2026-10-13 - Climate Action Commission

00:17Great. Thanks everybody for joining.

00:20Uh, we're just getting settled here in

00:22the room. I think we may still have some

00:23commissioners who will join us, but um,

00:25we do have a quorum, so I think we're

00:27going to go ahead and get started

00:29tonight. Um, so uh, my name's Kate

00:32Bossingham. I'm going to be um, acting

00:34chair uh, today as we uh, you know, have

00:38elections later in the meeting. Um,

00:41I uh, first order of business going to

00:44call the October meeting of the Climate

00:46Action Commission to order.

00:49Um, so it is 6:36 p.m.

00:52Um, I think what we're going to do next

00:55is um, just do quick introductions. Um,

00:57so we'll start with commissioners here

00:59in the room and then we'll have the any

01:02commissioners or ex-officio members who

01:04are joining online do their

01:05introductions and then uh, we if we

01:07could have members of the public uh,

01:09also introduce themselves, that would be

01:11great.

01:12Um, so as I said, my name's Kate

01:13Bossingham. I um, the am the

01:15environmental policy manager for the

01:17city of Somerville and also the staff

01:19liaison to the Climate Action

01:20Commission. Um, Sierra.

01:23>> Hi, I'm Sierra Maura. I'm a commissioner

01:25for the Climate Action Commission.

01:27>> Corey Donahue, commissioner.

01:29>> Uh, I'm Larry Yu. I am also a

01:31commissioner.

01:32>> Hi, I'm Bhavika Kalia and I'm also a

01:35commissioner.

01:36>> Um, I'm Monty Allen. I'm also a

01:38commissioner.

01:39>> Lauren Gunter, also a commissioner.

01:42>> Courtney Koslin, commissioner.

01:44>> Rithika Philip, commissioner.

01:47>> Great. And uh, Jason, would you like to

01:49introduce yourself?

01:52>> Hi everyone.

01:53>> [clears throat]

01:53>> Jason Barrons and I work with Somerville

01:54Public Schools and I'm an ex-officio

01:57member.

01:59>> Great. Thank you, Jason. Um and then we

02:01can do introductions for members of the

02:02public in the room.

02:04>> I am Aaron Kerschner from the Tufts uh

02:06Environmental Policy and Planning

02:07program.

02:08>> I am Caitlin Federouchi and also at

02:10Tufts.

02:12>> I'm Sonia Cannon, also at Tufts.

02:14>> I'm Denice Baptiste, I'm also at Tufts.

02:17>> My name is Lily Sandahl. I'm here at the

02:19UMass Amherst.

02:20>> [laughter]

02:21>> I'm Ana Carrasco, also at Tufts

02:24University student.

02:25>> So, Finnbar, same group.

02:27>> I'm Maya Fletcher, also a Tufts student.

02:30>> Great. Welcome, Tufts.

02:32Um

02:33and then uh we also have attendees

02:36online, so I'm going to click on you

02:38individually and allow you to speak and

02:40if you'd like to introduce yourself, um

02:41please go ahead and do so. So,

02:44uh Grace, would you like to introduce

02:45yourself?

02:49>> Okay, I'm Grace Hall and I'm a I'm a

02:53resident of Teal Square.

02:55>> Great. Thank you, Grace.

02:58Uh John, would you like to introduce

03:00yourself?

03:03>> Yes, I'm John James, uh resident of

03:06Assembly Row and uh just graduated with

03:09my M.Arch from the BAC.

03:13>> Great. Thank you.

03:14And Maggie?

03:19>> I'm Maggie. I am also from UMass

03:21Amherst, but I'm a resident of Davis

03:23Square as well.

03:26>> Great. Thank you. And Sylvia?

03:30>> I'm Sylvia Smullin. I'm a resident of uh

03:33Spring Hill.

03:35>> Great. Thank you all for joining. Um and

03:38then we have another commissioner Jody

03:40Nelson in the room if you'd like to

03:41introduce yourself.

03:42>> Hi, everyone. I'm Kenzie Ballard, uh

03:45commissioner.

03:46>> Kenzie, do you want to pull up a chair

03:48and come

03:48>> to the table or sure?

03:49>> Sure. Seat change right there. Thanks,

03:50Liam.

03:54>> Great. Well, thank you for joining. Um

03:57I'm just going to go ahead and

04:00re- unmute people online.

04:04Um we may have other commissioners um

04:07joining and I think I will try to

04:09remember to pause and have them

04:10introduce themselves so we can also make

04:12note that they have joined the meeting.

04:14Um so the first order of business is um

04:18to approve the September 2026 meeting

04:21minutes. Um so

04:24reminder kind of uh and I'll say for

04:26everyone that's here from UAP, this is

04:28um only our

04:30third meeting as a new climate action

04:32commission, so we're all like learning

04:33procedures again. Um but so I sent out

04:36the draft meeting minutes um by email to

04:38all of the commissioners, so um did

04:40everybody get a chance to review those?

04:43Great. Um any corrections?

04:46Okay.

04:47Um could I have someone move to approve

04:50the September meeting minutes?

04:52>> So moved.

04:53>> Okay. And could I have a second?

04:55>> Second.

04:55>> Okay, great.

04:57Um all those in favor?

04:58>> Aye.

05:00>> Thank you all.

05:01Um

05:02>> Quick question.

05:03>> Yes, Lynn.

05:03>> Are you taking minutes? Do you want

05:04someone to take minutes?

05:05>> Um I have a recording um and so uh I was

05:09going to take meeting minutes uh

05:11Crystal.

05:11>> Um and would it also be helpful to to

05:13have a sign-up sheet so we can record um

05:16folks who

05:16>> For people in the room, that would be

05:18great actually. Um

05:19>> I will actually don't have a sign-up

05:21sheet.

05:22>> So if that happened, that would be

05:23wonderful.

05:25And so much, yeah.

05:27Great.

05:28Um okay. And then the next order of

05:30business is something that I put on the

05:32agenda that um I would love people's

05:34feedback to see like how this works. I

05:36think there was kind of a conversation

05:38in previous meetings that like we'd like

05:40to hear what other people are up to, um

05:42other commissioners, so I thought we

05:44could have it as an agenda item um to do

05:47a round robin for commissioners and

05:49members of the public, um, if we would

05:51like, uh, to share like something that

05:54happened, like a

05:56local climate event, activity, or

05:58resource that you did in the last month

06:00that you want other people to know

06:01about.

06:03Or an upcoming event in the next month

06:05that you would like other commissioners

06:06to know about. So, like the Harvest

06:08Festival last month or something that

06:09you want to invite other commissioners

06:11to. So, um, I'm imagining this be like

06:13no more than a minute a piece both for

06:16like the past and future event. Um, and

06:19if people have more questions, they can,

06:21um, come talk to you and you guys can,

06:23uh,

06:23share information on that that climate

06:25event, resource, activity. That sound

06:28all right?

06:29Great.

06:31Um, so,

06:32uh, I guess I could say my example, um,

06:36the thing that I would love you all to

06:38know about is the upcoming Pumpkin Smash

06:40that the our Sustainability and

06:42Environment Office is hosting. Um, it's

06:45November 7th. It's a It's going to be at

06:47Chucky Harris Park. It's a great

06:48opportunity to meet a lot of other

06:50community groups. Last year we posted

06:524,300 lb of pumpkins.

06:54>> Wow.

06:55>> Um, and we also had more than 50

06:57volunteers and, uh, we have a lot of

06:59empty volunteering spots to sign up. So,

07:02it went out in the last State of the Ill

07:03newsletter. If you'd like to come,

07:05there's a lot of ways to volunteer and

07:07we would love to have

07:08all of you there.

07:11>> Does that get all posted with,

07:14with whom?

07:14>> Garden to Garden, um, collects all of

07:17the the pumpkins.

07:18>> hoped to have them smashed or is it just

07:21fun?

07:22>> The smashing is just for fun. Yeah.

07:24>> [laughter]

07:26>> One thing I can share since there's a

07:28lot of students in the room is that

07:30there are programs to help pay your

07:32electric and gas bills and I know we're

07:34getting into the winter heating season

07:36and as of October 1st, there's

07:40applications for the Home Energy

07:42Assistance program, which the there's

07:44like local agencies that have federal

07:46funding that can make direct payments to

07:49your winter heating bills, and that

07:52program was bought some more funding

07:53from the Healey-Driscoll administration.

07:56And also starting November 1st, the

07:59utilities discounts that they offer on

08:02your electric and gas bills will be

08:04scaled based on income.

08:11>> Um

08:13so this Saturday there's a convening

08:16over at the growing center. Oh, it will

08:19not be at the growing center because of

08:20the weather. It will be at the Dojo

08:24at Somerville Nova.

08:25Um

08:27I think I'm on a panel with Well, I

08:28think Bonnie comes on the panel, too. I

08:30think both of us feel deeply

08:32underprepared.

08:34But

08:35but the convening will happen and I have

08:37a a couple of a couple of handouts here

08:39about about how a community can come

08:42together. I don't have a handout for

08:43everybody, but um

08:45um

08:46It's how the communities come together

08:48um to address climate and resilience and

08:51um

08:54Yeah, we'll see how it goes.

08:55>> [laughter]

08:59>> Um I can share something that we're

09:01currently doing or that's been really

09:03taking up a lot of my time. And that is

09:06um for the Somerville Climate Action

09:09Grant, we are running like a club at the

09:12high school to get students to apply for

09:14the grant. So, we've been doing like

09:16weekly meetings um just in the library,

09:18and Emily Sullivan and Naomi Gross come

09:21from um the Somerville Office of

09:23Sustainability and Environment, and they

09:25come and help students and look over

09:27applications and grant proposals, which

09:30has been really great. We've been trying

09:32to get more students involved, so it's

09:33been a lot of outreach and just

09:35supporting students' projects. So, I'm

09:38also helping some of my friends look

09:39over their projects and they like to run

09:41ideas with me and things like that. Um

09:44but that's been really great. The grant

09:47is due October 15th. So, the due date is

09:50coming up very soon and this Wednesday

09:52we're going to have kind of like um

09:54a final club meeting to support with the

09:58grant proposals and hopefully we'll have

10:00the club going on after that to just

10:02help um the selected projects follow

10:05through with their projects and things

10:06like that. Um yeah, but that's

10:09definitely a big thing. The grant is for

10:12um I guess anyone kind of associated

10:15with Somerville who has ties to

10:17Somerville and is between 16 and 25

10:2124.

10:23Sorry, I think I should know that, but

10:25yeah.

10:27Yep. Thank you.

