Saugus energy group to dissolve

SAUGUS – The town’s Alternative Energy Committee has run out of steam, and Chairman Joanne Vannah suggested it might be time to disband.”Only because I feel we’ve met all the goals,” she said. “We’ve been serving for seven years.”Town Meeting established the Saugus Alternative Energy Committee in 2007 as an exploratory group. “It was introduced to be a short-term committee seven years ago,” she told meeting members Monday.Most members, including herself, Stephen Rich, Timothy Hawkes and Steven Pericola, have served all seven years.In 2010 the committee presented a plan to the Board of Selectmen to put up three 2-megawatt wind turbines along the abandoned highway bed that runs parallel to Route 107. Vannah said the committee had picked up an $85,000 grant to study wind feasibility, and committee members did their own intensive research regarding health concerns connected to such turbines.By 2013, the turbine project, while deemed feasible according to the study, was scuttled by the town. Vannah said the committee continued with the study only to complete it because it seemed foolish not to. At that point, however, the committee also turned its focus to solar energy.”The schools are the largest consumers of energy, particularly the high school,” she said Monday.But her real point in rising Monday was to discuss dissolving the committee, she said. Vannah said she didn’t feel comfortable raising the issue last year because it was still waiting for the completion of the feasibility study, but that is in. The results of the study can be viewed at http://www.saugus.com/images/PDFS/wind_feasibility_study_draft_report.pdf.Vannah said when, “not if but when,” the town becomes a green community – which means, among other things, reducing its energy output by 20 percent in five years – it will need a different SAEC. The town will need a board with engineers and environmental architects and such, she said.To that end, Vannah said she would like to present a motion to Town Meeting members to dissolve the current board.Town Moderator Steve Doherty said unfortunately that couldn’t happen because the issue was not on the town warrant. Articles requiring a vote of Town Meeting must be approved and placed in the warrant, which is distributed to meeting members two weeks in advance of the meeting.”It could be placed on for the next special, but we wouldn’t be able to act on this at this time,” he said.Vannah simply said, “Oh.”She said she spoke with several town officials prior to the meeting, and no one indicated the request would have to be on the warrant.”There was talk, but no one said for certain,” she said. “OK, well, the idea has been presented, so you can all start thinking about it.”