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Bristol Select Board agrees to advance CPACER financing measure to Town Meeting
Summary
Energy Committee chair Paul Bemis asked the Select Board to restore a Commercial PACE (CPACER) warrant article; the board agreed to advance the townwide measure so voters can decide, noting administrative lien-tracking and reliance on NH Housing Finance Authority for program administration.
Paul Bemis, chair of Bristol’s Energy Committee, asked the Select Board on Jan. 8 to restore a Warrant Article that would allow commercial property owners to use Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resiliency (CPACER) financing for energy and resiliency projects. "CPACER stands for Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resiliency," Bemis said, describing loans tied to property tax assessments with terms up to 30 years for projects such as solar installations, insulation and other energy-efficiency improvements.
Bemis said the long amortization can produce monthly payments that are offset by energy savings and that roughly 40% of energy consumption in buildings relates to heating and cooling. He reported that several local businesses — the Tapply-Thompson Community Center, Bristol United Church of Christ, Village Local Kitchen, West Shore Marine and Odysea Coffee — had expressed interest in the program.
Town Administrator Christina Goodwin told the board that, at the Board’s request, Bemis consulted with Clean Energy New Hampshire and spoke with a representative at the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority about administrative impacts. The Housing Finance Authority would align lenders, manage documentation and process registry and deed work for a fee; the Town would need to be aware of and track special-assessment liens.
Board members said the town administrative burden appeared minimal based on those conversations, but they noted that exact staff time and costs remain unknown. Given the reported business interest and the possibility that the program could support local energy improvements and business cash flow, the Select Board agreed by consensus to place the CPACER article on the warrant for Town Meeting consideration so voters can review and decide.
The board discussed whether the program should apply townwide or to a more limited district and reached a preliminary consensus to apply it townwide. Goodwin said she would update the warrant language and Bemis confirmed he would speak to the article at Town Meeting. No formal vote of the Board on adopting the program was recorded at the meeting; the article will appear on the warrant for voter action.