10:29>> Um

10:31I went [clears throat] to the um

10:33energy transformation

10:35presentation at Tufts. Um

10:38I don't remember exactly when it was,

10:39but

10:40um

10:42it was

10:43uh

10:45it was really about how um

10:47the state is going the Commonwealth is

10:49going to

10:51make the conversion over over time to um

10:54uh sustainable

10:56sourcing.

10:57And the thing that really

10:59um

11:01that I took away was that that whole

11:03process is way more complicated

11:05than I ever would have imagined.

11:08And um

11:09so

11:11um

11:11it seemed to be

11:13that that complexity was in good hands.

11:17Um and

11:19at the end um the final uh several

11:21minutes were uh question and answer

11:24time.

11:25And uh one thing that I

11:27was impressed by was that there were a

11:29couple of people who asked questions

11:32who introduce themselves as being energy

11:35coaches

11:37um from various communities. Oh, Sarah

11:40was there and Stephen was there as well.

11:43Maybe others were there. I didn't take

11:44notice of of who if you were.

11:47Um

11:48but uh I was sitting right next to

11:50Stephen and I said that this is um

11:53what um

11:55um

11:57I'm sorry to interrupt.

11:59>> Shannon

12:00>> Shannon. Um

12:01that's her job to be like

12:04I'm thinking one person.

12:07And

12:09um

12:10every building in Somerville is

12:12completely unique.

12:14And so there

12:16any plans that they might make

12:18about converting

12:21uh

12:21would be kind of unique to their

12:23building.

12:24And

12:25um by and large building owners aren't

12:27really savvy about all of that. And

12:30here we got one person.

12:33And it seemed to me that this might be

12:35something that the commission could

12:38find a way to

12:40um add our

12:43>> [clears throat]

12:43>> the increase the um

12:46extent to which we could

12:47provide that service

12:49uh to building owners.

12:52>> Thank you, Martin.

12:53>> Um I'm going to be moderating a panel

12:55through uh Built Environment Plus um

12:58their carbon and energy round table. Um

13:01and the panel discussion is on

13:04the energy code um and costs. Is that

13:09something that the energy code is being

13:10blamed for right now? The city of Boston

13:13is actually looking to hold back

13:15uh their adoption of specialized opting

13:17code. So this will be

13:20Uh this will take place uh the first

13:22Tuesday after election day.

13:24Uh so November 10th. Um around 8:10 p.m.

13:27I think it's that time. I can also send

13:29a link out.

13:30>> Yeah. It's a webinar.

13:32>> Yeah, with a panelist and

13:35kind [clears throat] of discussion.

13:37>> [laughter]

13:37>> It'll be animated, I'm sure.

13:42>> A good 30 minutes.

13:43>> I think

13:45>> That's relevant to what I was going to

13:48So, in addition to being on the

13:50CAC, I'm a member of the

13:53Somerville Mass School Building

13:55Authority School Building Committee.

13:58What happened to that?

14:00And for those who don't know, Winter

14:02Hill

14:03former Winter Hill School Building right

14:05next door here, might have seen the

14:06soccer game,

14:07is was closed in 2023 and the city will

14:10be building a new building with the

14:11support of the state covering half the

14:13price

14:14cost. We finally have locked in the size

14:18and the kind of shape and things. And

14:20now we're on to

14:21for me it's the fun stuff, which

14:23includes the um

14:25the way in which the city chooses to go

14:27about meeting the energy code standards.

14:30So, there's a passive house path,

14:31there's something called Teddy. And so,

14:34maybe actually we could talk because

14:36there's a subcommittee I'm on of that to

14:39help determine which way to go.

14:42For sure. No, that's exciting.

14:44>> Yeah.

14:44>> Yeah. [laughter]

14:45>> We're exploring geothermal as an option

14:47as well. So, hopefully looking at the

14:49costs and impacts and trade-offs.

14:53And so, those meetings are virtual.

14:56Usually the first Monday, that's going

14:58to change a little bit coming up, but

14:59there is the next meeting is on Monday,

15:02November 2nd at 4:30 p.m.

15:05If anyone would like the link, let me

15:06know.

15:07Or you can also find it on the

15:12>> I just went to an event with a like

15:15local innovation leaders, companies like

15:17Greentown Labs.

15:19A few interesting people I met. One

15:21person works with the Chamber of

15:23Commerce and has issued an open invite

15:25to go to an upcoming meet and greet. So,

15:27I will look at the calendar for that and

15:29then pass it on to Kate to distribute.

15:32One person is a founder of a company

15:34called AQ that does air quality

15:36monitoring.

15:37So, I know that was something of

15:39interest. If that ends up being

15:40something we talk about pursuing, happy

15:42to share the contact info. And then the

15:44last person works for a non-profit that

15:48is thinking, amongst other things, about

15:50presidential decarbonization and getting

15:51like heat pumps into homes. So, they've

15:54done research on it and they're I think

15:56they have some grant making capacity.

15:58So, also, when we get there, if we get

16:00there, then

16:01>> Do you remember the name of that

16:02organization?

16:03>> It's the Boston Foundation.

16:05And I have the name of the specific

16:07person that's the environmental

16:08director. So,

16:09those are the three people I want to

16:10share.

16:13>> Um some updates from Groundwork

16:15Somerville. So, we had our annual

16:16harvest festival and it was a big

16:18success. We had 600 people come to the

16:19farm. I hope I hope some of you could

16:22make it. Um but don't worry, we got more

16:24events. Um next Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. to

16:288:00 p.m. we're holding our season sport

16:30fundraiser. It's a fundraiser for

16:32Groundwork Somerville at Portico. If

16:33anyone wants to join there, we'll have

16:35games, music, be fun. Also, next

16:38Saturday, the the 24th, not this coming

16:40third Saturday after that, um we are

16:42planting trees at an intersection called

16:45Lombardi and Broadway. It's like next to

16:47I-93.

16:49It's in the corner of East Somerville.

16:51It's the Massachusetts Department of

16:52Transportation land and we're planting

16:53thir- or

16:5411 trees and I'm looking for volunteers.

16:57Do they want to come plant a tree with

16:58me? That's a great time to do it. And

17:01the last event I'm going to plug is I'm

17:03kind of clued into this organizing body

17:05that's organizing around an Everett

17:07sports project that is connecting into

17:10the Somerville hub and they're working

17:12to start collecting resident priorities

17:15to inform a future community benefits

17:17agreement.

17:19And their meeting to collect some of the

17:21community priorities is on Thursday,

17:23November 5th at 6:30 p.m. at the East

17:25Somerville

17:27Community School.

17:29Those are my

17:30options. Ready?

17:33>> Um

17:34>> Megan, yes. Can you make sure that um

17:37these things are in the minutes?

17:40>> Yes. I think what would I think be

17:43helpful for me like I will pull together

17:45the minutes. That might be a little bit

17:46delayed. If people have these things

17:48ready to go and you just want to like

17:50email them to me, then I can like

17:52compile those and get them out to

17:53commissioners like a little bit faster.

17:59Thank you.

18:00>> [clears throat]

18:00>> Um Jason, do you have anything that you

18:02wanted to

18:04mention?

18:08>> Hi everyone. Um yes.

18:11Uh so on October 29th, Greentown's

18:14having its annual Climate Tech Summit.

18:17Um it's a little expensive to get in for

18:19the full day

18:20uh admission. It's like an all-day

18:22event, 9:00 to 5:00.

18:24Um this will be the third year we bring

18:26Somerville High School students to the

18:27afternoon showcase.

18:30Um Greentown generously gets our high

18:32schoolers in

18:33um free of charge. And that's like a

18:361:30 to 4:00 networking showcase

18:40that is kind of more geared towards

18:42folks actually looking for work.

18:45Um

18:45And so it's a little different when we

18:47bring high schoolers. Babak has been to

18:50this event a couple times already.

18:52Um but it is pretty incredible even if

18:54you're not there looking for an

18:56internship or a job to see just the vast

19:00um like the sheer quantity of projects

19:02that are being worked on there

19:04uh or offsite in one of their other

19:06locations.

19:08I highly recommend it. There's also like

19:09a there's a free virtual admission, so

19:11you can kind of in the past I sort of

19:13had it on in the background

19:15and just kind of

19:16as you work, but the afternoon showcase

19:19is a little bit is a little cheaper and

19:21definitely worth the price of admission.

19:23Just the

19:24to it's just incredible to see all the

19:26various technologies that's that are

19:29being developed. Um

19:31one of my favorites over the years was

19:32Sublime Systems. They're a carbon-free

19:36cement company.

19:37And despite um

19:40Well, so I'll leave it at that. Yeah.

19:42Um

19:42>> Yeah.

19:43>> So um

19:45highly recommend it. Super psyched that

19:48we get to bring another round of high

19:49schoolers to Greentown.

19:51And we're just looking for more ways to

19:53to get them sort of folded into the

19:55school

19:56uh community and the community at large.

20:00>> Great. Thanks, Jason.

20:02Um and then I think I'll just open a

20:03blanket for anyone members of the public

20:06if you guys have like a climate-related

20:09event or activity or things that you

20:12would like the community know about but

20:14commissioners and then there's also

20:15people that like tune in and watch these

20:17movies these meetings after, so uh

20:20raise your hand or if you're online I

20:22can let you speak or anybody in the

20:24room.

20:30Great. Okay. Well,

20:32same invitation for next time.

20:35Thank you all for sharing all really

20:36interesting activities.

20:39Um and we're right on time, so really

20:41appreciate that.

20:43Um our next agenda item is

20:46uh

20:47>> I'm sure it's to move.

20:48>> Um agreeing on CAC priorities and

20:51subcommittee structure for the upcoming

20:53year and I am going to turn this agenda

20:55item over to our subgroup that worked on

20:58this in the last meeting.

21:00>> Yes, can we share the slides? Is that

21:02possible?

21:03>> Uh

21:04>> or

21:04>> I can

21:05Um

21:06>> Or should we join the meeting to share?

21:08>> I should probably do that. Okay.

21:09>> Also, Rethika, do you want to just tag

21:12team the first grants and

21:13>> Yes. Rio's not in.

21:14>> Yes, let's do that.

21:16>> Um,

21:17Okay. Why don't I kick us off? Um,

21:21so, as you all may remember, last month

21:23we had So, for those weren't here, this

21:25might be helpful. We had posters around

21:27the wall that were tied to the

21:31um

21:32pillars of the climate forward plan that

21:35the city of Somerville has. So, those

21:37were um

21:38building energy, transformability,

21:40natural resources and waste, community

21:42resiliency, leadership, and then we had

21:45a general. And Kate, on behalf of the

21:47city, they had worked together to put

21:49down the projects that they were already

21:51planning to do related to those pillars,

21:52as well as ideas they had for the

21:54commission. And then we as commissioners

21:55[clears throat]

21:55and members of the public who were here

21:57walked around and added our own ideas,

21:59and then we did a round of voting

22:01anonymously on what which of those

22:03initiatives you wanted to support or

22:05take a lead on. Um, and so, what we

22:07wanted to do today was share some of

22:08those insights from that exercise, and

22:10then talk about how the subcommittees

22:13could look building off of what people

22:15seem to be interested in. But, there are

22:17also ideas that came out of it as things

22:18we could do as a full commission, so I

22:20want to spend a moment on that, and then

22:22leave some space for open discussion.

