BRATTLEBORO — In 2006, the town commissioned an energy audit of municipal buildings, which generated a long list of upgrades and changes that in the years to follow would reduce the town's energy footprint.
Some of the work is ongoing. The list included replacing the windows at the Gibson-Aiken Center, swapping out oil burners for wood boilers at the Transportation Center, and changing the street lamps to LED bulbs.
Planning Director Sue Fillion and Assistant Town Manager Patrick Moreland provided updates on what the town had completed at the Selectboard's Aug. 20 meeting.
Fillion discussed town efforts as they related to goals in the Town Plan. She said the plan's two goals reflect the state's larger goals in reducing emissions and encouraging renewable energy in Vermont.
Those goals are reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2030, and to reach the “25x25” goal of seeing in-state renewables supplying 25 percent of all energy used and 25 percent of homes made energy efficient by 2025.
Fillion said that “there has been no meaningful tracking” of greenhouse-gas emissions at the town level since Energy Coordinator Paul Cameron resigned in 2016.
The last inventory was completed in 2002, she said.
More progress has happened with the second 25x25 goal. According to the Energy Action Network's state energy dashboard - vtenergydashboard.org - the town is meeting its energy goals for heating, electricity usage, and transportation.
Weatherization has happened in about 12 percent of residential homes, she said.
One of the biggest upgrades has been with transitioning the town's street lights to LED bulbs, Fillion said.
“That has led to cost and consumption reductions,” she noted.
In response to a question for the board, Fillion said that the chapter in the Town Plan on land use has attempted to help increase the town's sustainability efforts by promoting compact development.
Town has invested $400,000 in energy projects
Moreland updated the board on the status of several energy audits the town had contracted and the audits' recommendations.
According to town staff, the town has identified through the audits approximately $1.4 million in energy projects. So far, the town has appropriated $700,000. Of those funds allocated, $400,000 worth of projects have been completed.
He started with the success stories.
At the Transportation Center, a heat-pump water system was installed, and an oil-fired boiler was upgraded to a modern wood-pellet-fired model.
The Windham Wood Heat Fund, managed by the Windham Regional Commission, disbursed $64,000 in subsidies to the town for the project, he said.
Updates to the Brooks Memorial Library's heating system are complete, Moreland said. The large plate-glass windows that face Main Street were replaced with ones that are more efficient.
A recommendation to add insulation to the library's roof will be on the table for when it comes time to replace it, he said.
Upgrades at the Gibson-Aiken Center include replacing its drafty windows and adding better insulation to the roof, he said. The building's boiler has also been replaced.
Some projects have received funding or are in the works:
• Improvements at the skating rink at Living Memorial Park. According to Moreland, these improvements should be completed by October.
• The town is also in the process of making improvements to its water system, specifically at the Retreat wells, he said, adding that a building at the backup water source site on Route 30 has structural issues.
Moreland said some projects are waiting in the wings because they depend on other decisions.
Some upgrades could happen at the Pleasant Valley Water Treatment Plant, but the work is on hold as the town considers replacing that facility.
Likewise, the town is evaluating whether to replace the Department of Public Work's garage, Moreland continued, and no upgrades will take place until a plan for the site emerges.
The Municipal Center also needs a lot of work, but those efforts are also on hold.
At the Aug. 6 Selectboard meeting, Town Manager Peter Elwell announced ongoing conversations between the town and Windham & Windsor Housing Trust, with agreement in principle to share the building by converting the top floors of the 1884 building, originally the Brattleboro High School, into apartments.
The basement space, vacated when the police department moved to new facilities on Black Mountain Road, would be converted to meeting space.
“Beyond that conceptional framework, we've got a lot of work to do,” Elwell said, noting ongoing negotiations between the municipality and the nonprofit regarding building ownership, a timetable for the renovations, project management issues, and agreements over financing.
The “unusual project” would ultimately benefit taxpayers, he said.
In 2018, the town had explored a partnership with the state of Vermont, which had signed a letter of intent for a 10-year lease for 10,000 square feet of office space in the building.
The two parties reached a stalemate over renovations of the space and the terms of the lease.
Plans for the Municipal Center also include creating a district heating system in partnership with Brooks Memorial Library.