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Lakeville discusses Green Communities grants, heat-pump installs and deeper audits
Summary
Committee reviewed the town’s Green Communities grant history (2013–2023), the 2023 weatherization and heat-pump projects, a low bid, and options to repurpose leftover funds and commission more detailed energy audits.
The Town of Lakeville Energy Advisory Committee reviewed a history of Green Communities grants and discussed current projects, contract status and the possibility of repurposing surplus funds for additional weatherization work.
Committee member Nathan Darling provided the grant summary and project update. He listed five state Green Communities grants received since 2013 and the most recent 2023 award of $110,855, which funded weatherization, insulation and Wi‑Fi thermostats at Loon Pond Lodge and replacement heat pumps to replace propane furnaces at the animal shelter. He told the committee that the town received a successful bid for the 2023 projects of $50,006.99, “which was way less than what we anticipated,” and that each grant includes about $10,000 for grant administration to cover staff time for reporting and project tracking.
Darling said the town may have excess funds on the 2023 grant but that the state applies strict rules to repurposing: “The problem is is the state has got very, very strict on repurposing,” he said. Committee members discussed options for tying any change orders to approved project scopes, for example adding insulation at Loon Pond Lodge or paying to remove old propane furnaces from the animal shelter attic (which may require cutting through a gable end to extract units).
Members also discussed the value of a deeper, more quantitative audit. John Gregory suggested a peer review of the Prism audit already used to size heat pumps for the animal shelter and to check whether envelope improvements (weatherstripping, insulation) could reduce equipment sizing and operating costs. Darling noted the contract for the heat-pump purchase has already been awarded but said the grant timeline allows work to continue through an extension to Sept. 30, 2026, giving the town time to petition the state to repurpose funds if appropriate.
The committee discussed the town’s energy benchmarking tool (MEI) and data gaps for delivered fuels, and agreed to pursue obtaining vendor invoices or direct fuel-provider data for the school district to improve the MEI dataset.
Ending: Committee members agreed to pursue a limited set of follow-ups: confirm what removal of existing furnaces would cost, ask the state about repurposing 2023 grant funds if needed, and consider a peer review or Level‑3 audit to get more detailed energy modeling for future decisions.
