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Date: 10/12/2022
LONGMEADOW – Among the articles on the Oct. 25 Special Town Meeting warrant, a proposed water use bylaw is stirring up strong opinions.
Resident Tom Shea addressed the board at its Oct. 3 meeting. He told the officials that he was speaking to them “as a professional courtesy,” before stating that they should eliminate any portion of the bylaw that curtails water usage for any reason other than equipment issues in Longmeadow or with the Springfield water system, from which Longmeadow buys its water.
“Anything to do with the state, such as the Water Management Act, state of drought or any reference to them should be deleted,” Shea said. He described water restrictions not related to system failures as “pandering and kowtowing to state regulators.”
He went on to say the Cobble Mountain Reservoir, from which Longmeadow’s water is drawn, is at 80 percent of capacity. “There is no water resource issue for us here.”
On Oct. 7, Springfield Water and Sewer Commission Communications Manager Jaimye Bartak told Reminder Publishing that the reservoir was at 67 percent capacity, “which is a normal level for this time of year.”
Shea said the other four municipalities that draw their water from the reservoir did not put a water ban in place over the summer and that Longmeadow should join an unnamed group of cities and towns “opposing unnecessary water restrictions.”
He insisted the bylaw would not pass at Town Meeting unless they followed his suggestions. Twice he told the Select Board, “I’m trying to help you.”
During the board’s discussion of the drafted bylaw, Select Board Chair Josh Levine commented on Shea’s comparison of the municipalities served by Cobble Mountain Reservoir. “We’re a different town. I’m not particularly concerned with what other towns are doing or not doing,” Levine said, adding, “We heard from town leadership that we were having problems with our water pressure. I’m not going to leave us where we have to worry about that.”
Select Board Vice Chair Mark Gold asked if the state were to declare a state of water supply emergency, “What obligations do we have and what right do we have to say, ‘We’re not doing it.’”
Town Manager Lyn Simmons explained that were a state of water supply emergency in effect, the bylaw would allow the town the ability to enforce it.
Under Title II, Chapter 21G, Section 15 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) may declare a state of water emergency when petitioned by a municipality, “if it finds that there exists or impends a water supply shortage of a dimension which endangers the public health, safety or welfare.” Furthermore, Section 17.3 allows municipalities under such a declaration to “direct any person to reduce, by a specified volume, the withdrawal or use of any water or to cease the withdrawal or use of any water.”
Levine asked that the draft exclude a state of drought, which is declared by the state Drought Management Task Force (DMTF), and state of water supply emergency as potential precursors to bylaw enforcement, leaving the declaration of a state of water conservation, which is declared by the Select Board acting as water commissioners. He said this leaves the authority and power of enforcement with the town.
Simmons cautioned that a state of drought, a state or water supply emergency and a state of water supply conservation have different implications beyond which body declares them.
The article was approved for the warrant with the understanding that Simmons and Levine would further polish the language.
HomeWorks Energy
On Sept. 19, Longmeadow Energy and Sustainability Committee Chair Andrea Chasen came before the Select Board with Stephen Shinopoulos, partnership coordinator for HomeWorks Energy, a company that provides energy audits and offers HVAC and weatherization services. HomeWorks Energy is contracted with Mass Save, a cooperative group of six energy utilities in the state that coordinates energy-efficient services. HomeWorks Energy has approached Longmeadow about entering a memorandum of understanding supporting them as the preferred vendor for energy audits.
Shinopoulos said HomeWorks Energy has agreements with eight other municipalities in the state. The company has a goal of performing 2,000 energy audits in the towns of Salem and Beverly, he said, although he acknowledged they are larger communities.
Gold asked if the town would be liable in any way for work done by HomeWorks Energy that ends poorly. Shinopoulos assured him that the company guarantees its work and there would be no liability passed on to the town.
Chasen said there are 5,900 houses in Longmeadow and 95 percent of them are at least 50 years old. As it stands, she said there is no way to know how many homes have been audited or taken steps to improve energy efficiency. Chasen said HomeWorks Energy would be able to collect that data by offering a “one-stop shop” for audits and efficiency services – making appointments for residents, conducting the audits and, in some cases, performing the weatherization services.
At the Oct. 3 board meeting, Liz Bone, clerk of the Energy and Sustainability Committee, pointed out that HomeWorks Energy has a presence in Western Massachusetts. She said that in addition to promotional materials, the company would be signing people up for audits at the Fall Festival during the weekend of Oct. 8. “We asked Mass Save to come out and didn’t hear back,” she said.
Bone said there is no obligation to continue an association with the company if the relationship does not work out. “We’re not paying anything. It’s all paid through the state,” she said.
Gold disagreed with Chasen’s depiction of Mass Save as difficult to navigate and as having long turnaround times for appointments. He stated that he had a quick and positive experience with them.
Conversely, Levine commented that he had solar panels installed through a public-private partnership and because it became a “nightmare,” he was hesitant to approve another such partnership. He asked if there would be oversight from Mass Save. Bone said she “would imagine,” as they are contracted with the organization.
Select Board Clerk Dan Zwirko, the board liaison to the Energy and Sustainability Committee, supported the partnership. He said he had used HomeWorks Energy in the past with positive results. Since the town is not bound to continue a relationship with the company, he suggested approving the partnership for one year and reviewing it then.
Gold pointed out that because residents can use other companies, the data HomeWorks Energy collects will not be a complete picture of energy audits and upgrades in town. Nevertheless, the board approved the memorandum of understanding upon review by town counsel.
More information on HomeWorks Energy is available https://www.homeworksenergy.com.