Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Idea: Dynamic Toll Rates on the Mass Pike

I'm tempted to write about the gas tax, but since the MassPike public hearings are now underway regarding toll increases, how about talking about MassPike tolls instead?

I would love to see Massachusetts explore a dynamic rate toll system -- that is, rates that adjust dynamically based on actual traffic congestion. For example, during high traffic volume times, higher rates would be charged, providing an incentive for motorists to travel during off-peak times when rates would be lower.

This could be done in conjunction with existing FastLane technology integrated with an automatic traffic monitoring system. This is not new: here's an article about San Diego rolling this out -- 10 years ago!

To make this work for weekday commuters, we would have to be careful to make sure we are offering viable alternatives, like: increased MBTA commuter rail options from and to MetroWest, employer commitments to flexible work hours, etc. But, if we can get major employers, MBTA, MassPike, to align to the public priorities -- then, 'together, we can!'

If you like, or don't like my idea, comment here, but also you can send your own ideas, on the MassPike website, to make sure your voice is heard during the MassPike public hearings.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Legacy Farms Master Plan Special Permit Application

I just completed my first pass reading through the narrative and supporting material for this major development conceptual master plan, which runs 208 pages of text.

There are also hundreds of pages of tables, charts, and images included in the complete filing for the Master Plan Special Permit. Topics including traffic, pedestrian access, environmental impact, restricted land management, and design guidelines each could consume near endless discussion.

To have any hope of getting through this efficiently and in a way that the town's interests are served and protected, it will be important for the Planning Board to establish clear parameters and process for the Planning Board public hearing for this Master Plan Special Permit.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Architectural Excellence in Public Buildings

Public buildings, especially many federal structures, are famous for their drab appearance and strictly functional design. That's what makes the design of the new U.S. federal court house in Springfield, MA, so notable.

Two key limitations forced the creativity of the final design: the desire to incorporate and save two prominent trees on the site, and cost restrictions in an environment of ever increasing construction costs.
  • When the tree warden advised that digging within 30 feet of either tree would kill it, the architect arrived at a plan to incorporate the trees as the center-piece, with the building wrapping around the trees in a long curve. The result is a stunning modern design that contrasts with the more traditional brick and stone adjacent structures, including the Catholic Cathedral, historic Springfield Armory, Library, and Quadrangle museums, while speaking to the important role of the federal courts in balancing man made and natural law.
  • Cost restrictions resulted in several ad hoc changes during construction, with the end result a structure that invites natural lighting throughout, incorporates a dramatic passageway from the Judge's chambers to the courtroom, and a design that uses light and height to create an open clear setting in the courtroom.
Designed and constructed under a General Services Administration program called "Design Excellence," the new federal courthouse in Springfield is an example of what can be done right, despite budget restrictions and sensitivity to the natural characteristics of the site.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

My Choice for State Rep.

With one week until election day, I'd like to share thoughts on why I am voting for Carolyn Dykema for State Representative, representing the people of the 8th Middlesex District in the Massachusetts State House.

I first met Carolyn nearly 3 years ago at a regional planning meeting and since then we have shared numerous conversations on planning issues affecting our towns and our region.

Carolyn's private sector experience and her years of volunteer public service in Holliston, where she has served as Chairwoman of the Holliston Planning Board, arm Carolyn with a direct understanding of the interconnections between local, state, and federal economic and policy decisions. Carolyn's collaborative nature, respect for others, and willingness to seek real solutions have earned her the attention and respect of leaders at all levels in Massachusetts.

Together, her experience, abilities, and cultivated network will make Carolyn Dykema a strong and effective advocate for Hopkinton and the other towns of the 8th Middlesex District.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Stormwater management regulations

At our October 20 Planning Board meeting, we voted to approve recenty drafted Stormwater Management regulations. These regulations were the administrative back-end of the stormwater management article that Town Meeting passed in May.