22:24>> I'm going to jump in real quick.

22:25Um, for people online, it's a little bit

22:27complicated to like share my screen

22:28while you're on, but the meeting

22:31materials are available online with the

22:33same link that you you know, found to

22:35join this. So, if you go to the meeting

22:37page, that's like the October meeting of

22:40the CAC, and scroll down under the

22:42agenda, there's all the meeting

22:43materials that were um looking at and

22:45talking about.

22:46>> Perfect.

22:46>> Yeah, thank you, Kate.

22:47>> Okay. So, I think we can go to the next

22:50slide, which should be slide or page

22:53three for those who are following along

22:55online. So,

22:57>> Do you want to click it?

22:58>> Yeah, sure.

22:59>> So, we looked at we compiled compiled

23:02everything into a spreadsheet, so all

23:04the sticky notes are now digitized, and

23:06we took a look at all of the topics of

23:09the ideas and how many votes they got,

23:11and we found a few different themes. And

23:14the first one being that people in this

23:16commission are really interested in

23:19spreading awareness about all sorts of

23:20topics in Somerville. And so, there's a

23:24really There's a lean towards doing

23:26engagement and education and outreach.

23:28And then, also there's a lot of people

23:30in here who are interested in are

23:32passionate about buildings and energy.

23:34So, 33% of all of our sticker votes went

23:38towards building and energy topics. And

23:40then, this commission is generally on

23:43the flip side is not super interested or

23:45has their their knowledge in transport

23:47and mobility. Um and then the last thing

23:50was we saw a lot of stuff about schools

23:52across different topics, whether that's

23:53buildings and energy or

23:55uh waste management. It was schools, so

23:58a very common theme.

24:01Now, we're moving on to slide four for

24:02the online folks.

24:04>> Yes, so what we did is we just pulled

24:06out which initiatives had the most votes

24:10um across I think eating and supporting.

24:12And I think this is just to give us a

24:13sense of the variety of interest. So,

24:15there were as um Sierra said, like a lot

24:18There was a lot of interest in buildings

24:19and energy, and that's why jumping

24:21ahead, we think that's a it's an

24:22important area for us to focus on. But,

24:24there were also things like land use,

24:26depaving, and green spaces, um

24:29create a lot of interest in um in

24:31supporting the infrastructure around

24:32climate action, so a hub for people to

24:36understand what's going on, to

24:37understand organizations they can get

24:38involved in. And then, also an interest

24:40in partnering with others who are doing

24:41similar work. So, making sure that, you

24:43know, we as a commission know what other

24:45commissions or other bodies in

24:46Somerville are doing and work

24:48coordinated. So, these are the ones that

24:50got the most votes. And if you look at

24:51the Excel, if you haven't had a chance

24:53to see it already, if you look at it

24:54after the meeting, you will see all 100

24:57plus initiatives on there with the votes

25:00all tied so you can also do your own

25:02perusal of that. All right, next slide.

25:08>> And so

25:09maybe this is not surprising, but we

25:11came up with three proposed

25:12subcommittees. The first one being topic

25:15focused on buildings and energy, and

25:18then the other two are more function

25:20focused so they can spread across

25:22different climate topics.

25:24The second one that we chose was

25:25engagement and outreach. So this is

25:27capturing that desire to do education

25:31and awareness raising throughout

25:32Somerville. And so folks in this

25:34subcommittee could

25:36choose how they want to do engagement

25:37and outreach in across what topics. So

25:39we kept it broad because this was just a

25:41function that people expressed interest

25:43in doing. Same thing for the third

25:45proposed subcommittee, which is

25:47accountability and data. So again, this

25:49can spread to whatever topics everyone

25:52in that subcommittee is interested in

25:54pursuing for a project or for an event.

25:58And then we also

26:00noted outside of these subcommittees

26:02that there were some activities in the

26:04brainstorm that could be better as full

26:07commission ideas or full commission

26:08activities. So we were going to float

26:11some things out there for future agenda

26:13items.

26:16And I'll just break down for the

26:19different subcommittees what some ideas

26:22that came up with. These are just the

26:23brainstorms taken from that spreadsheet

26:25and that activity that we did. But

26:28within this buildings and energy

26:30category, some project ideas were

26:33utility bill education. So some sticky

26:35notes were about Somerville's community

26:37choice electricity program and trying to

26:39help raise awareness about that. As well

26:41as the utility assistance programs which

26:43I kind of previewed in my share out

26:45earlier. And then also general education

26:48around things you can do in your home to

26:51be more energy efficient and to reduce

26:53your energy usage.

26:55And then school decarbonization, we're

26:57going to kind of fit that into buildings

26:59and energy because it's about

27:02large buildings and schools. Uh and so

27:05this can exist in a few different ways.

27:07One of some of the brainstorm ideas were

27:09through a more policy-oriented with

27:11decarbonization ballot measures. And

27:13then there was also some interest in

27:16doing data tracking at schools. And so

27:18you can even see here how there is going

27:20to be some overlap across subcommittees.

27:22We have a data subcommittee, but also we

27:25have a buildings and energy one. So, you

27:27know, wherever people land, we can kind

27:29of figure out where it makes sense to do

27:30some of those proposed projects.

27:33The third thing, third suggestion, there

27:35was I think five votes to support

27:37geothermal advancement in Somerville.

27:39So, we wanted to put that up there. And

27:41then kind of pairing with that utility

27:43bill education around energy usage, we

27:45also just wanted to support the Mass

27:48Save program and the work they're doing.

27:50And also to reach more underserved users

27:53of the Mass Save program like landlords

27:54and renters.

27:57I'm going to the next slide.

28:00And similar thing here for the proposed

28:02subcommittee of engagement and outreach,

28:05we just compiled some of the highly

28:08voted

28:09brainstorm ideas. So,

28:11we can think of engagement and outreach

28:12for our subcommittee in a few different

28:15ways. The first being around education.

28:17So, this can be across topics, you know,

28:19land use, recycling, extreme heat and

28:22resilience. That's up to COC members in

28:24that subcommittee.

28:26Another way to think of engagement and

28:28outreach would be to activate the

28:29public, to get people involved, to

28:32coalition build and work with nonprofits

28:34and and volunteer networks.

28:36And the third would be to support the

28:38existing engagement and outreach that

28:40the city of Somerville does. And so,

28:42Naomi and Emily at the

28:45Office of Sustainability and

28:46Environment.

28:47>> No, hearing the Sustainability and

28:49Environment standing

28:51>> [clears throat]

28:53[laughter]

28:54>> You know, like

28:55they're running events all the time. And

28:56so, to the extent that commit commission

28:58members want to support those, happy to

29:00do that, such as the pumpkin smash

29:02coming up on November 7th.

29:04And then

29:06outreach would also look like working

29:08with other Somerville commissions, you

29:10know, working kind of parallel to people

29:13doing this work in in different spaces.

29:16And then the third could be more

29:18advocacy related and doing outreach to

29:22city council members or organizations

29:24that that are working on different

29:25policy initiatives.

29:28>> Right. And then the third subcommittee

29:30we thought about was accountability and

29:32data. So, here I think there was some

29:33focus around the climate board plan. So,

29:35we have a wonderful plan. We have the

29:37actions that are listed on the website

29:40with you know, kind of tracker, but

29:42sometimes it's not always obvious even

29:44to us in the room where exactly we stand

29:47overall. So, thinking about a quarterly

29:49or a yearly report on progress that we

29:52would, you know, work with the city on,

29:53thinking about how to make this even

29:55more friendly even more than it already

29:56is.

29:57Are there community events around this

29:58that make sense?

29:59Another [clears throat] was around air

30:01quality or heat stress because there's a

30:02lot of data interest around that, like

30:04air quality monitoring and monitoring is

30:06an example. Um also options to put this

30:09into policy or an advocacy. And then

30:11finally, um this is something that ties

30:12very much to this schools idea and and

30:15about measure of understanding uh the

30:17capital needs assessments for city owned

30:19buildings. Um so, there's this

30:22aim in within the climate board plan for

30:24Somerville Somerville to take a

30:25leadership role within the municipal

30:26buildings. So, what does it look like to

30:28really decarbonize and electrify that

30:30completely over time? What would it

30:31require? So, again, more like a data

30:33accountability angle to some of these

30:35topics.

30:36All right. And then one last moment just

30:39on the full commission activities, these

30:41are things that could be useful to do in

30:44in future meetings if there's interest

30:46and and folks see the value. So, one we

30:48think is has to do with who is we should

30:50certainly decide on the subcommittees,

30:53whether it's these or other ones and we

30:55get into a discussion.

30:57What the membership should look like,

30:58which ones do people want to join? We

30:59think it makes sense at least for now

31:01for people to just join one and really

31:03focus on that, but we can you know just

31:05revisit that. And also that it would

31:07probably make sense to have a

31:08subcommittee to lead who could take the

31:11be the point person to come to the full

31:12commission and report out on what's

31:14going on or get an engagement from other

31:16subcommittees. A second which came up in

31:19the brainstorm as an area of interest

31:21was partner mapping. So, understanding,

31:23you know, who are the local climate

31:24organizations, what other commissions

31:26are working on these topics so that the

31:28subcommittee on engagement and outreach

31:30or subcommittee, sorry, can engage those

31:32successfully and then who do we

31:34personally know who does this work? So,

31:36understanding who we already are

31:37connected to.

31:39A third was related to discussion last

31:41time or was one that was specifically on

31:43this but around strengths mapping,

31:44understanding what we each bring to

31:45this. And then the fourth is

31:47understanding who we're

31:48well serving and also who we're

31:50attempting to represent and speak on

31:52behalf of to make sure that we have the

31:53voices in the room

31:55that we're getting all the voices in the

31:56room. So, that we understand the

31:57demographics, we understand where people

31:59gather, how they get information um

32:01for number of those as a whole but

32:03potentially even ward by ward.

32:05So, those were some some ideas. And then

32:08that's that's really it. This last slide

32:10is just thank you. We'd love you know

32:12the reactions, the questions and also I

32:15think the open discussion.

32:17>> Yeah, if there's anything people think

32:18is missing, you know, let us know. We

32:20want to flag that early before we

32:22decide on subcommittees.

