2014-05-27_PWETC_Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Roberts advised that, upon resale of his home in the future, he would make the solar option part of his sales package. Sara Barsell, 1276 Eldridge Avenue Ms. Barsell stated that she could not sufficiently express how important she thought this was, since she'd been contacting Mr. Schwartz for at least 18 months to pursue it, as well as organizing citizens for a meeting held in April, even though it had been restricted to those she was aware of who had some interest in such a program. Ms. Barsell suggested several steps to pursue in the immediate future, including having the Mayor of Falcon Heights Pete Lindstrom, speak to the issue, as the city had a solar array on their City Hall, as well as having it on his home. Ms. Barsell opined that another option would be to contact Ralph Jacobson, CEO of Innovative Power Systems, who would be willing to talk on any topic identified by this group and related to solar energy, guaranteeing that it wouldn't be a"sales pitch," but provide his perspective in having been in the solar industry for a number of years. Ms. Barsell also referenced Ms. Jen Hasselbrook a municipal employee in Oakdale, who was involved in the CERT's program and could speak to her research on solar and energy efficiencies for commercial properties. Ms. Barsell opined that Roseville had oodles of flat roofs available city-wide that could house a solar system, with more and more flat roofs available throughout the metropolitan area as more development occurs. Ms. Barsell stated that she'd been in continual contact with I.S.D. School District No. 623 Superintendent Dr. John Thein to pursue solar energy, opining that a number of the district's school buildings were prime candidates for a solar array. Ms. Barsell further opined that there were many areas of interest already expressed by citizens, who supported the City going forward to begin by fixing its ordinances to support it, opining that it should be a no-brainer for any non-profit, commercial or residential applications. Ms. Barsell noted that she'd been advised that a minimum of two churches in the community area interested in installing PV. Ms. McKeown advised that her group was already working with one Roseville church in that pursuit. Ms. Barsell stated that many people were interested in solar energy, but didn't know how to coordinate that interest and get together; opining that this provided a challenge for the PWETC to foster learning situations for the community to become aware of what was being discussed, and provide learning opportunities for them, as well as addressing their concerns and finding answers to their questions. Page 10 of 20