The Board of Finance (BOF) conducted a special meeting on the evening of September 29, after its previously scheduled September 24 meeting was canceled due to internet issues.

The special meeting was livesteamed on the Town of Newtown website and the public was invited to attend in person at the Municipal Center or call in to participate.

Sustainable Energy Presentation

Members of the town’s Sustainable Energy Commission — Allen Adriani, Fred Hurley, and Chair Kathleen “Kathy” Quinn — were present to give a slideshow presentation about the group, the work it has done in the community, and its upcoming projects.

Adriani explained that the commission was originally established as the Clean Energy Task Force in 2007 then underwent a name change in December 2009.

Today, it consists of nine individuals with diverse backgrounds who bring their mechanical, environmental, civil, or electrical expertise, as well as some members who have a general interest in “being green.”

The role of the Sustainable Energy Commission, Adriani said, is to “support town officials and employees to identify [and implement] renewable energy use, energy sources, energy efficiency, and conservation programs.”

Newtown’s residents, businesses, organizations, and town agencies can participate in the energy conservation programs it leads.

Over the years, the Sustainable Energy Commission has been awarded a variety of grants and been instrumental in a number of projects in town. Projects include installing LED streetlights at Fairfield Hill and Reed Intermediate School in 2010; installing a solar panel system at the Waste Water Treatment Plant in 2011; creating a two-port Electric Car Charging Station at the Municipal Center in 2017; and purchasing a Chevy Bolt electric vehicle for the town motor pool in 2018.

From 2017 to 2018, the group was also involved in pushing for a fracking waste ban in Newtown, a plastic bag reduction, and starting food scrap recycling in the schools.

“The goal of sustainable energy is to reduce energy use and find alternatives to fossil fuels… a large portion of our electric use here in town is generated by solar,” Adriani added.

Other renewable energy options listed in the presentation were geothermal energy, wind power, biomass, biofuels, and hydropower.

When going over a list of more than dozen town building projects where solar panels have been installed, Hurley explained, “All of them were done, with one exception, with public/private partnerships providing power purchase agreements. Developers came in and put the money in… all we do is pay for the actual electricity, so the town did not have to capitalize any of the projects.”

The exception being the initial system at the waste water treatment plant where, he said, Water and Sewer covered the rest of the cost after the grant was used.

When looking specifically at the various energy upgrades made to Newtown public schools, it was noted that Middle Gate Elementary School has a new natural gas line, Aerco boilers, and LED lighting updates; Newtown Middle School has a new natural Gas line, Viessman condensing boilers, and LED retrofit throughout the entire building; and Hawley Elementary School replaced its parking lot lights and wall packs, had steam boilers replaced with Aerco boilers and converted to hot water, and LED retrofit throughout the interior of the building.

Additionally, Newtown High School has new Aerco Benchmark boilers in main building and F-wing, new indirect tanks for water heating, had all hydronic heating pumps replaced, and LED retrofit throughout entire interior of the building.

After doing a walk through and reviewing the new Sandy Hook School building, it was identified that the building management system’s optimization, boiler temperature control, kitchen hood fan control, and parking lot lights need to be addressed. The presentation showcased that doing so will save an estimated $125,000 a year in operating expenses.

Future projects to identify potential energy saving options include doing walk throughs of multiple schools and assessing the Newtown Community Center, HVAC at the old Senior Center on Riverside Road, and various boiler upgrades at town buildings.

BOF Proposed CIP Revision

When discussing the Legislative Council Finance and Administration Committee revision to the BOF’s Proposed CIP, Section 310, Finance Director Robert “Bob” Tait made a few comments.

For Section 310-5, Presentation of Proposed Capital Assets/Projects to Board of Finance, Tait said, “I think we should leave in the process that the CIP can be amended during the year using the same approval process as we approve the actual plan.”

For Section 310-10, Capital Asset/Project Process, Tait said, “We should make sure in the charter 6-35 the bonding process is initiated by the first selectman or the Legislative Council — so it goes Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance, Legislative Council. I think here it says it starts with the Board of Finance.”

For that section, he also added that in subsection C the write-up should combine steps one and two, which pertain to bonding funds for requested capital assets/projects and appropriating funds for projects.

These updates were noted and would be put toward a new draft to be approved at the next BOF meeting.

BOE Coronavirus Expenditures Budget

The resolution providing for special appropriation and estimated revenue ($400,000) to amend the 2020-21 budget for Board of Education (BOE) coronavirus expenditures was approved by the Board of Finance.

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal noted that there has been a lot of discussion on the subject in past meetings, which appeared to be in reference to the Board of Selectmen’s unanimous vote on September 21 to appropriate $400,000 from its fund balance for the BOE to utilize for COVID-related expenses.

As reported in The Newtown Bee’s article, “Selectmen Shift $400K To Schools As Council Discusses Non-Lapsing Account,” published on September 25, “The move came one week after a Board of Finance vote tied, resulting in a failed motion to shift $1.3 million in surplus school budget funds to the district’s non-lapsing account. Per the selectmen’s motion, the $400,000 earmarked for the school district will be held in the municipal capital and non-recurring account.

“As a result, Tait said once that special appropriation is endorsed by the Board of Finance and Legislative Council, he would be authorized to distribute any or all of it as long as the district presented documentation on how the money would be, or was already spent.”

BOE Non-Lapsing Account/CIP

The BOF agreed to hold off on discussing or making any possible action on the BOE non-lapsing account or BOE CIP that was on the agenda.

BOF Chair Sandy T. Roussas addressed her fellow commission members, saying, “Take the time that you need to review the CIP in detail. I think the Board of Education will be present at our next meeting, so if you have any questions after reviewing [it that] would be helpful, get those to the Board of Education in advance so that they can come prepared with answers.”

For more information about upcoming Board of Finance meetings, visit newtown-ct.gov/board-finance.