32:25>> Um so, first of all, thank you. Thank

32:27you guys. I owe this to you too and you

32:29all. Also, thank thank all three of you.

32:32It's it's a total to synthesize all of

32:34that so we really appreciate that.

32:36Um I should one quick question, I

32:38suppose, which is um

32:40uh

32:41you you sort of identify three themes or

32:43three priorities.

32:45Two of them map to your suggested

32:48subcommittees, but the third is is

32:50working with schools, which does not map

32:52to awareness and data or something like

32:55that.

32:55>> do.

32:56>> So, I was just sort of curious about the

32:57thinking there.

32:59>> Yeah, I I think

33:00that [clears throat] the that was the

33:02general theme was that people were

33:03interested in schools, and we felt like

33:05it could be across different

33:06subcommittees depending on who was in

33:08it, and so it could be something that

33:10the buildings and energy subcommittee

33:11worked on, or it could be something that

33:14the data and accountability group worked

33:16on because some of the school interests

33:19were specifically around tracking energy

33:21usage and water usage within schools.

33:22So, that's kind of

33:23>> Got it.

33:24>> depends on who our people are and what

33:26they're focused on.

33:27>> Got it. So, did you but I'm including

33:29like composting in schools and

33:31>> There were initiatives around food waste

33:33in schools, like vegetarian meals in

33:35schools. So, that would be something

33:37that we thought could come more under

33:38the engagement outreach.

33:42>> So, I think the the short answer to this

33:43question was schools is really

33:44multifaceted, and but also not as much

33:49interest just in that as like with

33:50buildings and energy to say that it

33:52needs its own sub committee. I think

33:54another thing we're trying to balance is

33:56our commission is big and bigger than it

33:57was, but it's not huge, and so trying to

34:00think of just three that could give us

34:02that coverage. But, it's a great

34:03question. So, we tried to weave it into

34:05the ex- the different subcommittees that

34:07existed.

34:08>> And I think also the

34:10proposed project ideas are the sample

34:13project ideas under the proposed

34:15subcommittees were just like examples.

34:16Like the things that we actually put

34:18within each proposed subcommittee is not

34:21what we think the project should be

34:23necessarily for that group. So, there

34:25there were probably some sticky notes or

34:26Excel line items about

34:28composting in schools that might not

34:30have gone on these slides, but could

34:31totally be something that the education

34:33and outreach group did.

34:35>> Cool. Thank you.

34:36>> Yeah.

34:40>> Could you go back to the accountability

34:41and data slide? Um

34:47>> Which one is it?

34:48>> We don't need to stick on that one.

34:53>> Yes. Would love reactions to that, but

34:56the idea of these being the

34:58subcommittees.

34:59Um

35:01Even if not to the specific project

35:03ideas, just how set like breaking our

35:05group down in this way.

35:08>> I love it. I mean, I I think it touches

35:11like very

35:12>> Right.

35:13>> aspects. You know, um buildings and

35:16energy, which is a bit more concrete,

35:17you know, of what

35:19I think a lot of us know, and I but then

35:22the engagement and outreach side, so

35:24connecting with the the community, and

35:26then the accountability and data, I

35:28think

35:29you know, I I think that's an aspect

35:31that we had started discussing a few

35:33meetings ago. So, I I think it it

35:35touches all the big things that we you

35:38I've seen in the thread of discussion.

35:40So, I really like it. So, great job.

35:42Thank you.

35:44>> I I really like it, too. I mean, I

35:45appreciate like there's yeah, probably

35:47just so many different ideas that you're

35:49trying to condense into three major

35:52um

35:52topics or committees.

35:55The thing that I'm just thinking about

35:56is how it seems like there's um a one

35:59major topic area that you've named

36:01buildings and energy, and then two that

36:03might be like strategies or something

36:05like that. I don't know what exactly to

36:07call it, but between engagement and then

36:09the accountability and data, for which

36:11like and you've named when you were

36:13going through this like there's overlap

36:14between those to some degree.

36:17Um and I wonder whether it makes sense

36:20to think of the buildings and energy as

36:23inclusive of like outreach and

36:25engagement related to building and

36:26energy, accountability and data related

36:28to building and energy, and when we are

36:31thinking of just the um engagement

36:34group, it's like engagement on anything

36:36other than building and energy that

36:38would help then like reduce the

36:39potential friction between the not that

36:41there's friction, but you know, overlap

36:43or role confusion or whatever.

36:45Redundancy, yeah. And so like the

36:47accountability and data is doing

36:48anything other than accountability data

36:50related to buildings and energy.

36:53That's at least an idea to then

36:56create a bit more distinction between

36:57them, but maybe people are fine with the

36:59overlap. Like it's it's Yeah, I'm

37:02curious what people think.

37:05>> I think that that does make sense. I

37:06think that the two subcommittees that

37:08are very function focused like outreach

37:11or accountability will

37:14be challenged in like narrowing their

37:15focus or in having like maybe a few

37:18projects or a few events that get done

37:21within a given set of [clears throat]

37:22time. So if the scope is narrowed to be

37:24everything but buildings and energy, I I

37:26think that would make sense. And I think

37:28for the folks that wanted to do data

37:30work on buildings and energy or wanted

37:32to do that education, like then maybe

37:35going into that subcommittee makes

37:37sense anyway.

37:39>> Yeah, I would echo Carl's thought there.

37:41But I think it's

37:43I think managing that intersection I

37:44think would be would be something that

37:46we we should be intentional about if if

37:48we adopt this structure, but I

37:50you know, like I'm I'm split about sort

37:52of drawing a hard line because I can

37:54imagine like the like if there was the

37:58um the engagement and outreach

37:59committee, like if they're the ones who

38:01built relationships [clears throat]

38:03with certain certain groups, like they

38:05built this relationship with say Mothers

38:07Out Front, and then the buildings and

38:08energy was like, "Oh, we want to do a

38:10campaign around community choice

38:12electricity. We want to you know,

38:14leverage our relationship with Mothers

38:15Out Front." Like we

38:16we want that to be a unified.

38:19So but I but I take your point on

38:21managing our relationship that overlap

38:23very carefully getting there.

38:26That's all hypothetical though, I'm not

38:27saying that.

38:28>> [laughter]

38:29>> Mother's awful.

38:32>> Then though I'm not there you said

38:33originally where there were the pieces

38:35about like

38:37composting in schools and the schools

38:39and then also the depaving and native

38:41plants that have a more tangible like

38:44you can see the outcome versus studying

38:47the outcome.

38:47>> Mhm.

38:48>> So, I'm wondering if there's a way

38:51>> Do you want to explain that?

38:52>> Yeah.

38:54>> This like

38:55um

38:56it and I don't know how this fits in

38:57with like

38:58what was just discussed. But, it feels

39:01like

39:02>> It goes back to what it says at three.

39:04>> Oh, yeah. That was where maybe the

39:06Mhm.

39:07Um

39:08if we had buildings and energy,

39:11engagement and outreach, and like

39:14land use and the something about uh

39:17waste and

39:20like the environmental systems like

39:23something like that and then the

39:24accountability and data could be a part

39:27of each of them as it's Was that I don't

39:30know if that's what you were saying that

39:31the account

39:32>> Not necessarily, but that's okay.

39:36>> I think I think that those speak to like

39:38I think you're asking what happens to

39:40these like real world things we're

39:41supposed to be

39:42>> We could be doing that.

39:42>> that people I think I think if looking

39:45through the charts were

39:46>> We're trying to We're trying to put them

39:48in there. Actually, if you go to

39:49engagement and outreach, I would say

39:51I'll I'll say this. The reality is

39:53actually there are a lot more ideas than

39:56things we can do. So, I I think there's

39:59there's a you know, chance of committees

40:01intersecting on topics. I think it's

40:02actually much more likely that everyone

40:04would be glad to have another

40:06committee's help. Um

40:08where we put it was the very first one

40:10and admittedly we put it under education

40:12and you could think of it maybe a

40:13different way, but like land use was a

40:16very popular topic. It wasn't clear from

40:19the sticky what exactly was

40:22was meant in terms of is it about

40:23education on land use? Is it about

40:25getting people to go out and support the

40:26deep paving that's already happening

40:28with the city? So, I think that that

40:29would be very much up to anyone who for

40:32example joined this to say what do we

40:34actually want to do?

40:35>> Yeah.

40:35>> We hesitated to make another pillar

40:38around

40:39like a specific topic only because the

40:42interest was so spread amongst like

40:45natural resources and waste but also

40:47community health resiliency.

40:48>> Right.

40:49>> which is more like air quality, public

40:51health. And those aren't quite But I I

40:53if anything maybe what you're saying is

40:55we want like almost a real world pilot

40:57sub committee or real world action. I

40:59think that's that was what this was

41:01supposed to somewhat encompass. That's

41:03why we actually called it engagement

41:05instead of education.

41:06>> Mhm.

41:06>> But

41:07yeah, it's it's imperfect. So, I I do

41:10think that's that's fair. Yeah.

41:11>> Yeah, I think we could also if

41:15we try these proposed subcommittees for

41:16a bit and then

41:17>> Yeah.

41:18>> people on either of the teams are like

41:19actually like I really do think we

41:21should be doing natural resources, land

41:23use, or just kind of more tangible

41:25outcome events, then we could pivot new

41:28sub committee.

41:29>> Yeah.

41:29>> Boom.

41:30>> Yeah.

41:33>> Yeah, I think it was in the Excel or the

41:36chart that was in the beginning of that

41:38presentation. I think there was a topic

41:41on like resiliency hubs, is that right?

41:43>> Yes. So, that is also now sitting in

41:46this engagement and action.

41:47>> Right. That's Yeah, that's a good

41:48thought.

41:49>> Which makes sense. I mean, I think that

41:50you know, you can map out the resiliency

41:52hubs of warming centers already and

41:55I mean, I I feel like that could be an

41:58education piece or ways to connect the

42:00dots maybe.

42:02>> Exactly. So, yeah, I think actually

42:04those

42:05three are

42:06um like the first two are would be like

42:09under buildings and energy in this new

42:11way of thinking about it. and then the

42:13next few would actually be under

42:14engagement and outreach. And the reason

42:15accountability and data exists is also

42:17partly because we thought it was really

42:19core to the ordinance, like the purpose

42:21of the commission

42:23to be that body that's

42:26I don't know the right word, but but

42:27working with the city to understand

42:29where we're where we're tracking. But

42:32again, I think it's more like a try it

42:34out. This is a pilot if you will on the

42:37subcommittees and well, we can we can

42:46Anyone else wants

42:50>> Um just want to first of all and I think

42:52I think these these three subcommittees

42:54I think they work and then that'd be

42:55great. I mean with 13 people three sub

42:58three subcommittees are probably the

42:59right way to go. Are they subcommittees

43:00or just committees at this point? I

43:02don't know what that is. Regardless.

