Chair Laura Dubester met with Town Administrator Michael Canales on 2 issues.

The first issue surfaced at Town Meeting when an attendee asked of the green committee purchasing policy had ben followed when purchasing a new lawn mower for Stockbridge. The Green policy is to purchase hybrid or electric vehicles; the lawn mower purchased uses gasoline. Town Administrator said he didn’t know if there was a “green” lawn mower available and what the comparative prices would be. In the meeting with Dubester, explaining he had not yet had time, he checked and found an electric lawn mower was available but was $6000 more. The second issue was endorsing PACE. PACE stands for Property Assessed Clean Energy, a financing program for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. It allows property owners to finance improvements through a special assessment on their property tax bill. Eligible projects include solar installations, energy-efficient HVAC systems, and insulation upgrades. Financing is typically repaid over a period of 10 to 20 years, making it accessible for homeowners. PACE programs are designed to promote sustainable energy practices and reduce overall energy costs. Participation in PACE can increase property value and enhance energy performance.

The TA did not seem ready to act on either initiative and stated he was interested in solar panels at the moment. He was preparing a grant application for the panels. The Chair suggested he might be more interested in discussing after the grant application is submitted in August