Managing stormwater run-off is important, because it protects the property investments of individuals and protects our common water resource. Improper management of stormwater can wreak havoc on individual property owners, cause flooding and water pollution. Who wants their basement constantly flooding whenever it rains, or their front yard to pond throughout the year?

Good stormwater management planning during (or after) construction can prevent these kind of issues, which can become costly for individual property owners and the town. That's why our existing bylaws for subdivision development, garden apartments, and others include provisions requiring developments to address stormwater management. Land development that falls outside of existing bylaws are not covered, however, and to meet federal requirements Town Meeting adopted an article that requires stormwater management planning for land disturbances of an acre or more (an acre or more of actual land is dug up) in cases when such disturbance is not already covered under the stormwater management sections of our subdivision bylaws, garden apartments bylaws, etc.

The regulations were drafted with the help of a grant Hopkinton received, which allowed the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), a regional planning entity, to work with Hopkinton. Several local volunteers met numerous times over the summer with MAPC specialists to learn about stormwater management and to draft the implementing regulations for the 2008 Town Meeting Stormwater Management article. The local volunteers brought up many issues and concerns during the meeting and the final draft reflected all the input.

The Planning Board held a Pulic Hearing on the Regulations, which included a joint meeting with DPW and Conservation Commission to review the draft in September. Then, based on input from that review, the draft was revised to streamline the regulations as much as possible. In the final meeting of the public hearing last Monday, October 20, a few additional changes were made to further streamline the regulations and reduce unnecessary administrative burdens on individuals involved in land disturbances of an acre or more not covered by the stormwater management provisions of existing bylaws.

I was comfortable with the final version that we voted on, and appreciated all the work of the DPW, Conservation Commission and other town representatives on the committee that worked with MAPC. One learning of the Planning Board public hearing: crafting regulations that remove as much ambiguity, to avoid confusion when they are actually applied, can result in very specific language, lists of exceptions and exclusions, and references that add to the heft of the regulations, while actually minmizing the administrative burden by offering very clear and specific guidance and process.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Community Planning Observations from California

I'm in California this week for work. Whenever I'm here in the SF east bay area, I notice several differences in community development, compared with Massachusetts.

For one, all the new housing is very dense. Condo and apartment communities abound. Even the single family home neighborhoods are dense, with the home taking up nearly 100% of the lot, compared with our 40 foot front set backs and 10 foot side set backs.

Another difference is traffic management. Not only the infrastructure, but the culture too. Roads similar to our Main Street are 3-5 lanes in each direction. And there is a major traffic signalization at every intersection. Let me repeat that: at every intersection. If you know you're going to turn right at the next traffic signal, you are expected to get into one of the two right lanes at or prior to the previous intersection. If you know you're going to be turning left, you're expected to get into one of the 2 left lanes at or prior to the previous intersection. If you plan to continue straight, stay in the center lane.

Roads similar to our Hayden Rowe or Grove Street have 4-way stop signs at every single intersection. You end up coming to a full stop at every intersection, every couple hundred feet. (If you can't tolerate it, you'll likely find a freeway not too far away, running parallel to the local roads).

The amazing thing to me is that everyone follows the rules. At the four way stops, people take the time to keep track of which intersection's turn it is to go. The car in the front position in the westbound side stops to let the cars in the front position on the north and southbound sides cross. Then the front car in the westbound and eastbound each proceed. Orderly.

Except, of course, east coast visitors like me, who, by force of habit creep at stop signs, even when we think we really came to a full and complete stop -- no doubt conditioned by the constant experience back east of having a severely impatient driver honking behind us to get moving.

My experience here in California is that you'll hear a punitive honk aimed at you if you violate a traffic rule; back home in Massachusetts, you'll get honked at by someone frustrated that you are actually FOLLOWING a traffic rule.

Oh, in addition to the multiple car lanes, there is a wide bike lane on all major roads, and sidewalks lining every street. And both cyclists and cars obey the rules of sharing the road.