43:05>> Right. Yeah.

43:06>> Um

43:07>> Subcommittee.

43:08Yeah, it's good.

43:09>> Um

43:11Just noting that there are some

43:13governance things that need to be

43:15addressed as well such as writing our

43:17bylaws and so forth. I don't know if

43:19that's like a if we need to call out a

43:22subcommittee or if we're just just

43:24appoint somebody to

43:25lead it but

43:26um just noting that.

43:28>> Okay.

43:29Yeah, I think that could be something

43:30that like yeah, like a couple of people

43:32take on. It could be someone like does

43:35that outside of

43:36>> Outside

43:37>> Outside of a meeting and then brings it

43:38back to a meeting and then like the

43:40commission, you know,

43:41reviews that, votes on it as a whole. Um

43:44I know

43:45I will just say for the interim climate

43:47action commission I came in partly

43:48through that process and

43:50uh

43:51working on bylaws in a group setting

43:53>> Yeah.

43:53>> [laughter]

43:54>> I would suggest that we not look at a

43:57group of 13 people not look at bylaws

43:59live and

44:01uh write them together.

44:03>> Yeah.

44:03>> Just

44:04suggest.

44:05>> But but you're right Larry that like the

44:07interim climate action commission bylaws

44:09are not your bylaws and you have not put

44:12into adopt them, so there are things

44:13that it it may be helpful to agree on

44:16and write down. Um some things that you

44:18might not want to put in the bylaws like

44:19these

44:20subcommittees because like you want them

44:22to be more fluid, in that case you

44:24wouldn't include them in the bylaws.

44:26They would just be kind of like

44:27decisions that you make as a body um

44:30a little bit more

44:31informally.

44:33>> What kind of um

44:36regulation What kind of requirements

44:37would there be having to do with um

44:41um

44:43public meetings and committee

44:45>> Yeah. The main thing is like quorum. So,

44:48like these you as a body cannot meet

44:53like with quorum unless you it's a

44:55public meeting and you've given notice

44:57and like you provide meeting minutes.

45:00So, that's more than a majority

45:02>> Does that Does that

45:03go for committees also?

45:05>> Yes. Yeah. So, the reason why you can

45:07have subcommittees is because each

45:09subcommittee will be less than quorum.

45:12>> Less than quorum. So, a quorum of the

45:13whole commission.

45:14>> Yeah. And currently there are 12

45:16sworn-in commissioners. One of our

45:17commissioners is not sworn in, so that

45:19means quorum is six.

45:22Um so, you can't have more than six of

45:24you meeting and doing discussion because

45:27you would have to

45:29provide notice like I did and like

45:31invite the public and do meeting minutes

45:33and things. Um

45:35but if you're you're sub quorum, it's

45:39you're really just you're not you're not

45:41a body like officially. Um you'll bring

45:43back the information that you discuss as

45:45a group to this meeting and this is the

45:47official public meeting

45:50>> Good.

45:50>> um every month.

45:52>> So, I guess um if we want these

45:55committees to

45:56uh not be meeting quorum, it also feels

45:59important then that there's like

46:00sufficient interest in each of them.

46:02Like if we're all sitting here like

46:03thinking, "Oh, those are three great

46:04topics, but I'm going to do building and

46:06energy." And we're all thinking that

46:08that's going to

46:10uh

46:11work as well. So, I wonder are we today

46:14choosing like determining these like

46:17stamping these as committees and then

46:19also choosing the committees? Can we do

46:21that? Or at least get a sense of like

46:23what people would be most interested in

46:25so that we could

46:27>> You definitely can. I would say that

46:29attendance is a little bit lighter than

46:31like our previous meetings, but I think

46:33it's worth getting a sense of what

46:35people are interested in and not making

46:37a decision.

46:38>> I I got to push the public meeting

46:40requirements further on.

46:44Take for example the buildings and

46:46energy sub

46:48buildings and energy committee.

46:50>> Mhm.

46:51>> Um

46:53there's really

46:55four or five sub interests that fit into

46:58that.

46:59And if there's a

47:02three or four people who are

47:03particularly interested in one aspects

47:05of building

47:06um are the conversations they have

47:08together

47:10under the public meeting requirements?

47:14>> You mean like if there were more than

47:16six people who wanted to be on the

47:18building and energy group?

47:21I Yeah, like

47:24like more than six people can't be on an

47:26email thread together. More than six

47:28people can't meet at a bar and like talk

47:31about this or go to someone's home or

47:34like or if you're not talking about

47:37things If you're not talking about

47:39things

47:39>> Yeah, that are going to

47:40>> We could all be at the climate

47:41convening.

47:42>> Correct.

47:42>> Yes.

47:43But yeah, I think

47:45to your point

47:46>> But if there's only three or four people

47:47who are particularly interested in one

47:49aspect of the buildings and the

47:52community

47:54It doesn't matter what the topic.

47:56>> It's just like it's just the the number

47:58of people who are actually meeting It

48:00constrained by quorum. So then

48:02whatever the people's interests are or

48:05whatever you just can't have more than

48:07>> So if there's four people interested in

48:09a specific aspect of buildings and

48:11energy and they

48:15>> Each committee doesn't have quorum

48:17rules. So if there's four people in the

48:18committee and everyone's interested then

48:19that's not quorum cuz it's not the six

48:23or

48:24>> That'd be pretty

48:26inconvenient.

48:27>> [laughter]

48:30>> Can we do a thermometer check of that

48:33who's interested?

48:34>> I guess I could first sounds like

48:37verbally sounds like there's interest in

48:39defining these three is like

48:41Is that correct?

48:42>> Yeah.

48:43>> Okay. Okay. Then yeah, I think we should

48:46>> Okay.

48:47Hands up for buildings and energy. Who's

48:49potentially interested?

48:51Oh, okay. So that could be

48:54four.

48:55>> Could I

48:55imagine a lot of people Yeah.

48:57Okay.

48:59>> Um okay. And then engagement and

49:02outreach.

49:05>> I'll I'll fill in the blank.

49:07So yeah.

49:08>> Okay. And then accountability and data.

49:14So then we're missing how many

49:16>> I think four commissioners

49:19Rio Rio

49:21Rio

49:21>> Yeah.

49:22Four. I'm missing four.

49:24>> And there's another commissioner who is

49:26really interested in taxi

49:27>> concurrence

49:28>> Um who's interested

49:30in wanting to list this.

49:36I'm trying to blank right now.

49:39But it does seem like there's a spread

49:40of interest.

49:42>> If all those others who aren't here are

49:44into buildings and energy, I guess the

49:47question then is if anyone who is

49:50want to do building and energy like only

49:51somewhat leaning that way and would jump

49:53to another or we split the building and

49:56energy into like groups of either like

49:58but you know

49:59utility

50:01>> Yep.

50:01>> L

50:03L things are larger I don't know how to

50:05split it but like yeah then we might

50:07have four

50:08groups I guess.

50:10>> Maybe.

50:10>> Or they could be sub they could be

50:12subcommittees of the committees.

50:14>> Yeah.

50:14>> As long as the committee doesn't meet as

50:15a whole.

50:16>> Right.

50:17>> [laughter]

50:18>> At which point you might as well

50:22Yeah.

50:23>> I think this intuitively that is

50:27easier framework to

50:29manage.

50:30>> Yeah. Yeah because I feel like building

50:32and energy is very vast

50:34>> Yeah.

50:34>> in terms of the spectrum.

50:37We can make a form with people that put

50:41in their top the grant their preferences

50:43one, two, three

50:45and then

50:47try to assign people their one and then

50:49ask people they'd be willing to go to

50:50their two if we're finding some

50:53I think that keeps on great

50:55work yeah that works. I guess we can do

50:56like an offline

50:58thing to manage this.

51:00>> Or you can do a poll.

51:01>> You can do a poll.

51:02>> Okay.

51:03>> Okay. I suppose there's no sort of back

51:04and forth.

51:05>> Okay.

51:12To be clear seven is a quorum right but

51:14even with 12 you need a majority.

51:18>> Um we have 12 sworn in commissioners

51:19right now not 13. Um

51:23so

51:23>> So could six people meet together or has

51:26to be

51:26>> I think it has to be five.

51:29>> I don't yeah I don't actually

51:31>> Because six isn't a majority it's

51:33it's 50% I guess.

51:36Yeah I

51:38I'd have to double check but

51:40I feel like the safe side is is five but

51:43we can we can make sure if we're

51:45>> Yeah.

51:45>> going to be on the line.

51:52Great.

51:56Anyone else have anything to say on that

51:58item? Do we need to vote on the

52:01committee?

52:03>> We didn't know what we said, Brad. But I

52:05mean, are people comfortable do that

52:07now? I know there

52:09four people are not here.

52:10>> I mean, I think we have quorum, so I

52:12think like I feel like a baseline rule

52:14is like don't put off a vote

52:17and have a group here, so I think that

52:19makes sense to kind of like vote on

52:21those as like

52:23uh

52:23potential committees kind of pending the

52:26the spread of interest um

52:28that you hope you'll get.

52:30>> I just move to establish those

52:32committees.

52:33>> Sorry. Do we do we need Do we need full

52:36drawn out language on that?

52:37>> Oh, sorry. I don't know.

52:39>> Uh

52:39I I don't know either, but you know, the

52:41problem

52:41>> Um maybe maybe we could say it a little

52:43bit more. Yeah, like the establish the

52:45committees like as um presented in the

52:48meeting materials.

52:49>> Maybe maybe call them ad hoc committees

52:51just so that they're covered.

52:53>> Move to establish the ad hoc the three

52:55ad hoc committees as presented in the

52:58meeting material.

52:59>> All right, that works.

53:00>> [laughter]

53:04>> Great. All those in favor?

53:05>> Aye.

53:07>> Great.

53:08>> Thank you so much.

53:09>> Yeah, thank you.

53:11>> Yeah. Can I ask so if that poll does go

53:13out and we can determine that good both

53:17ad hoc committees are to meet before the

53:20next commission meeting? Or is that too

53:23too

53:24I'm not sure people

53:27>> It's a month. I mean, I think that's

53:28Yeah.

53:30I was like

53:30>> It'd be great if we did.

53:31>> Yeah. I think so, too. Yeah.

53:33>> Can you get the form out by Friday?

53:34>> Yeah.

53:35>> But okay.

53:38>> Maybe there should be a prompt or two

53:40about what we want to talk about in our

53:43community meetings. Just want to get to

53:45know each other and what are we

53:46interested in. That could be it if

53:48anyone wants

53:50>> Um

53:51So, the ordinance reads a quorum of the

53:55commission shall be a simple majority of

53:57the members serving on commission.

