Minutes
Sustainability - Minutes - Feb 5, 2026
Feb 5, 2026
A public record published by the Town of Simsbury (simsbury-ct.gov). mySimsbury indexes it and makes it readable; it is not the official copy. View the original file.
Sustainability Committee Regular Meeting Minutes February 5, 2025 - 6:30 P.M. Attendees: Jami Lewchik, Chair (At-Large Member) Bayard Faithfull, Vice Chair (At-Large Member) Brian Burkhart (At-Large Member) Michael Schulitz (At-Large Member) Nick Criscitelli (Ex Officio Member, Planning) Joe Daly (Ex Officio Member, Recycling) Tom Earl (Ex Officio Member, EDC) Shawn McLaughlin (Public) Mark Scully (Public) Susan Olson (Public) Sarah Hsieh (Public) Chris Petron (Town Liaison) Agenda/Minutes: 1. Call to Order a. Motion - Jami Lewchik @ 6:32 p.m. 2. Roll Call of Voting Members and Declaration of Quorum a. Quorum identified 3. Public Audience a. No public audience 4. Approval of Minutes a. January 2026 Regular Meeting minutes i. Motion - Bayard, 2nd - Jami, all-in-favor b. Jami introduced Shawn McLaughlin and explained that he is interested in the open At-Large Member position 5. Reports from Ex-Officio Boards a. Planning Commission (Nick Criscitelli) i. Actively reviewing rules and guidelines around temporary sign permitting ii. The Commission may end up revising the rules b. Recycling Committee (Joe Daly) i. No update - the Swap Shop is closed for the season c. Bayard invited everyone to tour the Seabury complex on 2/14 to learn about their sustainable design and community 6. Old Business a. None 7. New Business a. Sustainability Plan Part 2 i. Jami asked if the Committee has a legacy outline of prior work done on the Waste Plan a) Mark Scully advised that there are some on the shared drive and will advise as to which file is best to use. b) Jami communicate that the Committee will pick up where prior efforts left off c) Jami asked people to think about who the key stakeholders are and who the Committee should get feedback from. b. Working group update: Building/Planning/Zoning guidelines i. Jami was part of a working group that met last week a) Working to understand what the current process is and the guidelines that b) Working group to benchmark other committees ii. Jami said the next meeting will focus on three topics a) What do we need to start actioning? b) What do we need to learn? c) What can be improved/added through benchmarking? c. Sustainability Fair i. Bayard reviewed the date and exhibitor status a) Mark Scully has invited EnergizeCT b) 7-8 organizations are confirmed at this time c) Looking to add RV group, pollinators, among others ii. Chris Petron will look into availability of two DPW pop-up tents iii. Jami asked if there’s a farm attending. a) Bayard confirmed that Holcomb Farm will be there. b) Jami suggested that perhaps Thrive Farm should also attend iv. Nick recommended that Re-Wild attend since they are a local group v. Jami confirmed that the fair is May 2nd d. Newsletter i. Bayard asked for status of posting the February edition a) Chris noted the delay and that it had been submitted for posting and was expected to be posted before the end of the week. ii. Jami proposed that anyone with ideas for content should send their ideas, or even fully written pieces, to Bayard. iii. Jami asked if the pollinators have committed to support the newsletter for 2026. Bayard replied that they have not. 8. Open Forum a. Mark Scully noted that Solar App+ is an app designed to help streamline the solar permitting process b. Mark Scully noted that there are now IONNA fast chargers at the new Max A Mia location i. There is a grand opening 2/6/26 8AM-5PM and that EV club members will be on site supporting it 10AM-3PM. 9. Adjournment a. Motion – Bayard Faithful @ 7:14PM. 2nd - Brian Burkhart. All in favor.