 |
Sustainable Belmont Meeting Minutes
December 2, 2009, 7 – 9pm,
Flett Room Belmont Public Library, 336 Concord Avenue, Belmont, MA
Attendees: Paul Solomon, Jan Kruse, Alexandra Clee, John McAlpin, Nancy Forbes, Monte Allen, Ed Crisafi, Martha Jacovides, Caroline Wu, Jennifer Page, Douglas Massidda, Lesley Levine, Ron Geiger, Peter McCullough, Judy Otto, and Hank Thiedemann.
Sustainable Belmont chair Jan Kruse began the meeting at 7:02 pm. She welcomed everyone and introductions were made as there were new people in attendance.
Jan noted that, on Nov. 18, Town Meeting had passed (by approximately a 75% voice vote) the resolution related to the Climate Action Plan that would result in the appointment by the Belmont Board of Selectmen of a new permanent Energy Committee comprised of people from all sectors (municipal, residential, business and institutions). The Energy Committee will work with the Belmont community to voluntarily reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, with the target goal of 80% reduction by 2050. She invited all to attend upcoming meetings when the climate action working group would meet to discuss the makeup and membership schema of this new group. She also briefly introduced Mass Climate Action Network’s Cool Mass program, which involves neighbors working together to reduce their carbon footprint. The applications for
the 2010 training program will be open in Dec. 2009 and January 2010, with training to commence in spring 2010. Sustainable Belmont will need to decide if they wish to take the lead on rolling this out in Belmont. No decision was made and the group will continue to discuss.
At 7:30pm, when the scheduled speaker had not yet arrived, the group began to discuss the scheduled topic. The subject: Toxins in the Home, with a focus on cleaning supplies and safer alternatives. A robust discussion, with many sharing personal stories and perspectives, ensured for the next 90 minutes. Hank Thiedemann provided delicious brownies, which were gratefully eaten by the group. Jan promised to email a copy of the speaker’s handout, which included websites for more information, as well as recipes for green cleaning supplies.
Jan adjourned the meeting at 8:55pm.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Jan Kruse.
| |
