Arlington Energy Committee
Regular Meeting
Public Meeting, Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Meeting called to order at 6:35pm.
Present: Stephanie Moffett-Hynds, chair; Alexandra Ernst; Grace Katrick
Online: Joan Nash, vice-chair; Mardi Crane;
Alternates: Garret Siegel
Not present: Mary Anne Holmes, secretary; Bill Laberge
Guests:
1. Additions or Deletions from the agenda:
2. Approval of Minutes from previous meeting of September 2, 2026
Motion to approve:Grace; Joan seconded; Motion passes unanimously.
3. Old Business.
a. Report on September 15 BCRC Energy Committee Convergence: The BCRC’s Callie Fishburn facilitated the meeting. Steph, Joan, and Mary Ann Carlson attended, along with members of the Dorset, Manchester, and Sunderland energy committees. Each group reported on the projects they have been working on. Steph will share the list of recommendations made by the Sunderland Energy Committee which they provided to their town when they were updating their town plan, most of which were included in the final version.
Ford Young from VECAN gave an in-depth presentation on:
1. the 2028 Comprehensive Energy Plan: the annual progress report just published by the Energy Action Network (https://eanvt.org) of where Vermont stands relative to its climate commitments and energy goals. While Vermont had been making strides towards lowering its footprint, the trends have either stalled or reversed since the current administration stripped incentives and halted green energy development.
2. Legislative/policy updates
3. Upcoming VECAN initiatives and priorities
4. VECAN Tools and resources to support energy committees
Callie also alerted Steph that we still have funds from our MERP grant of 2024 that need to be spent before the end of the year. See below under “New Business.”
b. AEC Select Board attendance: Grace will attend on Nov 9 (Alex can be the alternate), Steph will attend on Nov. 23.
c. Update on WindowDressers: Only three weeks until the Northshire Community Build takes place at the First Congregational Church. Load-in is on October 22. Steph will send the committee more details on the needs and timing of that day’s work and will welcome anyone who can help with setting up the stations. The actual build is October 23-28. Anyone who can is also encouraged to sign up here to volunteer for a shift or make some food. And anyone who would like to help with the Southshire Community Build in Bennington the week before is kindly invited to sign up for Bennington WD build.
d. Town Plan and the energy chapter: Garret reported that the Planning Commission will be going over the preliminary responses to the survey on what community members want to see in it. He reported that 63 people had responded. Garret would welcome a list of items the AEC would like to see included. This is still the gathering stage. The writing phase has not started.
The AEC will be meeting with the Arlington Planning Commission to discuss the proposed energy chapter. Steph asked Garret to share it with the AEC ahead of time so that AEC members can attend the meeting having already prepared for it.
The plan is in the drafting period from November 2026 to March of 2027; public hearing in April; meeting with SB in May; and public comment June-August. Once finished, it moves on to the state to make sure everything has been covered legally (by the end of 2027).
e. Thermal Energy Network: Grace would be willing to attend a meeting with Debbie New and Marcus Jones. Steph has also approached Mary Anne Holmes to be a part of looking into this. She will put them all in touch for the next meeting.
f. Carbon Tracking Tool: Mardi and Joni will be working on getting the protocol together for others to use. More to follow. Mardi commented on what a beautiful job Joni had done on this.
4. New Business
a. MERP funds. Important deadline: the funds must be spent before the end of the year! The AEC would like to use the balance of $1,296.21 to purchase some thermal energy cameras for townspeople to check out to see where in their homes and businesses they are losing heat. Alex will do some research to see what models other towns are using and the protocol used for checking them out. She might check with VECAN and EfficiencyVT. Steph will contact Susan Paustian to see if one could be checked out from the Town Hall and with Kyrra at the library where another one could be checked out. The goal is to make these as accessible to residents as possible. She will also check in with Cynthia to get her help in purchasing these items as Cynthia is filling in as town administrator.
5. Other
a. Solar carport. Steph received arequest from a Jake Seeley from Kingdom Sun for Arlington to consider a solar carport for the town. She shared it with the AEC. Mardi reached out to Karen Lee to get her initial reaction to the inquiry. She responded, “…it looks legit. But the town would have to put up 100% of the project and get between 30-40% back after filing tax forms. I can do more research if you guys want but the project would require fundraising for the majority of the investment.” Jim Hand also noted that it would be a pricey project. The AEC discussed the proposal tonight. Many questioned Arlington’s need to build a covered parking lot. Joni suggested that it doesn’t have to cover a whole parking area but could be used in, say, the Rec. Park as coverage for equipment and some of the parking and in turn generate the electricity for the lights. Garret pointed out that the Rec. Park is in a floodplain and therefore difficult to build in. Joni will do a little more research into this kind of project. The AEC does encourage finding more places to incorporate solar, as long as it is practical and provides a return on its investment. Steph will respond to Mr. Seeley that we are between town managers and that the committee thinks it unlikely that the town would support this kind of initiative right now. But she will also indicate that we are adding it to our list of things to understand better and will keep his contact information on hand should we want to revisit this.
