Letter to the Editor
Help Medfield qualify for a $148,000 Energy Savings grant. Vote YES on Article #34.
The Medfield Energy Committee has been working for 4 years to designate the Town of Medfield as a Green Community. To qualify the Town needs to approve the Stretch Energy Code at the April 25th Town Meeting. Once Medfield is a Green Community it will receive an award of $148,000 with the potential of $250,000 annual grants thereafter from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources.
The Massachusetts State Building Code includes a Base Energy Code. Massachusetts regularly updates the State Building Code, including the Base Energy Code, to improve quality, safety and energy efficiency of construction in the Commonwealth. The Building Code is the “stick” to encourage improvements in construction. By adopting the Stretch Energy Code, Medfield, like 161 other Massachusetts towns, becomes an early adopter of what eventually will become the next State Building Code. The “carrot” for Medfield to be an early adopter is a grant of $148,000 which will be used to improve Town building energy efficiency.
Medfield can get the “carrot” by approving the Stretch Energy Code if we vote yes on Article #34 of the Town meeting warrant. If it is voted down, Medfield gets the “stick” anyway in following years as the Base Energy Code is updated.
At the 2014 Town Meeting, the Stretch Energy Code warrant article was voted down.
In 2016, the situation has changed:
- The Massachusetts Building Code went into effect on July 1, 2014 with an updated Base Energy Code. The result is that today all new construction and renovation must meet a code that is basically the Stretch Energy Code that was rejected by the town at the April 2014 Town Meeting.
- The Stretch Energy Code we will vote on at this year’s Town Meeting does not include any new requirements for residential renovations or additions. The sole change from the Base Energy Code is the requirement for new residential construction to use a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index. The HERS Index is the industry standard by which a home’s energy efficiency is measured.
- For new commercial buildings, the Stretch Energy Code requires the construction to be 10% more efficient than the Base Energy Code.
The Energy Committee, the Warrant Committee and the Board of Selectman all support the Stretch Energy Code article.
Please plan to attend the April 25 Town Meeting and vote YES on Article #34.
Fred Bunger, Chair Medfield Energy Committee
![TOWN OF MEDFIELD MEETING NOTICE POSTED: TOWN CLERK n ' .. ~ ·~.·"~ rt"'"-i1.::·~:.i f"'····1 C'"'f).~ .. { POSTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF M.G.L. CHAPTER'39''SECTION 23A AS AMENDED. Board of Selectmen Board or Committee PLACE OF MEETING DAY, DATE, AND TIME Town Hall Chenery Meeting Room, 2nd floor Tuesday April 19, 2016@ 7:00 PM AGENDA (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) PENDING Bay Circuit Trail relocation Vote to sign contract regarding "Solarize Massachusetts" program Final review 2016 warrant articles NEW BUSINESS Request vote to sign Chapter 90 Reimbursement Request (2) LICENSES & PERMITS Request to place sandwich boards promoting the annual Medfield Food Cupboard drive in conjunction with the Post Office Medfield Green requests permission to place signs advertising "May is Medfield Green Month at The Transfer Station" The Christina Clarke Genco Foundation requests permission for a fundraising bike ride through a portion of Medfield on Sunday May 8, 2016 Medfield Youth Baseball & Softball organization request the annual Opening Day parade permit for Sunday May 1, 2016. The Selectmen: are invited to participate in the parade. Other business that may arise Signature Date To: From: Date: Re: MEDFIELD STATE HOSPITAL MASTER PLANNING COMMITTEE Board of Selectmen Stephen Nolan, Chair, MSHMPC April 7, 2016 Bay Circuit Trail Relocation At the duly posted meeting of the Medfield State Hospital Master Planning Committee on February 17, 2016, the Committee approved a motion to accept the Bay Circuit Trail (BCT) plans for a trail adjustment across Hinckley and along Ice House Road knowing that future development may impact the trail' s location. The Committee heard a presentation by William Comery, Medfield resident and local volunteer for Bay Circuit Trail. He informed the Committee that BCT has approached the town to reroute a section of the trail to cross the Hinkley property, which abuts the senior center. Such trail section would be moved from the dirt road beside Ice House Lane. into the grove of pine trees along the fence line. An aerial map was provided to the Committee showing the proposed change. BCT is only seeking verbal permission to move this section of the trail, knowing that a future adjustment might be required depending on development plans for the Hinkley property. Following Q & A, a motion was made by Gil Rodgers with a second from Ralph Costello that the Committee accept BCT' s proposed plan knowing that future development may impact the location of the trail and require further relocation. The Committee voted unanimously in favor of the motion. CHAPTER 90 - REIMBURSEMENT REQUEST MEDFIELD Project:_ ______MA _C_G_U_7_12 _~ --- Project request was approved on 7/27/2015 for $141,500.00 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ at 100% Reimbursement Rate = $ 141,500.00 ~-'-~~~~~~~~~~- 1) Attached are forms which document payment of approved expenditures totaling $141,500.00 ~-'-~~~~~~~~~ for which we are requesting $141,500.00 at the approved reimbursement rate of 100%. 2) The amount expended to date on this project is $141,500.00 ~-'-~~~~~~~~- 3) Is this request for a FINAL payment on this project? lj] Yes D No 4) Remarks: CERTIFICATION A. I hereby certify under the pains and penalties of perjury that the charges for labor, materials, equipment, and services itemized and summarized on the attached forms are true and correct, and were incurred on this project in conformance with the MassDOT Highway Division Policies and established Municipal Standards that were approved for this project. J _,..' /7 . .-4:;..·-==-~ . ;-' l C.1i/ 1 .1f' / ' ( ,.- - )7 "'~- "....,.,, ,;::::-2 ,.) '' / :: / ' / " /1--~ ":'.'> -,. . /:::.,'"J{.1-.) C/.,./j'_/.,. ' .., /~,/ ~.: .·-·, ~ (.2./P...-·.'11~ -!-/''./~](https://medfield02052.blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20160419-agenda_page_9.jpg?w=500)
photo by Vic Cevoli
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