53:59So, that would That says to me that six

54:02people is not a majority, so.

54:03>> Right.

54:06Yeah.

54:08So, no more than five.

54:09part of the public meeting.

54:11>> Is that you're going to

54:13>> No, he's saying he's saying

54:14>> quorum is seven.

54:15>> A quorum would be a simple majority,

54:18which would be seven because six is not

54:20a majority, so.

54:21>> 50%

54:22>> 50% Yeah.

54:23>> Yeah, okay.

54:24>> [laughter]

54:31>> Okay.

54:33Anything else on that agenda item?

54:36>> Are ex-officio members counted as uh

54:39part of the commission in in terms of

54:41quorum?

54:41>> Not counted for quorum.

54:50Okay.

54:51Um so, we can move on to the next agenda

54:53item, which is the um CAC officer

54:56elections.

54:58Um so,

55:00uh

55:00I've talked about this the last couple

55:02meetings, I sent out some emails. So,

55:04basically we were doing kind of a

55:06self-nomination process for people who

55:08were interested in officer positions. Um

55:10currently we're looking at a chair, a

55:13vice chair, and a clerk cuz those are

55:15the positions that I think the ordinance

55:17only requires a chair, but the other

55:20positions be found to be very useful. Um

55:22I think I'll just do a little plug that

55:24like in your bylaws or if in the future

55:27you would like other officer positions

55:29that you think would be useful, um we

55:31can hold elections for other positions.

55:33So, just like keep that in mind.

55:35Um

55:36So, uh we got a couple of

55:38self-nominations.

55:41We had

55:43Larry

55:44for the clerk position.

55:49>> [laughter]

55:51>> And then Rebecca filled for the vice

55:55chair position. We did not get any

55:59nominations or self-nominations for

56:01clerk.

56:02>> [clears throat]

56:03>> So,

56:04I think maybe let's talk about the the

56:07chair and the vice chair positions first

56:09and then I have a few things to say

56:10about the clerk position.

56:13But I guess I'll I'll ask if there's

56:14anybody else who would like to to

56:16self-nominate for these positions.

56:19If not, then we can go ahead and take

56:20votes.

56:26Great. Is there a motion to elect Larry

56:30as chair of the Climate Action

56:32Commission?

56:33I

56:34>> So.

56:34>> I second that.

56:38>> [laughter]

56:38>> And a second?

56:39>> Second.

56:40>> Okay. Great. All those in favor of

56:42electing Larry as chair of the CAC?

56:45>> I.

56:47>> Thank you all.

56:51>> [laughter]

56:52>> Okay, and is there a motion to elect

56:55Rebecca Phillip as vice chair of the

56:57Climate Action Commission?

56:59>> So.

56:59>> Yeah.

57:00>> Thank you.

57:00And a second?

57:01>> Second.

57:02>> Okay. All those in favor?

57:03>> I.

57:04>> Great. Congratulations.

57:06>> Thank you.

57:11>> I will say for those positions, this is

57:13another thing that the bylaws would be

57:15useful for because they don't say how

57:18long people serve in these positions or

57:20when elections will be held.

57:23And I think that's useful for people.

57:25Thank you very much for generously

57:27serving on these positions that don't

57:28have an end date, but they probably

57:29should so that you feel more

57:30comfortable.

57:32So, like whether that's like at the

57:34beginning of the calendar year or one

57:36year from starting or if you want to

57:38stagger the officer positions. Those are

57:40things you could think about how it

57:42would be best to handle them.

57:45Um

57:46great.

57:48Um

57:49I wanted to talk about the clerk

57:51position. I think people like in the

57:54past the clerk position has taken a lot

57:57of the meeting minutes and

57:59the as we envision it again it's not

58:02like defined anywhere.

58:04Um but like the clerk would be the

58:05person who assigns someone to take

58:07meeting minutes and just kind of make

58:09sure that duty is done. Um

58:12if someone doesn't step into that

58:13position how I'm envisioning it is that

58:17I will just ask a different person each

58:19month to take meeting minutes cuz it's

58:21then you will take it about once a year

58:23cuz there's 13

58:24commissioners.

58:26Um

58:26I think that there's probably other

58:28duties that it could be helpful to have

58:30a clerk for. They're kind of like third

58:32in line if like the chair or the vice

58:34chair can't help with something then the

58:36clerk kind of like steps into that role.

58:37So

58:38I think it's fine if we want to do it

58:40like ad hoc for now but um I would just

58:43keep that in mind that it may be useful

58:45to have a clerk um

58:47and

58:49we can revisit that as needed.

58:50>> I'll just I'll add to that that um the

58:53way other commissions work is that that

58:54clerk essentially does what Kate just

58:56described and rotates the minute taking

59:00around so that the clerks are gen- for

59:03some for other commissions clerks don't

59:04don't take the minutes every time. They

59:05just make sure that there is somebody

59:07who's taking the minutes.

59:08Uh they know how to file it with

59:11with whoever with Kate I guess.

59:13>> [laughter]

59:13>> Yeah. And I think the clerk it's

59:15helpful.

59:17Um I know Alexa in her position last

59:19time was also like keeping a good eye on

59:21the agenda and if we were like spending

59:23a lot of time on things might be like

59:24it's time to move on to the next agenda

59:26item. It could be helpful to have

59:27someone like bringing that level of

59:29accountability to the group, too. So,

59:32um I think there

59:34different functions and roles that

59:35position can play for the

59:36>> For the record, I will say into the

59:38microphone, the last time we were

59:39looking for a clerk, Alexis was not

59:41present at the meeting.

59:43We nominated her. So, Alexis, we are not

59:45doing that again.

59:46>> [laughter]

59:53[laughter]

59:55>> Um is there any other discussion on um

59:58officer positions?

1:00:04Great. Okay. Perfect. Um

1:00:08Well, that moved very quickly, um which

1:00:10means we have lots of time to discuss

1:00:11preparation for the November meeting. Um

1:00:15uh so, that will be the second Tuesday

1:00:17of the month, which is November 10th. Um

1:00:20I'm planning on 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. It

1:00:22seems like this time works relatively

1:00:24well for people. Um uh

1:00:27as I mentioned to a few people before

1:00:29the meeting, um

1:00:31we may be in the Tufts Administration

1:00:33Building, which is over in Davis Square.

1:00:35Um the Sustainability and Environment

1:00:36Office is moving offices, scheduled for

1:00:40November 5th, so we'll be over there. Um

1:00:43I'm not really sure what the meeting

1:00:45space will be like, so if you could sit

1:00:47tight, I will um get back to you on

1:00:48this.

1:00:49>> One thing, if the space that we've had

1:00:51it before, I know Monte, you you've

1:00:53noted that you have hearing loss issues.

1:00:55I do, too, and I can't hear in that room

1:00:58at all. There's a fan that goes on and

1:01:00off the whole time, and it's makes the

1:01:02meeting really hard. Yeah, so if it's in

1:01:04that building, if there's another space,

1:01:06if not, if it's possible to just hold it

1:01:08here.

1:01:08>> Mhm. I mean, it actually gets kind of

1:01:09loud in the summer with the air

1:01:11conditioning, but it's not as bad.

1:01:13>> bad.

1:01:13>> Yeah.

1:01:13>> Yeah. No, thank you for raising that. I

1:01:15um remember that people have said that

1:01:17last time, and even for people online,

1:01:19it's hard to hear. Um I don't know if

1:01:21there's another like accessible space

1:01:23that we will have access to in the tab.

1:01:25So, I'm going to have to figure that out

1:01:27and if it's not an option then

1:01:28>> You should be able to to still have this

1:01:30as a place to reserve if it's possible.

1:01:33>> Okay.

1:01:33>> Um, cuz I know I've I've had meetings at

1:01:35like [clears throat] City Hall on the

1:01:36third floor and then we've met at the

1:01:38VNA and like with the same permission

1:01:41before.

1:01:41>> Yeah.

1:01:42Yeah. Um, I guess like

1:01:44is this space

1:01:46comfortable for people if we're able to

1:01:48keep meeting here? Um,

1:01:50We'll find out.

1:01:52I will keep everybody updated. Okay.

1:01:56Um, okay, that's

1:01:58basic logistics, but I think this agenda

1:02:00item is like also to discuss um,

1:02:03what we would like to do with that

1:02:04November meeting. So, um,

1:02:06I will

1:02:08open the floor for that.

1:02:11>> Well, if there's potential for for each

1:02:13of the subcommittees to meet beforehand,

1:02:16then maybe what we could do is report

1:02:19you know, what we've discussed

1:02:21at that meeting as part of it.

1:02:27>> I will put my monthly plug in and I know

1:02:29it might not happen next month, but at

1:02:30some point in the near future to do the

1:02:32school decarbonization update from the

1:02:34city and you know, there's a lot of

1:02:36plans underway.

1:02:37Um, so I'm just going to say it now in

1:02:39case it's ready and if not I understand

1:02:41it might be.

1:02:42>> Yeah. I'll let you know.

1:02:43>> I will pass that along. Okay, thanks.

1:02:48>> I really appreciated the 20 minute

1:02:50>> update.

1:02:50>> Yeah, like period. Um,

1:02:52>> And we can see, you know, maybe if once

1:02:53we get in the projects we'll be like we

1:02:55can't do updates, we got to get into it.

1:02:57But for now I think uh, it sort of sort

1:03:00of well to know what how we're we're

1:03:01going to clue into and the things we can

1:03:02visit for each other. So,

1:03:0420 minutes about it. So,

1:03:09>> If the groups have met before the next

1:03:12meeting, an update will be good and also

1:03:16perhaps the groups might name if there's

1:03:18anything they want to discuss at the

1:03:19meeting, like any questions they want to

1:03:21pose to the committee. I'm just thinking

1:03:23like

1:03:24I can give like a 2-minute update on

1:03:26what that meeting was, but it might be

1:03:28more useful then to get some input from

1:03:31others on like here's where we're

1:03:32thinking we're going for some projects.

1:03:34Does anyone know more about this or

1:03:37whatever?

1:03:38Um

1:03:40Not that that first meeting needs to

1:03:41solve everything, but might generate

1:03:43some ideas for the

1:03:47>> And would you how you would need those a

1:03:49week in advance if we if our

1:03:51subcommittees had questions that we

1:03:52wanted to flag with the group?

