HANSCOM AREA TOWNS COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF MEETING
Held at 7:30 PM on May 22, 2008
At Lincoln Town Offices
PRESENT:
Sara Mattes Lincoln Board of Selectmen (Chair)
Jeanne Krieger Lexington Board of Selectmen
Anne Shapiro Concord Board of Selectmen
Mike Rosenberg Bedford Board of Selectmen
Mark Siegenthaler Bedford Board of Selectmen
Paul Connelly MA Executive Office of Public Safety
Richard Canale Lexington Planning Board
Jim Henderson Lincoln Conservation Commission
Alvin Schmertzler Lincoln Long Range Planning Committee
Jim Corcoran Hanscom Air Force Base, Public Affairs
Dorothy M. Steele Massport/ OGCA
Barbara Buchan Lincoln Green Technology Energy Group
Andrew McClaine Lexington Climate Action Plan Committee
Kim Siebert Bedford Global Warming Action Coalition/ Bedford Energy Task Force
Lynne Smith Lincoln
Mary Kushman Lincoln
Tyke Crowley Concord Planning Division
7:30 PM INTRODUCTION
The Chairman welcomed attendees and mentioned that the meeting was being recorded for cable TV. Apologies were received from Lisa Mustapich of Lexington and from Senator Kennedy’s staff. The meeting expressed its best wishes to the Senator and his staff.
7:35 PM CYBER COMMAND: Update on campaign to bring Air Force Cyber Command to Hanscom Air Force Base
Paul Connelly of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety explained that the mission of the new Cyber Command is prevention of, and recovery from, ‘cyber attacks’ on information networks. It represents the adoption of cyberspace as a domain for which security needs to be provided. The headquarters is currently in Louisiana but a new location is being sought. Seventeen states are competing to be selected.
A “data call” has been issued, asking for information relating to a specific location. Massachusetts is preparing a response relating to the Hanscom base. The information requested covers security, capacity, and communications, and seeks to identify what makes each area unique. Massachusetts excels in its educational and research focus.
A team has been formed to work on preparing the case, with representation from the legislative and executive branches of state government and with links to Congress and local government. The Governor strongly supports the campaign, as it is believed that hosting the Cyber Command would strengthen Hanscom’s position in any future BRAC exercise, and bring big benefits to the business and wider community. 541 jobs will be directly related to the Cyber Command and further jobs can be expected to be generated indirectly. Mr. Connelly stated that the campaign team is talented and diverse and that Hanscom Air Force staff have been very helpful.
The deadline for responses to the data call is tight; the call was issued a week ago and responses have to be submitted by July 1st. The Air Force will make evaluative visits by fall, and draw up a shortlist of bases. A further selection process will follow.
Sara Mattes reported that she and Lexington Selectman Jeannne Krieger and Bedford Selectman Mark Siegenthaler joined the Governor earlier in the day for a briefing tour of the base and surroundings. She reported that the Governor stressed the size of Hanscom’s economic contribution to the region; it is the only active base in New England. She commented that the team and the case are able to take advantage of significant continuity from the recent BRAC exercise, and expressed support for the team’s effort to grasp this rare opportunity.
Questions were invited. Richard Canale said that Lexington is examining its nearby commercial area and wishes to support the campaign; he asked what information would be useful. Mr. Connelly responded that communications bandwidth and power are important data items. Lincoln asked whether the headquarters would use existing facilities or new ones, but this was not yet known. The town will also be interested to know whether any additional housing or school requirements would be generated.
Mr. Connelly offered to maintain liaison with HATS via the Chair. He was thanked for his presentation. ACTION: Paul Connelly/ Chair
7:45 PM DISCUSSION: GOING “GREEN”
Representatives of committees and citizens’ groups in the HATS towns that are working on “going green” were invited to report and exchange ideas about their activities.
Andy McClaine of Lexington’s Climate Action Committee spoke first. The committee was appointed by selectmen last September and became a member of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEA). The committee is following a methodology of measuring the town’s carbon footprint, then modeling and testing potential steps forward. Utility companies are the prime source of data. Components of the footprint that are hard to measure are air travel, business use of oil (as there are many suppliers) and road vehicle travel (although the RMV has some data on vehicle mileage). The local high school is gathering some household data which the committee may be able to make use of. The committee will need to decide on a goal to set; ICLEA is recommending an 80% reduction by 2050. It
appears that achieving a 20% reduction is relatively easy with the use of technology but further progress tends to depend on harder lifestyle changes. The committee aims to help to guide the community, and hopes to engage the business and faith communities in town as well as residents.
