NEWFANE — The Selectboard is weighing whether to warn a town meeting over creating a Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) District here, which would allow special financing to help qualifying homeowners invest in specified energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements.
But first they wanted to learn from the other four Windham County towns where PACE districts are established what their residents' experiences have been as PACE borrowers.
So far, apparently, there are no such borrowers in Windham County.
According to Town Energy Coordinator Donn Priem, addressing Selectmen Aug. 1, no community members who stood with fellow voters in establishing PACE districts in Marlboro, Halifax, and Putney had yet taken out special financing on energy efficiency projects.
The fourth PACE district, Westminster, which lacks a town manager, has not replied to a request for information, Priem said.
Before any resident can take out loans through PACE, their municipality must vote to become a PACE district, so presumably, selectmen reasoned, there must have been some demand for PACE in those other communities.
“I wonder whether it was resident-driven or board-driven,” Chairman Jon Mack said.
PACE is a voluntary mechanism allowing homeowners wishing to make eligible energy improvements to obtain financing by opting in to a special assessment district created by their municipality.
Energy efficiency and/or renewable energy improvements are repaid over up to 20 years by a special assessment paid at the same time as property taxes. All work must be performed by appropriately qualified and licensed contractors and must be approved by an energy-efficiency utility.
If such a district is established here, Newfane will become the fifth town in Windham County so designated.
Selectboard members agreed they generally liked what they've heard about the program from residents here who are talking it up.
Time is somewhat a factor as funding through PACE reportedly is only available through 2014, and Efficiency Vermont, which administers the program, accepts districts only occasionally. The next deadline to apply is Sept. 1. Priem said he believes the one after that is Feb. 1.
In any event, state law requires 30 days to warn a town meeting, and it appeared unlikely Newfane would have a vote in time for Sept. 1, Mack said.
Mack also said the board lacked sample wording for what such a warning might look like - until a resident at the meeting produced it.
“What preparation has to be made for such a meeting? I don't feel clear enough to put it before the town as a proposal. If one of the townsfolk would put together a small packet” - and here he held up the sample warning language - “this is critical. What light is behind that? Why do we want this? Then all of us as a board could then look at it and say we're comfortable putting this forward,” Mack said.
For his part, Priem is going to try to get more information from Efficiency Vermont program managers and arrange an information session for Selectmen.
Mack said he was pleased to have something definite - the warning - to study.
“Although I understand in general terms what were dealing with, honestly this is one of the first concrete things I've learned about PACE other than what people have said. Let's keep at it.”