Sustainable Energy Commission Seeks New Members

By Kendra Bobowick

Just three names remained.

Chairman Dan Holmes, Ted Kreinik, and Kathleen Quinn are now the only people on the former Clean Energy Task Force, which recently became the Sustainable Energy Commission.

Tuesday afternoon, however, promised change. “After tonight there will be four,” First Selectman Pat Llodra said several hours before the Board of Selectmen would appoint another member. Six open positions would then drop to five remaining seats.

Ms Llodra and Mr Holmes are hoping to fill the vacancies as quickly as they can. Noting that the commission’s status “has recently been elevated” by the Legislative Council from a task force, Ms Llodra hopes people with passion “to develop behaviors that are more green” will apply.

The commission and its work to lead Newtown into a greener and more sustainable future are an important element for the town, she said. With conservation and reduced carbon footprints in mind, she added,  “This has to be part of our natural behavior — it’s a personal, family, neighborhood, and community responsibility.” She said, “Organizations don’t change, people in them change. People need to develop a new understanding of our gifts, our resources.”

Ms Llodra hopes to rejuvenate interest in the commission.

Explaining the trouble they face, Mr Holmes said, “After our initial charge was complete,” the members dwindled. Some people had moved from town, others may have felt they gave their time and “did enough.” Originally established by former first selectman Herb Rosenthal more than two years ago, the group’s green effort aimed at satisfying the state-level incentive to achieve 20 percent of the municipality’s power purchase through renewable resources by the year 2010. Newtown exceeded that number.

“After that, we lost steam,” Mr Holmes said. With their charge behind them and during an interim as they awaited town officials’ approval to become a commission, Mr Holmes feels that members who had signed on originally were now through.

He seeks new members to continue the work of inspiring a greener approach to energy use, conservation, and renewable resources on a municipal, business, and household basis. The group needs volunteers to investigate grant opportunities and explore projects to decrease the town’s carbon footprint, recruit more households to purchase from renewable energy sources, and over the long-term, to promote wind, geothermal, or solar energy production in Newtown.

With new prospects and new members, Mr Holmes said, “This is an exciting time — an open book before us.”

Ms Llodra “very much supports efforts of the committee.” She also agrees with a more sustainable future and hopes the Sustainable Energy Commission can become a clearinghouse for information about various green power options.