 You are invited to the next Wellesley Green Collaborative meeting on Tuesday, January 21, 2020, from 9-11:15am, in the Wakelin Room of the Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington St.
The main theme of the meeting will be Sustainable Buildings. Buildings contribute approximately 53% of Wellesley’s town-wide carbon footprint and approximately 70% of the municipality’s carbon footprint, which includes schools. This Collaborative meeting will focus on the state of the art of sustainable/net zero energy (NZE) construction and its application to commercial, municipal and residential construction. The Sustainable Energy Committee will ask Annual Town Meeting 2020 to approve Sustainable Building Guidelines so that municipal new construction, municipal major renovations/additions, and private development on Town-owned land in Wellesley reflect best practices in sustainable and NZE building design and help Wellesley reduce its carbon footprint. Speakers:
The Collaborative will also provide opportunities to:
 Want to be part of the decision making that happens in Town?
Get your nomination papers and run for a Wellesley Town Elected office! Simply go to the Town Clerk's Office at Town Hall and get your papers. There are a variety of openings. Share your insight on the Library, School, Recreation, Planning, Housing, Health, Public Works, Natural Resources boards and committees, and or be a Town Meeting Member. To see the full list of positions up for election, click here.  How can the Town of Wellesley improve its streets for all users?
Recently, the Town received a $35,000 grant to participate in the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Mass DOT) Complete Streets Funding Program, which is intended to help communities provide safe and accessible options for all travel modes – walking, biking, transit and vehicles – for people of all ages and abilities. Complete Streets also contribute to the quality of life in our community by providing important links between home, school, work, play and retail areas through improved, more accessible walking, biking, and driving routes. These improvements may be large-scale or more focused on specific transportation modes. Money from the Complete Streets program provides technical assistance and construction funding to eligible cities and towns, such as Wellesley. In May 2019, the Board of Selectmen approved a town-wide Complete Streets policy that will guide the Town in incorporating and implementing Complete Streets principles in future plans for and decisions about transportation projects in our community. In tandem with this policy, the Town is currently working to identify and develop a list of priority Complete Streets projects with help from the community. All users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, motorists, commercial and emergency vehicle operators, and individuals of all ages and abilities are encouraged to provide comments. Specific issues of interest to the Town include: key areas to focus on, barriers to mobility, using transportation modes other than driving, and any other potential ideas. To provide input and submit comments, visit Wellesley’s Complete Streets portal and use the interactive map. The portal is open now and will remain open until late January. There is no limit to the number of times users may submit comments. The information that is received will be shared at a Town-wide public hearing to be scheduled later this winter, and will help further shape Wellesley’s Complete Streets planning.  What regional public transportation challenges should be addressed in the future?
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is asking for input from local communities to help shape Destination 2040, a long-range public transportation plan for the Boston region. Make your voice heard. Take this public survey to give input on your priorities for investing in future transportation projects. All answers are confidential.  Thursday, January 30, 7:00pm Wellesley Free Library 530 Washington St. Many young families, seniors, and people of middle, moderate, or fixed incomes are unable to move to — or stay in — our town. What does this mean for Wellesley’s future? Our expert panelists will provide an overview of the challenges and benefits of creating diverse housing. Bring your questions and comments and join us to discuss how we can develop a broader range of housing choices for the long-term health of our community. Panelists: • Eric Shupin, Director of Public Policy, Citizens Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA)– Describing the state of housing in MA. • Amy Dain, Consultant, Dain Research – Reporting on two years of research into the regulations, plans and permits in the 100 cities and towns surrounding Boston. • Shelly Goehring, Senior Program Manager, Massachusetts Housing Partnership – Sharing the benefits and challenges for our community. • Rebecca Winterich-Knox, Net Zero Organizer, Massachusetts Climate Action Network – Focusing on sustainable considerations and impact on climate. This event is free and open to the public. Co-Sponsored Wellesley's League of Women Voters, Wellesley Free Library as well as Build a Better Wellesley, Our Affordable Wellesley, Sustainable Wellesley, TBE Racial Justice Initiative, UU Wellesley Hills, Wellesley's Council on Aging, Wellesley Village Church, World of Wellesley, and the Look Into Solar - Cash In Before Incentives Expire  Here is a holiday gift for your whole family and for the planet.
Using solar to power a home creates less than 1/10 the carbon footprint per kilowatt hour than grid-powered electricity. Not only is solar energy healthier for the climate, but it makes financial sense too. Thanks to federal and state tax credits as well as a town rebate through Wellesley’s Municipal Light Plant (MLP), upfront costs of installation can be reduced by 2/3. The federal government allows taxpayers to deduct 30% of solar-power installation cost, Massachusetts credits $1,000 and the MLP rebates up to $12,000 per installation (at $1200 per installed kilowatt of solar generation - up to 10 kilowatts DC). A typical home installation, with 35 roof panels, can cost approximately $36,000 without rebates but a net cost of $12,000 with them. To take advantage of these incentives, move soon as the MLP rebate is set to expire July of 2020. To learn more, go to www.energysage.com to obtain a preliminary assessment your home's viability for solar panels. Energy Sage also provides a series of pre-approved vendor bids. From there, one can calculate the upfront investment, rebates and credits, and life-cycle gains, and get assistance filing forms and pulling permits. This holiday gift is a way of doing your part to deal with climate change, while providing a sound investment. Plus, Zillow estimates that adding solar to a home increases it value by 4.1%.  Swing by Roche Brothers in Wellesley on Saturday, November 23rd from 10am-2pm to learn about kitchen composting and the Wellesley RDF's Food Waste Program. Volunteers from Sustainable Wellesley will be on hand to demo the process and answer all of your questions. In addition, from 1pm on Leslie Richman zero-waste lifestyle coach will also be there to answer additional questions you might have about plastic-reduced and plastic-free grocery shopping and more!
 Thank you for noticing ;-)
We have recently updated our website and are working on our newsletter. As we transition over, let us know if something inspires you, looks off, if you find a link that doesn't work, etc. As always, we welcome the ideas, suggestions and other brilliances our communities has. Thanks!  Join us Thursday night at 7pm to watch Paris to Pittsburgh, a new film from National
Geographic, at the UU Wellesley Hills, 309 Washington St. We could all use some inspiration and this film does just that. It celebrates how Americans are demanding and developing real solutions in the face of climate change. And as the weather grows more deadly and destructive, these folks aren’t waiting for Washington to act. Neither are we Wellesley. Watch, listen, discuss and ACT WITH US.  Extreme storms, trending heatwaves, decreasing cooler days, increase in insect borne diseases, a rising Charles River basin, and flooding disasters. We see and feel climate change in our community already.
Thus, it's time for us to take BIG steps TOGETHER. Since taking action tends to make us feel better, we encourage you to come to our Sustainable Wellesley meeting this Sunday, November 17th from 2-3.30pm at the Village Church (2 Central St.). We will reveal the next big step we must take together. Wellesley can lead the way. Join us on Sunday. |
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