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Simsbury plans May 2 Sustainability Fair, hears SolarAPP+ webinar promotion and Iona EV charger opening
Summary
Committee members confirmed the third annual Sustainability Fair for May 2 with multiple local organizations participating, discussed local composting limits for Thrive Farm, highlighted a SolarAPP+ webinar for streamlining solar permitting, and noted a nearby Iona EV charger grand opening offering 20¢ per kWh.
Simsbury's Sustainability Committee confirmed planning is underway for the third annual Sustainability Fair on the first Saturday in May (May 2 this year), with several local organizations and demonstrations already committed.
"We met twice now," Barrett (Speaker 5) said, outlining confirmed participants including the Department of Energy & Watershed, Land Trust, Grange, Renewable International, Land Trust youth and Avon Clean Energy. He said organizers are adding pre-fair activities in the weeks before May 2 and working with library staff and partner groups.
The group discussed vendors and local farms: Speaker 3 and others identified a native-plant vendor called Rewild (Canton) and noted Hall Farm and Thrive Farm as past participants. Barrett said Thrive Farm currently cannot accept food waste under existing town rules but would be willing to do food-waste composting if regulations change; no regulatory change was recorded in the meeting.
In open forum, Speaker 8 recommended SolarAPP+ as a municipal permitting tool to streamline residential solar approvals and advertised a webinar on Feb. 25 for municipal officials. "It's called SolarAPP plus, and it's for streamlining solar permitting," Speaker 8 said, adding the tool automates review steps while preserving local review authority.
Committee members also discussed a local fast-charger installation: the Iona Rechargery site on Bushy Hill near Maximea restaurant will host a public grand-opening event with chargers available and promotional pricing. "You can get charging for 20¢ per kilowatt hour," the moderator said during the meeting notice about the opening; members asked whether the chargers were paid for by the town or the site owner, but that detail was not specified.
The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn carried by voice vote. Organizers said they will circulate more fair logistics and outreach material in the coming weeks.
