Minutes
Sustainability - Minutes - Mar 5, 2026
Mar 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 March 5, 2026 - 6:30 P.M. Attendees: Jami Lewchik, Chair (At-Large Member) Bayard Faithfull, Vice Chair (At-Large Member) Brian Burkhart (At-Large Member) Shawn McLaughlin (At-Large Member) Michael Schulitz (At-Large Member) Nick Criscitelli (Ex Officio Member, Planning) Joe Daly (Ex Officio Member, Recycling) Rotating (Ex Officio Member, EDC) Mark Scully (Public) Kim Haidenger (Public) Lydia Tedone (Public) Jenn Weymouth (Public) Peter Millman (PACE) Debbie New (Vermont Community Thermal Networks) 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 Comments a. No public audience comments 4. Approval of Minutes a. February 2026 Regular Meeting minutes i. Motion – Brian Burkhart, 2nd – Bayard, all are in-favor 5. New Business a. Thermal energy network (TEN) presentation by Peter Millman, VP of PACE i. Peter introduced Debbie New from Vermont Community Thermal Networks and shared her background. ii. He invited everyone in attendance to join the mailing list for Thermal Energy Networks for CT (TEN4CT) which is a division within PACE tasked to develop community-led TEN’s. iii. He shared a video which educated the group on TEN’s, why we should know more about them, as well as Connecticut’s grant & loan program. iv. Several pilot programs were highlighted and he shared more details on these programs. a) TENS have higher up-front costs than traditional heating systems but they have lower long-term costs. v. Funding – PACE is seeking funding for statewide distribution while some towns are pursuing their own funding (grants, local funding, etc) vi. Q&A session a) Joe Daly – Are there any TEN’s that are municipal/residential mix? a. Yes, Framingham, New Haven among others b) Mark Scully – How long can the TEN loop be? a. Maximum distance between buildings is approx. ¼ mile. With proper density the overall loop can be large (1 mile+) c) Jami – Is there any data showing proven financials? What funding is becoming available? a. The technology is an extension of historically financially sound geothermal heating/cooling. With proper density the financial success is there. Many TEN’s are privately owned and thus don’t share their data. The State of CT bonding package is working its way through the system and may provide the necessary funding however a timeline has not established. vii. Debbie New and Peter Millman left the meeting. b. Sustainability Fair planning i. Bayard shared his planning notes and took the group through current status a) 25-30 groups/vendors are confirmed to be attending b) An additional 5-10 groups are still TBD c. Newsletter i. Bayard updated on the energy efficiency information campaign (NESE) that is currently under town review and pending approval. This will be main content in next edition of the newsletter. 6. Reports from Ex-Officio Boards a. Recycling Committee (Joe Daly) i. No update - the Swap Shop will be reopening on 4/4/2026 ii. Joe is working to learn more about municipal solid waste. Jami, Joe, and Jenn Weymouth are going to meet to review the Committee’s previous Waste Plan and begin the work of updating it and preparing it for presentation and adoption. b. Jami noted that the Economic Development Commission does not currently have a representative assigned to the Sustainability Committee. They will be rotating EDC members through the Sustainability Committee meetings. c. Jami noted that going forward Steve O’Brien will be the Board of Education Ex- Officio Member of the Sustainability Committee. 7. Open Forum a. No open forum comments 8. Adjournment a. Motion – Bayard Faithful @ 7:42 p.m., 2nd - Brian Burkhart, all are in-favor.