In a divided vote, Harvard’s Board of Selectmen (BOS) overrode the advice of the Harvard Energy Advisory Committee (HEAC) on the priority of green energy projects that can make use of the $141,000 Harvard has been awarded by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER). To qualify for the Green Communities grant, towns were required to present a prioritized project list required by DOER before the deadline of 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21.
An initial priority list was developed by the HEAC, which made use of energy data from the town, the town’s predicted energy needs, consultation with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), consultants for other towns, Harvard’s facilities personnel, and the town’s finance director, according to HEAC member Eric Broadbent in an interview with the Press.
Broadbent and other HEAC members had worked for several months with various boards and committees in town to arrive at the list of energy project priorities, the second of which was $20,000 for energy modeling for Town Hall in order to provide a baseline for bringing that building up to current building codes. Other projects on the HEAC priority list included work at the Hildreth Elementary School (HES), added recently by the BOS; upgrade of the Police Station HVAC system; and replacements of the police and fire station boilers, which had been slated for work in 2014 in the town’s energy plan.
But not all selectmen agreed at the Jan. 21 meeting that the energy modeling for Town Hall needed to be done. Selectman Bill Johnson said, “Before doing a study we need to find out whether we’re going to do anything at all. We don’t know whether we’re at a point where there is something to do to this building and this [energy modeling] feels premature. If the town wants to do something with this building [we’ll find that out] at Town Meeting.”
After 40 minutes of debate on the priority list, Johnson proposed to move the Town Hall energy modeling project, initially the second project on the list, to the bottom of the list, and in a 3-2 vote, selectmen Johnson, Ron Ricci, and Chairman Peter Warren voted for Johnson’s proposal; Selectman Tim Clark and Selectwoman Marie Sobalvarro voted against it. Broadbent, who had been answering questions and explaining the rationale for his board’s priorities, said, “I understand [the vote], but that’s not the advice of the Energy Committee.”
Funding timelines were also a factor in the HEAC’s recommendations, Broadbent told the Press. “The Massachusetts Schools Building Authority will fund up to 40 percent of qualifying projects, but there are several stipulations that the town much comply with, such as the fact that we must ‘front the money,’ so the 40 percent is a reimbursement.”
Long-term versus short-term benefits were a source of debate in the discussion. Johnson said, “A study doesn’t generate any savings immediately; I’d like to start saving money now.”
Sobalvarro said, “We really need to pay attention to Town Hall; if it doesn’t pass at Town Meeting, we will have a huge energy sink that will cost us money on an ongoing basis.”
Broadbent agreed, saying, “The timeline for this fiscal project is now. You can’t sell this at Town Meeting unless you have the case. This model is to help Town Meeting understand what we’re doing.”
Town Administrator Tim Bragan added, “The Finance Committee, the Capital Committee, and others in town have said that they supported this.”
The discussion concluded with Sobalvarro asking whether Johnson was willing to stand up and speak for a secondary request for the energy study, with funding directly from Town Meeting rather than from the Green Communities Act grant. Johnson replied, “Before doing a study we need to find out whether we’re going to do anything at all.”