A question was asked about the municipal contribution to the carbon picture. The committee found that municipal energy use was about 2% of the total and planned to treat it as part of the business component. Jeanne Krieger reported that Lexington has a combined maintenance department for school and town facilities which may be helpful. Incandescent light bulbs have been replaced. New municipal buildings are required to be built at a standard where they would be capable of being certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED); the newest schools use geothermal energy systems and are at the LEED silver standard. Little retrofitting has been done although a few solar panels have been obtained through the Global Warming Action Committee (GWAC) effort to enlist contributions for a
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative carbon offset program. Lexington has also replaced some fleet cars with hybrids.
Mr. Canale asked whether through traffic was counted in the carbon footprint. The committee has decided to exclude Route 128 traffic from its study since it is less amenable to local control, but the committee’s work does cover local businesses as well as residences, so it could promote measures such as car pooling schemes that reduce traffic.
Mr. McClaine expressed the view that both grassroots action and governmental mandates are needed. Convincing people that the climate change problem can be tackled is a hard but important step. In response to a question about whether public transport provision was part of the solution, he suggested that the investment cost was an obstacle but he observed that our market system can be quite responsive, so the way forward may be through carbon taxes that recognize the wider costs of carbon use. He concluded by saying that the latest scientific evidence suggests that climate change is happening faster than was predicted, and that the risks of inaction are potentially enormous whereas the risks of over-action are minimal.
Kim Siebert spoke on behalf of the Bedford Global Warming Action Coalition and the town’s Energy Task Force. She reported that early resistance to the groups’ ideas seems to be diminishing and “green” themes are becoming a bandwagon. The schools have embryonic green teams. There is much work to be done and changing information to be kept up with and translated into action. Bedford GWAC was inspired by awareness-raising events in adjoining towns in 2007. A presentation was made to the selectmen and an Energy Task Force is being established. It is considering departmental items to address. The Planning Board is involved and is looking at pedestrian routes. The state has invited grant applications from towns for energy audits and Bedford has applied in relation to certain facilities.
Bedford GWAC is creating a lot of publicity locally and has established a website, www.bedfordgwac.org.
Al Schmertzler reported that Lincoln has a Green Technology Committee. It proposed an article that was passed by Town Meeting recently, setting an aggressive target and timeframe for energy performance of new town buildings (but with an escape clause). The school is being modified with energy efficiency measures. Also, school buses are being limited to five minutes of idling time, and new ones will have better emissions control. The town’s library website has references, provided by a recent speaker, to rebates available to householders.
Anne Shapiro reported that Concord selectmen appointed a committee to work with the Concord Municipal Light Plant (the town’s electric utility) on energy issues. The town has received a gift of $1 million to do more work on green technology issues and needs to decide how best to spend it. For the latest school building project, the selectmen have given a broad brief for green design to allow the architects to propose suitable features. Ms. Shapiro noted that private developers are beginning to claim to be green, and that best practices need to be clarified.
Dorothy Steele of Massport said that HanscomLogan Airoport has the first LEED certified terminal. Environmental considerations extend to the RFPs for food service providers. Massport asks new developments to be designed to LEED equivalent standard. Electric buses are used, and some of Massport’s equipment has been retrofitted for energy savings.
Other points and ideas raised in discussion included:
· A proposal in Congress to require homeowners to provide an energy audit when they sell
· The potential to source energy efficient police vehicles
· Excessive use of plastic bags
· The potential to regulate house tear-downs to reduce waste e.g. by requiring recycling of materials
· Prohibition of drive-throughs
· Use of Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) to provide funding for energy efficiency measures, with repayment from the savings achieved
· The idea of giving relief on property tax assessments for energy efficient upgrades (likely to need change in state law)
It was agreed that it would be beneficial for the town-appointed green technology (or equivalent) committees to get together to exchange ideas and experiences. This could strengthen advocacy, and explore economies of scale in purchasing. Fall is a good time to influence town budgets. The Chairman will circulate email contacts.
Contributors were thanked for their participation in the discussion.