1:03:54>> Yeah, so I how it works is um the

1:03:57agendas need to be posted um 48 hours

1:04:00before the meeting. Um so I guess like

1:04:03if it rises to the level of like you

1:04:06want the specifics on the meeting

1:04:07agenda, like I need that like

1:04:09to be safe like 3 days in advance before

1:04:12the meeting. Um if it's like you have a

1:04:14general agenda item, but you have

1:04:16there's like more specifics that you

1:04:18want to discuss as a group, um

1:04:20I mean I'd need that.

1:04:21>> Okay, as far as So we could just book

1:04:23subcommittee share out stuff. Yeah,

1:04:25okay.

1:04:27>> You could book that and then fill in the

1:04:28details before even 3 days before that.

1:04:30Remember to do that.

1:04:31>> Yeah, I would say like subcommittee

1:04:33[clears throat] report out will have to

1:04:34be more specific um on the agendas than

1:04:38that. Um

1:04:39I think this first time like if there's

1:04:41not anything super substantive that you

1:04:43want to talk about and it is more just

1:04:44like we met and we

1:04:47got to know each other a little bit and

1:04:49our interests like

1:04:50it can be a little bit more general on

1:04:51the agenda, but in the future

1:04:54if there's like specific things. Yeah.

1:04:56>> And I I like the questions idea of like

1:04:59asking the group. I think maybe general

1:05:02questions is what they might yeah, think

1:05:04about certain ideas that the group

1:05:06discussed. I think that that could

1:05:08>> Quick So we'd have to be more specific

1:05:10about like what questions we might ask

1:05:12the group or or

1:05:14>> I think the I think the I think each

1:05:16committee should think about designing

1:05:18its time together. So, maybe we'll carve

1:05:20like 15-20 minutes for each subcommittee

1:05:22and like if they come to the point where

1:05:24like, "Oh, we have some things we want

1:05:26to report out on." Then but you know,

1:05:29then that's it and we're still getting

1:05:30organized and that's that's fine, too. I

1:05:32don't want to put too much pressure on

1:05:34our folks.

1:05:35>> Okay.

1:05:37>> I get the sense from prior

1:05:40um

1:05:40these commission meetings and those that

1:05:42we've had thus far that like we do a lot

1:05:43whole group conversations. I wonder to

1:05:46what extent is it appropriate and might

1:05:48be useful to sometimes have like small

1:05:50group discussions. You can imagine like

1:05:51a jigsaw of the three committees where

1:05:54like a person from each of them meets

1:05:56together like during this time and talks

1:05:58about what you're talking about. I'm

1:05:59just thinking about like ways that can

1:06:02also make this more engaging for more

1:06:04people, give more people opportunities

1:06:06to speak and

1:06:07uh and hear in in smaller groups at

1:06:09times. Um but I know we've also got like

1:06:12people on Zoom and

1:06:13attendees and members of the public.

1:06:15There's meeting minutes that need to be

1:06:17recorded. So, is that something we can

1:06:20do?

1:06:21>> Yeah, I

1:06:22It's hard cuz it's like I don't want to

1:06:24keep being like, you know, public

1:06:25meeting law, but like it is hard to do

1:06:29those like breakout groups and like

1:06:31comply with public meeting law. So,

1:06:32these monthly meetings really do have to

1:06:35be like

1:06:36everyone has to be together so that we

1:06:38can like take meeting minutes on like

1:06:39what's happening

1:06:41as a group. And so,

1:06:44I think like the subcommittees will

1:06:46really be like where conversations can

1:06:47happen and then this is going to have to

1:06:49be like a report out.

1:06:51>> Okay.

1:06:51>> Yeah. [clears throat]

1:06:52>> Yeah, I do imagine those subcommittees

1:06:53though being an opportunity for those

1:06:55kinds of

1:06:56work kind of engagement and and it's

1:06:59um we are we are uh we can of course be

1:07:01fluid with subcommittees, too. Like just

1:07:03because you're you're officially on one

1:07:05subcommittee doesn't mean you can't

1:07:06attend another sub committee meeting as

1:07:08long as you don't receive quorum. So,

1:07:11just you know, like

1:07:12but don't feel too constrained as well,

1:07:15I think.

1:07:17>> And I think we can look for the ways for

1:07:18people to engage. I probably not in

1:07:20November, but I thought our activity

1:07:22where everyone was putting up ideas and

1:07:25and voting was a a great way to get a

1:07:26lot of voices in the room in 30 minutes.

1:07:29Um, so I could see down the line like

1:07:31the committees like you know, these are

1:07:33the three projects and and people are

1:07:35putting stickies with their ideas of you

1:07:37know, things like that. Um, I wanted to

1:07:39maybe circle back to the some of those

1:07:41full like full commission activity ideas

1:07:43that we had put up at the end of our to

1:07:45see if any of those would make sense

1:07:47for November. And then the only other

1:07:49thought I had was

1:07:50if we want I guess we have a few people

1:07:53try to write some bylaws, but that could

1:07:55also be a longer activity. Um,

1:07:58Well, I think we're we're going to do

1:08:00the membership offline. Um, the sub

1:08:02committee meetings we can we can see

1:08:04that so maybe number but maybe number

1:08:06two might be a bit early. It could also

1:08:08be a good time to do something like that

1:08:10to say we do want to start

1:08:13even if it's just like buildings and

1:08:14energy next time. We want to think about

1:08:16all the the players that we're we're

1:08:18thinking about who could do this for or

1:08:20other commissions etc.

1:08:21Um,

1:08:22otherwise I think cuz we're early in

1:08:26um, the resident mapping could be a good

1:08:28one cuz I think strength strengths

1:08:29mapping sounds like it's something

1:08:30that's going to come out in the um,

1:08:32committee meetings. We could all get to

1:08:35know each other um, to an extent at

1:08:37least. So, wanted to toss those ideas

1:08:40out there of things that are more maybe

1:08:42foundational to our work that could be

1:08:45something we we tackle next time.

1:08:48>> One more I'll throw out there I think is

1:08:50like a full commission thing um, that

1:08:52people have volunteered from the city

1:08:54side that that could be useful at this

1:08:56point is like

1:08:58having a few more of a few more um,

1:09:00sustainability and environment staff

1:09:02people come who might be specifically

1:09:04relevant to some of these subcommittees.

1:09:06So, like um like Emily Sullivan is our

1:09:09climate change program manager. I

1:09:10imagine she would be like in terms of

1:09:13the accountability and data subcommittee

1:09:14because she's like manages the dashboard

1:09:16that's online. So, like I feel like

1:09:18having those initial conversations with

1:09:20some staff people might help orient

1:09:23some projects and things. And then like

1:09:25outreach and engagement, obviously Naomi

1:09:27Gross is our community engagement

1:09:28specialist. Buildings and energy, we

1:09:31have Garrett Anderson who's our energy

1:09:33manager who does like municipal building

1:09:35decarbonization, energy efficiency. And

1:09:37then Shannon Taylor is our energy

1:09:38advisor who does more like the

1:09:40residential coaching aspect. But like

1:09:43I can't promise all five four of those

1:09:46people are available, but like maybe we

1:09:48could start to have a couple of them

1:09:50come to future meetings to And And also

1:09:53maybe that's more useful though like for

1:09:55a subcommittee to meet offline with

1:09:56them. But want to put that out there

1:10:00>> Did Did Stephen mention that

1:10:03Somerville was part of what's happening

1:10:05with district geothermal in Boston? Is

1:10:09that right?

1:10:09>> Yeah, the Boston project.

1:10:12We're like

1:10:14I don't I wouldn't I don't have know

1:10:15exactly how to like uh

1:10:17characterize our involvement, but we

1:10:19like go to the events and we are like

1:10:21looped in to that work that's being done

1:10:23there.

1:10:24>> Yeah, I just wasn't sure if there was

1:10:25any kind of crossover with what

1:10:27Somerville is thinking about like what

1:10:29you know, your office is thinking about

1:10:31versus

1:10:32a subcommittee. Um that's all.

1:10:36>> Um regarding the the partner mapping, it

1:10:40strikes me that that's that's something

1:10:41that perhaps the the engagement and

1:10:43outreach

1:10:45committee could start and get further

1:10:47input from from the other committees,

1:10:49right? So

1:10:50>> That's true. Even like structuring it or

1:10:52like something like what Kate did

1:10:54before.

1:10:54>> Yeah, that's a great point.

1:11:02Maybe it's too early for November then,

1:11:05but if

1:11:05>> It might feel a little bit early for

1:11:06November, right?

1:11:08>> What about the strength snapping? That

1:11:09feels like an early.

1:11:11>> Yeah.

1:11:11>> Yeah.

1:11:12>> Yeah.

1:11:12>> Yeah. I Maybe maybe that could be part

1:11:14of the share always like each of the

1:11:17members of the sub committee like share

1:11:19their their strengths that they would

1:11:21discuss as part of that sub committee. I

1:11:23don't know.

1:11:24And how it relates to what they're

1:11:25interested in and why they're interested

1:11:27in the sub committee. We need that could

1:11:28be

1:11:29and then share.

1:11:34>> Do we have like a

1:11:35template for how we're thinking about

1:11:37strength mapping in a consistent way

1:11:39across cuz you know, like I'm good at

1:11:41math. Like probably isn't

1:11:43>> [laughter]

1:11:45>> I mean, I I

1:11:47do have some ideas of things I've used

1:11:48in the past. Um I'm trying to think of

1:11:51make sure that this is one that's free,

1:11:53but I think this actually came out of

1:11:56the discussion at the end which was sort

1:11:58of um

1:11:59>> Yeah.

1:11:59>> more of a nebulous one like what's the

1:12:01purpose? What does success look like?

1:12:03What are we each bringing to this? Like

1:12:05almost of the motivations. So this was

1:12:06an attempt to kind of try to capture

1:12:08that in some way, shape or form. I'm

1:12:10very open.

1:12:12Um

1:12:14There is you know, there are like very

1:12:16classic like this is my MBTI profile,

1:12:19which is like one way that people kind

1:12:21of think about these things about how

1:12:22they relate to other people. Um I can

1:12:24definitely

1:12:25uh put a list of some other ones

1:12:27together and email them out. I'll just I

1:12:28will have to think about it cuz a lot of

1:12:30these often have like a cost that is an

1:12:32assessment versus

1:12:34um where more like self

1:12:35>> Yeah.

1:12:36>> assessing.

1:12:37Um

1:12:38but it's it's a great point that I think

1:12:40just open-ended may not be super

1:12:42helpful. So

1:12:44uh

1:12:44if if we want to do this one, I I'm

1:12:46definitely happy to think about like

1:12:48some ideas for how we can structure it.

1:12:50>> I can also double check. I also did an

1:12:52activity in the past where it's a deck

1:12:54of cards that you pass around that have

1:12:56There's like 50 different strengths and

1:12:58you pick your three to five that

1:13:00resonate the most with you. So, I can

1:13:02double check if it is a digital version

1:13:04of that that subcommittees could do

1:13:06together.

