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Energy committee seeks website overhaul, Mass Save outreach and more volunteers
Summary
At its June 23 meeting the town energy committee approved minutes, flagged a backlog of unscanned records, proposed de-emphasizing an inactive climate action plan on the town website, and discussed hosting Mass Save outreach and contractor presentations to spur resident action and recruit volunteers.
The Energy Committee convened on June 23, 2026, approved the minutes from its May 6 meeting and spent the bulk of the session planning outreach to encourage energy-saving actions by residents.
A committee member who led the website discussion said the town climate action plan is receiving prominent placement online despite a lack of volunteers to implement it and urged the committee to "recede it in terms of its visibility" until work resumes. The member proposed replacing the front-page emphasis with action-oriented content and links to resources such as the Mass Save program so residents know how to lower energy use and bills.
Committee members said the group has discovered a backlog of paper records and minutes dating back at least to 2011; they said some files were never scanned and that assistant town clerk John Corey could help implement web updates and archive improvements. "I feel like I have responsibility to complete the record as best I can," one member said during the discussion.
Members debated how to present contractor involvement at a public event. One member suggested inviting a Mass Save contractor (the company Rise was mentioned) to present at the library and to be explicit in any announcement that contractors are examples rather than an endorsement: "you would say ... these people are not the only contractor that does it, but the prices are all the same because they all quote Mass Save prices," a member said. Speakers emphasized that Mass Save includes third-party inspections and program standards, and cautioned that independent contractors may deliver different levels of work.
The committee also flagged technical problems on the town website, including broken links and at least one reported inappropriate external link; a member asked permission to identify and have those links removed.
Members discussed using content from the Green Communities Grant Program website to create a concise town-facing summary — for example, a high-level list of major projects, total grant dollars received (a figure of "$800,000" was cited on the record by a speaker as an example of past grant funding), and annual energy savings — to help show results and attract volunteers.
On next steps, the committee agreed to keep the summer schedule flexible for opportunistic meetings, to meet with a named contact (referred to as Karen) before deciding whether to restore the climate plan to full visibility, and to assign at least one manageable task from the plan to a volunteer so momentum can build. The meeting ended after a motion to adjourn was made, seconded and approved.
Votes at a glance: The committee unanimously approved the May 6, 2026 minutes and later unanimously approved a motion to adjourn; only two members were present and both voted yes on each action.
