Washington Energy Committee

Minutes 2/14/08

Present: Jerry Klohs, Sandy, Kitty West, Lindley Rankine, Johanna Young,

Doug Cook has resigned as clerk from the committee due to accepting a job in New Jersey

Meeting began at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall.

Old Business: Johanna reminded the committee that PSNH would come to answer questions about its SmartStart Energy Saving program on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. at a selectmen's meeting. The Committee is invited to attend.

Town Meeting: Chair mentioned the select board had suggested the Energy Committee should do a presentation at the Town Meeting. The committee agreed that was a good idea. Only Lindley and Johanna will be attending. They will clarify what the selectmen had in mind and also get suggestions from the Conservation Commission

School Project: Jerry is continuing to do research appropriate materials to teach children about energy conservation. Johanna recently sent him some links, which he thought looked promising. He would like to do a hands-on project, possibly showing the kids how to make insulation, which would plug up holes around electrical outlets. (Kids would not touch the outlets, just work with the inserts) Jerry has tried this himself and found it to be an effective of reducing the outflow of energy.

CFL Giveaway: Sandy and Jerry to purchase CFLs at the store where they were for sale for $1 each. Johanna will give to Jackie for the Washington Food Pantry.

New Business: Jerry brought up the need for more volunteers for the Farmer's Market, which will run from June-October, possibly running from 3-5 p.m. in the center of town. Johanna suggested that Saturday would be better and farmers might therefore get more traffic from weekend visitors. She also suggested adding crafts tables and information about local small businesses, making a connection that supporting local farms and biz will help conserve energy and ultimately benefit the town.

Local Energy: Jerry mentioned there is free air pressure at the Old Town garage and noted that having your tires at the right pressure helps car mileage and thus conserves energy. He also reported that construction has started for the Lempster Wind farm.

Community Education: Sandy suggested having a Green Energy movies series night, which could be held, at a resident's home for a freewill donation. Johanna mentioned that maybe the Washington Congregation Church would be willing to host a movie night. One of the suggestions was to show "Who Killed the Electric Car."

Workshops: Lindley and Johanna mentioned an upcoming workshop on bio-diesel sponsored by the Beginning Farmer's group. Jerry interjected that bio-diesel can be damaging to the environment and ultimately not sustainable. Group seemed to agree that alternative energies would have to come from more than one source to meet demand.

Correspondence received: letter received from Gwen Goodall complaining of security lights and a street light on the Town Garage and of a broken light next to the band stand. Johanna and Lindley to check into it and report back.

Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:30 p.m.

Submitted by Johanna Young

Secretary Pro temps