Without the New England winter freezing to cause contraction and expansion of the asphalt, you will not find any pot-holes out here either.

For all the justified complaints about the severe rush hour traffic congestion on the major freeways in California, experiencing a local road system that can actually accomodate the traffic demand is a sheer pleasure. I guess that's because these communities were designed after the advent of the automobile and for the automobile (but to their credit incorporate better pedestrian and bicycle design as well). Many of our roads were designed for horses and carriages (or, in Boston, famously, for cows) and have expanded to adapt to the automobile age.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

What the financial crisis means locally

It occurred to me that in my last post, I might not have made clear how the current financial crisis has a direct impact locally. Here are a couple impacts:

  • Towns and cities in Massachusetts receive aid from the state for infrastructure and schools. If the State finds its access to credit drying up, that means less money for cities and towns for schools, which means more money has to be raised locally through increases in local property taxes.
  • As property taxes continue to increase, some people have been refinancing their homes and using access to other credit; with fuel bills in the $1,000/mo. range for many households, and property taxes increasing faster (see previous bullet), access to credit will be even more important for more people -- at a time when the financial crisis is due to make access to credit much more tight, and best case at higher rates.
  • This situation inevitably would lead to more foreclosures, which means more homes on the market, lower property values. Declining home values would make it difficult -- even for us homeowners who have been careful to live within our means by not taking out mortgages we can't afford -- to pay down our mortgages faster than the decline in value of our homes.
It's unfortunate that the current package that failed the House Monday and the Senate is considering today has been dubbed a "bail-out package for Wall Street," because it's really not.

What it really is, is an attempt to take responsible government action -- with bi-partisan support from President Bush to the most liberal Democrats in the House -- to prevent further harm to individual households, local businesses, cities and towns, state and federal government, and all sectors of business by bolstering our credit markets, which are an engine of economic activity at every level of our economy.

My hope is that our U.S. Congress can temporarily set aside ideological finger pointing for the current mortgage mess, and instead focus first and immediately on what action can be taken to avert further economic crisis that will spill over at a much more personal level than we currently feel. That is the responsible thing for government to do.

Friday, September 26, 2008

What's all that digging at the corner of South Street and West Main?

I'm proud both to work at EMC and to volunteer in Hopkinton as Vice Chairman of the Planning Board.

As an employee of EMC, an abutter to the development at the corner of South Street and W.Main St., my adherence with Massachusetts ethics guidelines prohibited me from participating in the site plan review for this particular project.

EMC employs over 38,000 people worldwide, and several thousand employees work right on South Street in Hopkinton. A lot of my colleagues on South Street, noticing the clearing of the land at the corner, lately have been asking me what's going on there. And I'm sure others are wondering too:

The development at the corner of South Street and W.Main Street has been in the works for a few years; it's a mixed use retail and office space development.
  • Like many towns along Route 495 in Massachusetts, Hopkinton sees the 495 interchange as a priority area for business development, as reflected in the Town of Hopkinton Master Plan (7MB).
  • Hopkinton Town Meeting's vote to re-zone the previous patchwork of differently zoned lots (coffee shop, Puppy Patch, Ryder truck storage) as Business Zone paved the way for the current development.
  • Once the zoning was in place, the proposed development proceeded through a series of reviews, and received the Planning Board site plan approval in 2007.

Traffic was a significant concern; the town relied heavily on traffic consultants during the review, and EMC certainly weighed in directly too as did other abutters.

The work currently in progress at the South Street/W.Main Street corner reflects the property owner, CJPM Development L.L.C., efforts to prepare the site for development.

Sorry I don't have a nice on-line digital image of the site plan -- it's stunning to see how much state and local requirements still mandate everything to be on hard copy paper! Part of the problem, too, is that with limited budgets, towns have a hard time investing in the latest information technology.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Planning Board - August 25th, 2008

The Hopkinton Planning Board met on August 25th, and the agenda included a discussion of downtown revitalization efforts, and several other topics.

