SHUTESBURY – The town’s Energy Committee, formed when ecology was a new idea, is gone. In December, Rita Farrell, chair of the Select Board, put an end to the 44-year-old body that had fallen into disuse.

“Do I hear a motion to dissolve the Energy Committee?” she asked the Select Board.

The first era of Shutesbury environmentalism was over. The next era began with a new committee, the Energy and Climate Action Committee, created by the board with more responsibilities and authority. Earlier in the Zoom meeting, Farrell had introduced the second draft of a document, the Overview and Charge of the new committee, that going forward will direct the town and residents in energy and climate matters.

The new committee has five mandates: recommend energy policy for the town; stay abreast of relevant news and best practices; rank the recommendations of the Hazard Mitigation and Municipal Vulnerability plans; recommend climate mitigation goals; and coordinate Shutesbury’s boards and committees to reduce town-wide energy consumption.

The new committee will also have more authority to poke around in the town’s activities. Operations where energy savings may be sought include built environments, transportation, land use, energy use, water, solid waste, infrastructure, and open space/forestry/agriculture. Committee members will be responsible for auditing town-wide energy use and reporting the results to the Select Board.

The new committee may bring renewed attention to environmental matters, since the previous committee had stagnated. According to Rebecca Torres, town coordinator, the Energy Committee hadn’t met in a number of years. Tasks assigned to the old committee were carried out by residents who were no longer on it.

“I was appointed to that committee a long time ago,” member Allen Hanson said. “A short time later everyone else quit. [But] I’d be willing to sit on the committee again.”

Farrell looked pleasantly surprised. She said, “The big challenge is implementation. Populating the [new] committee will be a challenge.”

Select Board member Eric Stocker agreed. “We can’t get people on the committees we already have,” he said. “The old one, which hasn’t met in years, is done. We’re turning a new leaf, with a broader charge, and I don’t think that’s a bad idea.”

Board member Melissa Makepeace-O’Neil had earlier voiced a hope that members of the old committee would serve on the new. “They do have some institutional knowledge that newcomers might not have.”
Members of the former committee achieved significant benefits for the town. Energy Committee members were instrumental in more fully exploiting grants available through the Green Communities program, which first opened about when the century turned. Their efforts resulted in town ownership of a solar array for power generation.

“What are we making in solar production in town?” Stocker asked. “What’s happening? We have these solar panels already, so what are they doing? ... That [solar production is something the committee can publicize. “

Resident Gail Fleischaker said she’d do the checking monthly and total the money saved.

“Having that sort of reporting is a good thing,” Farrell replied. “And not just to the Select Board.”
The board discussed how the new committee reports to town officials and residents. Torres told board members that she monitors Mass. Energy Insights, which tracks Shutesbury’s electrical usage, and summarizes the information in polished reports and graphics.

The board carefully discussed dissolving the Energy Committee, one of the oldest committees in Shutesbury government. Some of the gathered suggested leaving the Energy Committee as is and creating a new committee. Micheal DiChiara, former member of the Select Board and currently on the Planning Board, clarified the choice.

“It would be cleaner to disband the Energy Committee and vote to create this new committee,” DiChiara said. “The Energy Committee fizzled and this new committee is exciting because it’s a different charge, bigger. I don’t see any problem disbanding the old committee and creating a new one.”

Farrell had heard enough. “Do I hear a motion to create the Energy and Climate Action Committee?”
The motion passed unanimously. A new era of environmentalism in Shutesbury was underway. Farrell concluded the discussion with another appeal. “Stay tuned. We do need volunteers.”