b. Katie Dixon steps down as Town Administrator: Cynthia Browning let the AEC know that Katie Dixon’s last day as town administrator was last Friday, October 2. The committee is very sorry to hear of her departure and has offered to help Cynthia in any way we can as she once again shoulders the responsibilities of the town administrator in the interim.
c. VT Climate Council report: Steph, as a member appointed to represent rural communities, attended the quarterly meeting on Monday, October 5. Presentations were made by several entities: The VT Dept. of Public Service, MassIncPollingGroup, UVM’s Climate Measurement Center of Excellence (CMeC), the Climate Action Office on Greenhouse Gas Inventory, and the Energy Action Network.
MassInc did a survey to find out what Vermonters are prioritizing right now, in terms of needs. While the survey found that the majority of respondents put addressing climate change low on the list after the need to address lack of housing; the cost of heating, food, and gas; and the future and cost of education, the issue was still important to the majority of Vermonters. The VTCC noted, however, that there seemed to be a disconnect between the issues and how the survey questions were worded. The VTCC questioned the framing because respondents pointed to a strong desire for help with weatherization and energy efficiencies such as heat pumps and hot water heat pumps, but didn’t connect that to addressing climate change. In other words, there wasn’t a connection between the state’s efforts to get off of fossil fuels (volatile pricing) and affordability, even as Vermonters face a very expensive heating winter. Still, no matter how the survey is interpreted, it is clear that most Vermonters are worried about affordability and simply don’t feel they have the personal funds to meet their needs and are not therefore likely to make costly upfront payments for efficiencies – even if they know that such investments would eventually save them money over time. This is a predicament that the VTCC understands well, as does the Scott administration, the legislature, and the AEC. This gets at the heart of why the conscientious work of energy committees (and select boards) to help their towns is so important and hard at the same time.
There was also a fascinating presentation by UVM’s Climate Measurement Center of Excellence which studies the changes in the state’s climate, the high costs of extreme weather events in Vermont, and how well (and not well) the state is doing in reaching its climate goals.
The Energy Action Network in the EAN annual progress report begins with key questions that guided its analysis in 2026 (Steph quoted from the following EAN language and wanted to include it verbatim in the minutes):
1. How does energy affect affordability?
2a. How can we use less energy while getting the same output?
2b. How do different energy choices compare on mining and
materials?
3. What degree of dependence vs. freedom do different energy
choices provide?
4. How do different energy choices affect the Vermont economy?
5. What are the most significant impacts on human health and the
environment of our current reliance on fossil fuels?
In this work, one challenge stands out. Energy costs — driven primarily
by inefficient equipment reliant on expensive and price-volatile fossil
fuels like gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, and propane — are a significant
contributor to unaffordability in Vermont.
With modern electric technology, from EVs to heat pump water heaters,
many Vermont households have the opportunity to achieve durable
energy affordability — paying lower costs month after month and over
the lifetime of their vehicles and heating equipment. If Vermonters remain
dependent on inefficient vehicles and equipment, they are likely to be
saddled with high costs year after year, often paying far more over time.
Instead, if we can help more Vermonters access efficient technologies
that are more affordable to own, we can avoid locking in decades of
higher costs and higher pollution for Vermont and Vermonters.
The challenges and opportunities before us are too great to think only
narrowly, simplistically, or short term. This report is an invitation to come
together, look at the bigger picture, think systemically, and work to
achieve real, lasting, and sustainable progress for Vermont.
The report shows the following:
- Vermonters pay some of the highest household energy costs in the country
- Electric technologies can offer more efficient alternatives to traditional heating and transportation equipment
- Vermont’s energy supply is highly exposed to global markets and price volatility
- Consuming electricity keeps more money in Vermont than consuming fossil fuels
- Our reliance on fossil fuels is causing significant effects on human health and the environment
Steph referred to a chart on page 15 where one can see the sectors in which Vermont is reaching its targets on GHG emissions and those in which it is not. While our progress has stalled or gone backwards in the areas of transportation, thermal, agriculture, and industrial processes, we are continuing to make progress in the areas of waste management and electricity.
During the public comment section of the VTCC meeting, one person expressed concern over the VTCC’s inclusion of wood as a fuel source to help Vermont reach its carbon goals, providing peer-reviewed studies on both the health costs and carbon footprint that burning wood causes. This concern has come up repeatedly at the VTCC meetings with many questioning its inclusion in town plans.
Next meeting: November 4, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Motion to adjourn: Garret; 2nd Joan. Meeting adjourned at 8:30PM
Minutes prepared by Stephanie.