The last hurdle to Harvard’s becoming a Green Community has been cleared. All that remains is to deliver the documents to the state Department of Energy Resources in Boston.
On Tuesday, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) voted unanimously to approve the final revision of the energy reduction plan and fuel-efficient vehicle policy created by the Energy Advisory Committee. These documents are the last two pieces needed to complete the application package by Friday, Nov. 19, the filing deadline.
To be designated a Green Community and become eligible for state funds, the town must meet five criteria. The town approved three criteria at last week’s Special Town Meeting —zoning changes to allow a solar panel installation near the town transfer station, including an expedited permit process for the installation (criteria 1 and 2), and the stretch energy code (criterion 5). The energy committee has now gotten approval from the selectmen and the school committee for the energy reduction plan (criterion 3) and vehicle policy (criterion 4).
The energy reduction plan describes the ways the town will reduce energy consumption by 20 percent over the next five years. The vehicle policy requires that the town “purchase only fuel efficient vehicles for municipal/school use whenever such vehicles are commercially available and practicable and require that vehicles be operated and maintained in a manner to maximize fuel efficiency.” Committee member Eric Broadbent told the Press that only two or three town-owned vehicles would be subject to the policy because the rest were in a different weight class.
BOS Chairman Peter Warren said that he felt “very comfortable” with the documents.
Agreeing that there was no need for further discussion, the selectmen took a swift vote, then laughed over the expressions on the faces of the energy committee. Selectman Bill Johnson jokingly asked, “I’m sorry, did you want us to make it harder?”
