with the county to establish a county or Mashpee energy <br />fund, and to Ms. Laurent's knowledge there is no such fund that exists. There was a goal to develop a <br />municipal energy assessment program. There was never an official program that was developed, but <br />the town is designated as a green community by the state and produces annual reports that meet an <br />energy assessment. He asked about the Planning and Construction Committee and their role in this <br />and they do not access municipal energy consumption, but it is tracked by DPW. Town Facilities use <br />natural gas and the schools and landfill have net metering solar applications. The land fill is ground <br />mounted and the schools are roof mounted installations. The schools are also doing car port canopies. <br />There was a question about the preparing of deregulation and opportunities for lower rates, he is <br />awaiting responses from the electric company and Cape Light Compact because he did not know what <br />the deregulation of the industry meant, neither did Ms. Laurent. <br />Ms. Waygan commented she thinks the utilities used to be government run. <br />Mr. Lehrer stated the town's supply of natural gas is obtained through a consortium purchased <br />alongside other Upper Cape towns to establish lower energy rates for the town and electricity costs and <br />supplies managed solely by the Cape Light Compact. Another goal was to develop a town wide energy <br />5 <br />