Hopkinton Downtown Initiatives

The first hour of the meeting was a joint meeting with the Board of Public Works, Downtown Historic District Commission, and the Downtown Revitalization Committee. The Planning Board has adopted downtown planning as a key initiative for the 2008-2009 term. Discussion focused on review of a draft list of 50-60 individual work items, ranging from sidewalk maintenance, crosswalk enhancements, road width review, water main replacement, bicycle lanes, complementary private initiatives such as Bill's Pizza, Friends of the Common work on tree-scape and gazebo at the Common, Library consideration of expansion possibilities.

The Town's Director of Public Works offered expertise on how the town might approach the long list of items, proposing a multi-year phased approach to a comprehensive roadway improvement project that could be timed with a necessary infrastructure enhancement to the water main through the center of town.

Funding alternatives for the comprehensive project could include existing state transportation bond funding (which references Hopkinton, but which we would have to advocate for), grants for downtown preservation and enhancement, project related mitigation, and other sources. Under this approach, execution could be expected 5-7 years from now.

While the long term comprehensive approach to downtown infrastructure, roadway, and pedestrian improvements was recognized as ideal, several participants expressed concern that the state of the sidewalks may pose a safety hazard to pedestrians today, and funding for repair and maintenance should be an immediate priority.

Next, Boulder Capital presented a proposal for traffic light signalization enhancements at the Cedar/Grove/Main Street intersection (where route 85 crosses route 135), which represents a significant piece of the commitment between the town and the Legacy Farms developer under the Host Community Agreement. Agreement was reached that the signalization enhancement should include upgrades to allow the signals to sense traffic volumes and adjust signals automatically. Several styles of traffic signalization equipment were reviewed, including for aesthetic features and estimates of ongoing maintenance costs that the town might expect for each style of signalization equipment. It was agreed that the DPW Board, Downtown Revitalization Committee and Historic Commission would meet to review in more detail and provide a recommendation. The discussion would be picked up again at the September 22 Planning Board meeting.

Solar Panels

The town's Facilities Director with Borrego Solar Inc. presented a minor project site plan review, for installation of solar panels on Hopkinton school buildings, and on the Police and Fire Stations.

Minor site plan review ensures that projects are reviewed against a set of criteria defined in our zoning bylaws, to ensure the project meets defined community objectives and goals. In addition, state law requires that town bylaws not "prohibit or unreasonably regulate the installation of solar energy systems or the building of structures that facilitate the collection of solar energy."

Board members had some questions, which were answered, regarding the features of the system and the financial model, which have been negotiated by the town and the schools. Notably,
the agreement will cover about 12% of the town's overall energy needs, will require no up front investment by the townthere will be no excess energy sold to the grid (100% of energy created will be consumed by the town, offsetting 12% of our overall electricity needs)the town will lock into a 3% rate of increase each year (this year's increase from traditional energy sources was 9%)town residents will receive a $500 discount on installation of any residential solar electric systemBorrego Solar Inc. will contribute an additional $500 to the Hopkinton Schools for each residential installation.
The Planning Board voted unanimously to approve the application for minor site plan review, clearing the Planning Board component of the town's preparation for this initiative.

Performance Guarantees

We had two developer requests for reduction in performance guarantee bond amounts. Performance guarantees are bonds that protect the town by setting up a financing source in case a developer defaults on infrastructure obligations, like the completion of roadways, for example.

The first request for bond reduction was from Toll Brothers, regarding the Hopkinton Highlands II/Estates at Highland Ridge development. The guarantee still provided for $600,000 of protection for the town related to work that has largely been completed; the remaining work was estimated, on the high side, as amounting to about $72,000 of work were the town left to complete it ourselves.

