Status of Green Communities application still undetermined
Date: 4/25/2012
April 25, 2012By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.comAGAWAM —City officials have yet to make a decision on whether or not to apply for Green Community status.
Deborah Dachos, director of Planning and Community Development, explained to
Reminder Publications that the Green Committee didn't take a vote at its recent meeting that would move the effort on to the City Council because the councilors who are part of the committee could not attend the meeting.
She said there is a problem with scheduling the green Committee meetings. The councilors on the committee wish to have the meetings at night, while the residents opt for a daytime schedule.
Dachos said having the councilors at the meeting for what she described as a "big vote" would give an indication of how the council as a whioloe might vote..
She explained the city applied for Green Community status from the state more than a year ago and had to meet five criteria, one of which was the adoption of the Stretch Building Code.
The City Council voted against the code and the application was denied. Dachos said the town must wait two years before the issue can come to a vote again and the Green Committee "is trying to determine if there are enough votes [on the City Council] whether we should try again."
She said that Stretch Building Code is very complex but basically requires communities to set standards that would increase energy efficiencies in new buildings by 20 percent more than what its currently dictated by the state building code.
Dachos said the advantage for receiving Green Community status would be the ability to apply for state grants for various projects that would improve energy use.
According to the state's Department of Energy Resources, there are 86 municipalities that have been awarded the status. In Hampden County, only Holyoke and Springfield have it. Holyoke received a $321,221 grant in 2010 that improved the energy efficiency of public schools, traffic lights and helped insulate City Hall. Springfield received almost $1 million in 20120 that was used to fund energy efficient boilers and vending machines.
