Bainbridge Island Community Energy Task Force

Thursday, July 2, 2009, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Eagle Harbor Congregational Church

105 Winslow Way

Bainbridge Island, WA

1. Welcome and Introductions
Attending: Joe Deets, Community Energy Solutions, Doug Rauh, Neil Marck, Cato, Cathie Currie,
Hilary Franz, Tammy Deets, Community Energy Solutions, Irene Scher, Puget Sound Energy, Chris
McMasters, Cool Mom, Barb Zimmer, Transition Town, Linda Streissguth, Puget Sound Energy,
Gerlind Jenkner, Eric Rehm, Community Energy Solutions, Ross Hathaway, Stephen Douglass,
Community Energy Solutions, Bea Dixon
Review of Objectives:
Reduce Peak Load Demand
Increase Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Increase Reliability
Reduce Carbon Emissions
Educate the public
Develop local jobs.
Public Comment
Hilary?
Energy Efficiency Subgroup
Hilary Franz, provided an update ont eh technical subgroups. Energy Efficiency has met, looking at
actions and measures. At next meeting, will be making a more formal recommendation. XXX and
distributed generation are waiting for PSE representatives to be assigned to populate with numbers
and timing of potential measures.
Fourth of July Booth
Chris McMasters reviewed the plans for the Fourth of July group, and signups for staffing the booth
were adjusted. The booth will be # 38, close to the park behind T & C, to the west, near the Post
Office on Bjune Dr. Chris showed the banner. Tammy Deets noted that Ross West suggested that
Task Force members encourage their friends stop by the booth. Hilary noted that Mayor Chris Snow
will be stopping by, and recommended that everyone invite folks to stop by.
Flyer -- take-away; idea is to pique interest with banner, tent and information. Chris circulated two
versions of the flyer. Jaco ten Hove suggested the language, "Join your neighbors..." Sell the story
that this is the island's identity. Agreement that draft 2 is clearer in terms of message. Discussion of
whether "save money" is a good lead message. Discussion of whether CO2 is better than carbon;
whether "emissions" is good,. Preference for "Bainbridge Island citizens..." vs. "the campaign will..."
Agreement on:
Save energy. Save money.
Strengthen the local economy.
Reduce CO2 emissions.
"Bainbridge Island citizens..."
"All of us can be stewards in greening our economy and protecting our environment... "
"Join your neighbors and sign up today to stay informed..."
"We're taking a fresh look at our local energy use..."
Discussion of signup sheet: Agreement that the sheet should include name, phone and email
address.
Did you know board. Ideas for “FAQs”
A third of the energy consumed in America is used to heat water
We waste more energy than Japan uses
PSE's energy mix is 40% hydro, 30% coal, etc...
70% of energy is lost in transmission
95% of the energy in incandescent lights is lost in heat
We came close to overloading our electrical energy system four times last winter
When the temperature drops below 45 degrees, the island's energy use increases by XXXX
Linda Streissguth recommended that the more relevant the facts are to local issues and stats, the
better.
Activities at the booth:
Ideas:
Solar cookies
Wind generator from a boat?
Programmable thermostat which interviews you
Item from "Kid wind" box?
Solar water heater?
Donation jar
Ross Hathaway noted that Whatcom County and Bellingham are working on similar campaigns.
Hilary mentioned that Bainbridge and Bellingham are the two communities are being watched in the
region. The "buzz" is that Bainbridge's campaign is more holistic because we are trying to address
more of the issues and address the carbon issues. The detail with which Bainbridge is addressing
current use is more significant.
July 8 City Council meeting:
The Energy block grant idea will be presented to the City Council next Weds. This is a great
opportunity for the Task Force to come before the Council and introduce the program. "We are going
to need the Council's leadership and help to reach our goals for this community. We've launched on
July 4, the community knows, now we want our leadership to know."
Closing comments:
Tammy Deets suggested that during July it would be helpful for the group to meet in smaller working
group segments. Hilary noted that it would be helpful for the group to become clear about the specific
actions we are planning to take in implementing the challenge. The Energy Efficiency group is
meeting again next week and should be able to report for next week's full meeting