ACTION: Chair/ towns’ green technology committees
8:50 PM REPORT ON 128 CENTRAL CORRIDOR COALITION
Jeanne Krieger reported on the progress of the coalition that was established between the towns of Weston, Lincoln, Lexington and Waltham, to examine issues of development and transportation in the central portion of Route 128. She commented that in the past, towns have been more interested in economic development than in addressing the associated mobility issues. Solutions to traffic congestion may involve a move away from single occupancy vehicles. The Coalition is pressing for a corridor study, and looking into the idea of a mitigation bank to pool resources including funding from developers. It hopes to work with state agencies and to influence thinking on traffic mitigation and mobility issues.
Mr. Schmertzler asked if a mass transit element was possible. Ms. Krieger responded that she saw orbital bus lanes as a possibility, in conjunction with a multi-modal transport interchange on the Fitchburg rail line. A study of the Route 93 southeast expressway is not showing very positive results. However, the MBTA is pointing to higher ridership as a result of the increase in gas prices, and is has a positive attitude to increasing public transportation’s share of trips.
Some attendees commented on the difficulties of reducing car use in a wealthy area; parents often transport school children by car and many older high school students drive their own cars, rather than use school buses.
9:00 PM MAGIC/ MPO UPDATE
Mr. Canale drew attention to an upcoming MAPC MetroFuture meeting on May 28th, which will be followed by an MAPC Council meeting and MPO election. Once voted on by Council, the MetroFuture Plan will replace the Metroplan of 2000 and will set the planning framework for agencies such as Massport. The Plan looks ahead to 2030, with ideas of more control over the pattern of growth. The meeting will consider implementation strategies, on which there is a variety of ideas, and there will be breakout sessions on a range of topics. MAPC’s work plan will also be voted on.
Sara Mattes questioned the lack of an adequate timeframe for town representatives to report to their boards of selectmen and obtain guidance on voting.
9:10 PM HATS REPRESENTATION REVIEW
The Chairman outlined the framework for the HATS Committee: the four voting members are selectmen from each of the towns. Further representatives from each town are provided by planning boards (one member) and either conservation commissions or other representatives (up to two members). Ms. Mattes would like to see fuller participation by conservation commissions or other town bodies than at present. She asked the towns to consider their representation. ACTION: Towns’ selectmen
9:20 PM OTHER BUSINESS:
Next Meeting
The main item for the next meeting will be the Section 106 Review of Hangar 24 at Hanscom. The discussion will be led by Marilyn Fenollosa from Lexington. Section 106 is a federal law under which the National Trust for Historic Preservation reviews federal projects that affect historical resources, identifying impacts and recommending mitigation or other action. Hangar 24 is associated with the development by Draper of inertial navigation systems. Massport wants to demolish the hangar to redevelop the site, which is in the Virginia Road area. Adjacent towns are represented on the consultative committee for the review.
Cyber Command letter of support
The Chairman referred to a draft letter that the Lincoln selectmen will be signing in support of the case for the Cyber Command headquarters to locate at Hanscom. She suggested that other towns may wish to develop similar letters and then the HATS selectmen can sign a joint letter.
A MOTION was proposed by Anne Shapiro and seconded by Jeanne Krieger, to direct the Chairman to write a letter on behalf of HATS, supporting the development of the Cyber Command center at the Hanscom base. Passed 4-0
ACTION: Chair
HATS Memorandum Of Understanding
Ms. Krieger suggested that the HATS MOU be reviewed to see whether it meets current needs. Mrs. Perry outlined the history of the committee, which originated in the Hanscom Area Transportation Study and evolved into HATS II which was in turn replaced in the 1990s by a committee constituted as a Growth and Development Policy Committee under state law. Mrs. Perry confirmed that the documents governing the committee’s operation do not appear to have been reviewed recently. The Chairman agreed to circulate electronic copies of the relevant documents, and Mr. Canale offered to supply an electronic copy of the state law that governs the present arrangements.
ACTION: Chair and Richard Canale
Hanscom Emergency Planning Exercise
Jim Corcoran announced that a triennial emergency planning exercise will be staged on June 4th, concentrating on communications with local towns.
9:25 PM MINUTES
The approval of the April minutes was deferred so that towns’ selectmen can check them with their housing representatives. ACTION: towns’ selectmen
The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 PM.
Submitted by Catherine Perry
Approved as amended July 17, 2008
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