The tricky thing about this one was that the development has been plagued with water access problems. Discussion ensued about whether the recently developed wells, certified by Department of Environmental Protection, were operable (it was demonstrated they are, and DEP letter to that effect was provided), and whether we should continue to keep the bond level at $600,000 until after one full year of successful performance of the new wells.

Based on the following provision of Massachusetts law, and recommendation from our Town Planner, I voted to reduce the performance guarantee to $72,000, and was joined by most of the other board members on this affirmative vote (one voted against reducing the bond level), though during discussion some expressed they were voting reluctantly to reduce the bond, wishing there were some other legal way to protect the town by ensuring developer engagement and responsibility until after some longer period of successful performance of the new wells.
  • "The penal sum of any such bond held under clause (1) or any deposit held under clause (2) or any amount of funds retained pursuant to an agreement under clause (4) shall bear a direct and reasonable relationship to the expected cost including the effects of inflation, necessary to complete the subject work. Such amount or amounts shall from time to time be reduced so that the amount bonded, deposited or retained continues to reflect the actual expected cost of work remaining to be completed.”
The second performance guarantee reduction request came from the developer of the Emerald Hills Development off of Saddle Hill Road in Hopkinton. All of the work associated with this development has been completed, and the board voted unanimously to reduce the guarantee to zero, recognizing that the developer's obligations have been met and there is no remaining work for the town to complete and therefore no anticipated costs to the town to guarantee against. A separate guarantee was $15,000 that had been set aside for widening of Saddle Hill Road. A board member explained that initially, when the development was just being planned, the board anticipated based on public input that there would be a need to widen Saddle Hill Road, but when the topic was brought up subsequently, there was significant public resistance, against widening Saddle Hill Road. And actual traffic volumes due to the development build out did not meet the level of fear that existed during the planning stages. Believing that Saddle Hill Road still does have several portions that are dangerously narrow, I voted to not reduce the bond; but I was the sole vote on that side, with the rest of the board voting to bring the value to zero.

South Street Minor Project Site Plan Review

In other business before the board, a property owner on South Street proposed increasing the elevation of their roof to a level well within the height limits, to accomodate new equipment related to Bio Life Sciences work that the company does at the location. The board reviewed the project against the defined criteria in our bylaw, to ensure it meets community objectives, and voted unanimously to approve the work.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

If you don't like it here, try...

Here, when developments impact existing homeowners, we make much effort to ensure the impact is minimized and to mitigate for negative impacts. A commercial development going up near a neighborhood, for example, might be approved with the condition that screening be provided by planting trees or shrubs between the properties.

Public hearings and appeals are built into the process to protect the rights of other property owner and enable mitigation for the aggrieved. Even some who recognize the importance of such process for protection of individual property rights sometimes express frustration for the "delays" that the public hearing and appeals process introduce.

I'll take lengthy public hearing and appeals process any day, however, over this situation: in Beijing, two elderly women seeking a legal process to protest the demolition of their homes for Olympics related development were sent to re-education labor camp, the New York Times reported.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Biking to work

Bicycles are an integral part of the Hopkinton landscape. Seeing people gathering at the Common on weekends with their bikes or cycling past my house on Ash Street always reminds me what a beautiful town we live in and what a great form of exercise bicycling can be.

Lately, however, I'm noticing more people riding bicycles not just for leisure, but increasingly as commuters. Maybe I'm noticing it more because I've started riding my own bike to work more too. I claim no moral superiority here, I ride when I can, and still use my car on many days too.

Riding the bike to work has focused my attention on a few things about Hopkinton:
1. Our major roads don't have bike lanes or have bike lanes that run off into unfinished shoulders
2. Our Recreation Plan surveys consistently indicate a demand for bike trails and bike lanes (it's the #1 request respondents had, above open space and every other form of active recreation).
3. We've done very little to make our roads accessible to bicyclists.

I would like to see us (members of the town planning board) make pedestrian access, including bicycle access, a priority in any new subdivision and on any repair or upgrade to existing roads. I will also continue to raise it as an issue during site plan review and other planning board discussions.