1:13:07>> But is that is that specific to like

1:13:10I'm just wondering I'm just clarifying

1:13:12like is like your personality strengths

1:13:15or is it like specific to your

1:13:17background like in

1:13:20So, your experience

1:13:21>> your your spirit yeah, your specific

1:13:24areas of expertise.

1:13:26>> Like I guess

1:13:27I was just wondering what do we mean by

1:13:29strengths?

1:13:30>> Yeah, that's a good point because maybe

1:13:31it needs to be general strengths plus

1:13:34expertise background interest knowledge.

1:13:37>> Yeah, that's that might connect the dots

1:13:40a little bit more in the subcommittees

1:13:42potentially.

1:13:43>> Yeah.

1:13:47So, maybe not November or we need to do

1:13:49it

1:13:51>> For November we can think through how an

1:13:54activity like that would work.

1:13:55I think for Sorry.

1:13:57>> Oh, no. Please.

1:13:58>> For for the resident mapping one that

1:14:00one could be a little more similar to

1:14:01what we did in the last full group

1:14:04workshop where we had

1:14:06those big pieces of paper with you know

1:14:09community space, parks, libraries and

1:14:11people could put specific examples on

1:14:13sticky notes of of places that they know

1:14:15that people gather or where people get

1:14:17information from.

1:14:20>> On the first one that about committees

1:14:22and I said leadership, when you do the

1:14:25poll, I was thinking perhaps have a spot

1:14:27where people say and I'm willing to lead

1:14:29that.

1:14:30>> Yeah.

1:14:30>> Absolutely.

1:14:31>> Yep.

1:14:32>> So, you know in advance.

1:14:41>> Um I'm happy to take back the strength

1:14:43mapping one to my office and see if we

1:14:45can do something that would be useful.

1:14:48>> That means you.

1:14:49>> Yeah.

1:14:51I think one thing that again on the

1:14:53public meeting thing

1:14:56when we think about the meeting format

1:14:58if we're going to be hybrid it has to be

1:14:59something that's like able to be both in

1:15:01person and accessible to people online.

1:15:04Um

1:15:05so

1:15:06or we can just have an in-person meeting

1:15:08if like those post poster boards are

1:15:10things that like it was only going to

1:15:12going to work for an in-person meeting.

1:15:14Um so if the default is hybrid if

1:15:16there's something that you want to do

1:15:17that's going to be like a activity then

1:15:19we should like make a decision for that

1:15:20meeting to just be in person.

1:15:22>> Mhm.

1:15:29>> Right. Another thing [clears throat] to

1:15:30mention potentially add to November

1:15:32agenda. I think it came up last meeting

1:15:34but having 5 to 10 minutes at the

1:15:36beginning where members of the public

1:15:38who sign in could

1:15:40give a public comment or just story

1:15:42tell, share a priority or a perspective.

1:15:48>> Yes. And maybe we like if it

1:15:50if we tend to see a lot of guests maybe

1:15:52that could be a an outstanding 5 minutes

1:15:54at the first 5 minutes.

1:15:56>> Can I ask more specifically like how you

1:15:58would characterize that? Is it like a

1:16:02like a climate concern or like something

1:16:04they're looking for help with or is it

1:16:06or does it fit under the like shared

1:16:09activity resource kind of agenda item or

1:16:11do you see that as like a separate

1:16:12thing?

1:16:14>> I see it as a little separate. I'm I'm

1:16:16thinking like of public comments before

1:16:19the current meetings that I've been to

1:16:21where it's just peo- people get 3

1:16:23minutes to kind of say anything that's

1:16:26on their mind that generally relates to

1:16:28the purpose of the

1:16:30>> [clears throat]

1:16:31>> commission or the meeting. Are we

1:16:33allowed to be that broad in the

1:16:35agenda?

1:16:36>> I think you typically have the public

1:16:38comment associated with

1:16:41some type of agenda item.

1:16:42Um so I think like other commissioners

1:16:44didn't hold up like

1:16:46like

1:16:47um

1:16:48like if it was related to like concerns

1:16:50about

1:16:52mobility issues in Somerville or

1:16:54something, like you could ask for public

1:16:55comment on that, but I don't know about

1:16:57like just a general public comment.

1:16:59>> Well, in other commissions, like the

1:17:01city council, opens up the meetings with

1:17:03public comment, and that's the only

1:17:04point in time that the public comment on

1:17:06anything they want on the agenda or not.

1:17:09>> Okay.

1:17:09>> But here, what we've done we've done in

1:17:11the past is the public introduces

1:17:13themselves, and then with every agenda

1:17:15item at the end it's a public comment on

1:17:18that agenda item, and I have found that

1:17:20to be a much more inclusive

1:17:22format that I I've liked. I don't know

1:17:24how others have felt cuz it keeps people

1:17:27engaged and almost like

1:17:29levels the playing field where the part

1:17:32people are part of the conversation, not

1:17:33just like

1:17:35the first who get to speak these things.

1:17:37>> That would be one way to link it with

1:17:38the agenda.

1:17:40>> Yeah.

1:17:41>> But I I just remember at our last

1:17:43meeting uh there was a woman um

1:17:47who attended, and after um after our

1:17:50meeting was over

1:17:52I asked her what brought her

1:17:54how come she wanted to be at the

1:17:55meeting. And she said something about um

1:17:58she felt that

1:18:00uh the older our older population was

1:18:04not being well represented, or their

1:18:07interests were not being um

1:18:10brought into the conversation.

1:18:11>> Mhm.

1:18:12>> And that's not something that fits

1:18:13really with any one agenda item. This is

1:18:16a broad con- concern, but

1:18:18>> Mhm.

1:18:18>> it's not even just the climate concern.

1:18:22So I I would like to make sure that we

1:18:25offer an opportunity that's sort of

1:18:28not narrowly defined.

1:18:30>> Right. If the public is here, I think we

1:18:32should give them an opportunity, and

1:18:34whether it's specific to an agenda item

1:18:36or it's specific to not feeling

1:18:38representative I I feel as though that

1:18:41is important and that also feeds into I

1:18:44think aspects of you know the engagement

1:18:48in terms of that topic too. So it feels

1:18:51I agree.

1:18:54>> I think maybe that's it to you for me to

1:18:56talk to the like city clerk and see like

1:18:58if we can have like that open public

1:19:01comment at the beginning and then

1:19:02according to your point like also

1:19:04concluding it as

1:19:05>> And I would actually

1:19:06personally would vote to not have it

1:19:08just at the beginning it take it could

1:19:10take over a meeting.

1:19:12Instead of having a big conversational

1:19:13so I really like the way that it's been.

1:19:16I don't know what do you have been on

1:19:17and I remember hearing you quite a few

1:19:19times on

1:19:20>> [laughter]

1:19:20>> in in a positive way you brought things

1:19:22to the conversation.

1:19:25>> I wasn't surprised when you were here

1:19:27cuz you were actively involved and I

1:19:29want you won't necessarily get that in

1:19:30the same way if it's just one person

1:19:32that has three minutes at the front. So

1:19:34I if we can give the way that I would

1:19:36say personally I don't

1:19:38the same way that the way we've been

1:19:40doing it works I'd love to keep it that

1:19:42way.

1:19:44>> Maybe this is agenda item for next the

1:19:46next month though to continue the

1:19:48conversation about how we'd like to do

1:19:50public comment. I think there's also

1:19:51something to be said for like

1:19:54commissioner or like commissioners

1:19:55representing public's interest like if

1:19:57you have the opportunity to speak to

1:19:58someone outside of meeting and then put

1:20:00it put that as an agenda item is

1:20:02something that the commission can

1:20:05>> Yeah speaking of which we probably

1:20:06should give the public

1:20:08to speak.

1:20:10>> Yes

1:20:12I guess I will ask if there's anybody

1:20:13online who wants to say anything about

1:20:16the agenda item preparation for the

1:20:18November meeting if there's anything

1:20:19that you think we should discuss at our

1:20:21next climate

1:20:23commission meeting or in the room.

1:20:27Feel free to raise your hand.

1:20:34Okay.

1:20:35>> While while we're thinking about that,

1:20:36just um

1:20:38you know,

1:20:39point of information in the

1:20:41in the olden days,

1:20:43um

1:20:44we would have some ad hoc committees

1:20:46that were not just commission members

1:20:48and they would

1:20:49include members of the public as well

1:20:51who were

1:20:52getting engaged. And so like that is an

1:20:54option

1:20:56uh if we want to go that way. And I I

1:20:58can imagine, you know, that I can

1:21:00particularly imagine engagement and

1:21:01outreach could be a a much bigger

1:21:03thing and

1:21:04then you know, building that area could

1:21:05bring in expertise etc. So

1:21:08>> Yeah, I was I was actually wondering

1:21:10about that. Could we invite like someone

1:21:12to speak? Like outside the

1:21:14Okay.

1:21:16>> Yeah.

1:21:19Who can come in and present on the

1:21:21thermal program or

1:21:23something like that.

1:21:26>> Okay.

1:21:27Okay.

1:21:28Um can I have someone move to adjourn

1:21:30the meeting?

1:21:31>> So moved.

1:21:33>> And is there a second?

1:21:35>> Second.

1:21:35>> Okay. Before before you take the vote,

1:21:38just as we discussed this and I just

1:21:40want to put out there um

1:21:42like thank you. I'm honored

1:21:44and I will probably try to schedule some

1:21:48one-on-ones with folks or actually maybe

1:21:50two one-on-ones because I think we're

1:21:50going to join as well

1:21:52just to sort of like understand what

1:21:54brings you to the table a little bit

1:21:55more and how to

1:21:57engage everybody. So that's that

1:21:58probably

1:21:59I mean I don't know schedule is

1:22:01scheduling is a challenge so I don't

1:22:02know how I'm going to

1:22:04do this but that's my intention to do

1:22:05that.

1:22:06From now through the end of the year.

1:22:08Um and I'm also

1:22:10also seeing right now the thought that

1:22:13um

1:22:14we should meet in November. I don't know

1:22:16whether we'll meet in December because

1:22:17December gets a little crazy with our

1:22:20schedules anyway so it could be that we

1:22:22just take December to really

1:22:25to to maybe maybe get organized in your

1:22:27subcommittees but also like that might

1:22:29be a time when I might be sitting down

1:22:30with Y'allsco.

1:22:33Or we can meet in December. I want to

1:22:35You don't want to.

1:22:37>> Okay.

1:22:39Um all those in favor of adjourning the

1:22:41meeting?

1:22:43Okay, the meeting is adjourned at 7:58

1:22:46p.m. Thank you all.