Our local businesses, including EMC, are promoting alternative modes of transportation and healthy lifestyles, by providing facilities for employees to keep bikes, and to shower after biking or running to work. EMC is also a recognized leader in promoting carpooling and ride sharing. This creates an opportunity for our Chamber of Commerce and our town boards and committees to promote Hopkinton as a community that recognizes the value of an infrastructure that is accessible to all commuters, including those on bicycles. But first we have to pony up the infrastructure to make Hopkinton truly pedestrian friendly.

From an infrastructure planning point of view, with intersections becoming increasingly congested, whatever we can do to reward and incent local businesses to promote fewer cars seems worth examining -- whether it's telecommuting, rideshare, shuttle service, commuter rail access, or safer roads for bicycling.

As an example of what we could do to reward businesses who take measurable steps to reduce traffic impact, I wonder if there's a way to offer relief from parking requirements during site plan review (we require a certain number of parking spaces based on building square footage), for companies who commit to and can provide evidence of a certain percentage of their population telecommuting, or using alternative transportation methods, including biking, walking, and carpooling?

Just a thought for further exploration, like everything here.

Now, off my soap box, and onto that hard little seat on my bike! :-)

Happy Trails!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

August 11 Planning Board Meeting

The Planning Board met last night. We discussed a schedule for Legacy Farms master plan special permit review and other concurrent activity with other town boards and state agencies.

Topics included:
  • A couple "Approval Not Required" (ANR) plans, including a lot delineation that will allow transfer of the Land behind the WarrenLodge to neighboring Bill's Pizza.
  • A subdivision plan for a property on North Mill Street, where the owner would like to subdivide the lot and build a second home behind their existing home; complicating factors are the extensive wetlands on the property, and specific requirements for open space and buffers.
  • A transfer of open space land from a developer to a conservation group, with stewardship provided by a second conservation group, eliminating any burden for the town's conservation commission.
  • Policy discussion and vote on requiring that members of the Zoning Advisory Committee should be residents of Hopkinton (not other towns). This was an interesting discussion as there were good reasons on both sides. In the end, I voted to require residency based on input from non-involved neighbors who I asked opinions of, my observation that we have many very experienced people right here in town that we can draw from. In the future, I can imagine, with some planning ahead, in the interest of regional planning, setting up with other towns a kind of 'exchange' where one spot on each town's board was reserved for one resident of the neighboring town.
  • Approval of bills and minutes of prior meetings.


Monday, August 4, 2008

Observations from an Island in Maine

I just spent a week on one of the most remote inhabited islands off the Maine Coast. I hadn't realized it, but Maine has over 3,000 islands dotting along it's coast. Of course, I couldn't resist investigating planning and development issues while there.

The island we visited was nearly 25 miles out, with no cell phone reception or internet. Arriving near low tide in a deep fog, we transferred from our boat to skif and stepped foot directly onto the wet shoreline out of the small row boat, no dock involved.

There are no paved roads. And no trash pick-up (don't accumulate trash in the first place, or bring it with you next time you leave the island). Our cottage was so close to the water that you could toss used lobster shells directly to the seagulls. And too close for sewer or septic: our toilet was a portable incinerator called an Incinolet, or we could use the outhouse.

There are 35 year round residents on the island, give or take, and we met most of them. They are proud of surviving the unforgiving stark Maine winters, of their active lobster and fishing tradition, and most of all proud of the natural beauty of their home. The lack of 'interference' forces a unique self sufficiency and community spirit: "There is no 'They' out here," as one resident put it, (referring to "Are THEY going to fix the roads," and implying that anything that needs to get done is done by 'Us.'

Roads and homes are referred to by the names of the families who own the properties, not by street names or numbers. Title histories are often in question, I learned, and much of the land ownership uncertain or in dispute, long standing dispute with no intentions of resolution.

Wild raspberry and blueberry bushes and many other wild plant species lined the paths we walked on the way to the bakery for our daily morning coffee and pastry.

The state Ferry comes and goes only twice a week, a service deficiency that the locals seemed just fine with; the inaccessibility of the island has protected it from the type of tourist development that could put their traditional ways and slower pace at risk.

In fact, despite the stark differences from a community like Hopkinton and the needs we have here, all in all, the level of infrastructure and services on the island are probably pretty well in synch with the community goals there - and definitely in synch with my family's idea of a "getting away from everything" vacation.

But still, how happy I was when my Blackberry (the portable electronic device, not the wild trailside berry from the island) lit back up upon arrival back on the mainland a week later, and I learned the School Committtee had voted in favor of moving ahead with plans for solar electric power for Hopkinton town buildings!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Facility related electric costs - Facts and figures

If Hopkinton were to participate in a power purchase agreement through the Commonwalth Solar initiative of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, we could build a solar installation that would normally cost over $2Million at no cost to the town.

In lieu of paying bills to the utility for that portion of energy produced, Hopkinton would instead pay similar amounts - but at a locked in rate of increase of only 3% each year, instead of actual increases in current energy bills in the double digits (this year's NStar rates were 22% higher than last year) -- to a the third party solar company who would install and maintain the system on the roofs of municipal buildings through a contract agreement.

After 20 years, we would fully own the system and all power generated from it, saving the town hundreds of thousands of dollars each year at that time.

Potential overall capacity: 416,242 KWH/year across all 4 bldgs

  • The High School and Middle School would account for 87.1% of the system production (362,547 KWH/year)
  • The Fire Station and Police Station would account for 12.9% of the annual production (53,695 KWH/year).
  • The total production of the systems would offset 11% of ALL the schools electricity or 14% of ALL the town buildings electricity, including the well pumps.
  • Cost of building such an installation without this program would be over $2Million.

Total facilities electric usage in 2007:

  • Hopkinton spent close to $1M on facilities related electric in 2007
  • School's approx. 3.6 Million KWH / $500,000
  • Non-school town facilities approx. 3.0 Million KWH / $400,000

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Making energy costs more predictable, and many other benefits too

Massachusetts has introduced an initiative to make it easier for towns to install photo voltaic solar panels on municipal buildings, through an innovative third party financing program.

Through public private partnership, market incentives, and leveraging state and federal tax rebates through third party installers, towns like Hopkinton, MA, can now install solar panels on the roofs of schools and other public buildings with no up front costs. The Third Party Financing arrangement replaces expected energy payments to utilities with payments to the private third party who finances and installs the solar panels on the public building. After a period defined in the contract, the town owns the equipment outright and any energy produced from it.

Total available funding

From the CommonWealth Solar web page: "Starting in 2008, Commonwealth Solar has $68 million available for funding over the next four years to support PV installations in Massachusetts. The effort combines $40 million from the Renewable Energy Trust (Trust) and $28 million from the Alternative Compliance Payment funds that the Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources has collected under the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard program. The state estimates that Commonwealth Solar will result in 27 megawatts (MW) of PV projects over the next four years."

Why is the state doing this?

The Governor recently signed the "Green Communities Act" which includes aggressive targets for alternative energy adoption in Massachusetts. To achieve these environmental targets, the states has worked to develop innovative programs. Energy providers and delivery companies like NStar are also enthusiastically supporting the Green Communities Act because they believe it will enable stabilization of energy rates as well as new business opportunities.

How can Hopkinton benefit?

Hopkinton's participation in this program - by partnering with a private third party company who has the expertise on financing, installation and maintenance - can provide several benefits:
  • Predictable energy costs, a large cost item for the town, over an extended future period of expected energy price volatility
  • Enhance the science curriculum of the schools, through real-time classroom access to energy production and consumption data and other curriculum enhancements included in the program
  • Return additional money to homeowners who pursue solar.
  • Reduce the amount of pollution created by producing a portion of energy used from solar instead of traditional energy sources
  • Social and reputational benefits to our community as a leader in environmental sustainability
Why not do it?

There are reasons not to do it too, but these are difficult to defend:
  • We've never done this before
  • What if price of traditional energy come down drastically in the future?
  • Let's wait and see
Is Hopkinton considering this?

Hopkiton's Town Manager and Facilities Director have been investigating options, have inquired with several potential third party companies, and have signed a letter of intent that allows us to move forward to negotiate the best possible terms for an agreement under Massachusetts's Commonwealth Solar program. Their diligent work could reap Hopkinton additional financial benefits by enabling us to get started soon enough to design a contract that captures federal tax incentives due to expire at the end of 2008.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Planning Downtown Enhancements - Team Effort

Attention to the Hopkinton downtown area has long been identified as a priority in various town meeting discussions and surveys.

On July 7th, the Hopkinton Planning Board hosted a 1-hour dialogue with the Downtown Revitalization Committee (who presented a summary report of the challenges and solutions they see, which you should get a copy of), and DPW (who shared expertise on infrastructure upgrade challenges). Also, some key stakeholders were represented in the audience, including the Hopkinton Library, the Friends of the Common, the DPW Board, Legacy Farms LLC, the Historic District Commission, Parks and Rec (the Common), and the Garden Club, amongst others.

The Town Manager proposed that DPW be the lead on examining what is needed from an infrastructure point of view, and after discussion indicated support for the Planning Department to partner with DPW as a single point of contact within town hall -- a place where the various stakeholders can report their plans and a point of leadership on providing vision and planning coordination. Pulling together all the various initiatives is the best way to examine and identify points of dependency and commonality of objectives amongst various stakeholders.

The Downtown Revitalization Committee gladly welcomed this approach and is interested in a single place in Town Hall where they can go to piece together the various individual visions to identify the points of commonality (e.g., "both these groups are applying for grants or seeking actions for similar things"), the dependencies ("this can't be done until that is done," etc), and independent items ("flower pots and benches don't need to wait for new roads or water main replacement"). Until now, it was mentioned, the lack of coordination has created hesitancy amongst all parties to take any actions. Also, the Downtown Revitalization Committee expressed interest in Town Hall helping provide process expertise and execution when it comes to preparing for future Town Meetings.

An interesting component to all this is the Host Community Agreement (HCA) between Hopkinton and Legacy Farms LLC, in particular the commitment to complete specified 85/135 intersection improvements by May 2009. The goal of the town boards, committees and key stakeholders would be to identify as much other interdependent work that can be done at the same time, in order make the most of the one-time disruption that work will cause ("if we're already digging up the road for the HCA specified improvements, perhaps it's the best time to do this or that at the same time").

Our next step will be the August-25th Planning Board meeting, at which Legacy Farms LLC will present design charets for the intersection improvements. The idea being that work performed in the 250ft radius of that intersection would set a theme for other improvements eyed by the DRC. By then we expect many stakeholders to have shared additional ideas and plans with the Planning Department (and we asked this of those in the room). The HCA work will provide a forcing function to coordinate the many other downtown improvements.

The Planning Board recognizes this is a complicated set of projects, and not everything the town wants or needs may be possible in the time frames or with the resources available, but that trying to coordinate and plan proactively is a better solution than to do nothing. We envision a gant chart of sorts, listing the various projects, time lines, and dependencies, and then quantifying the steps and resources needed to complete; as Ken W put it in recognizing the broad support for downtown improvements, let's get it all out there, see what it would take, and sell this to the town.

Like the marathon that starts its long journey with a slow crowded jog right through the area we're talking about, right now full articulation and implementation of the vision for downtown feels far away, but from a planning point of view, we've started and we expect the pace to pick up quickly.