Thursday, August 12, 2010
7:00 PM, Community Room, Town Hall
and
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
7:00 PM, Community Room, Town Hall

Members of the Strategic Financial Planning Committee will present the Capital Plan Exclusion supported at the May 18, 2010 Town Meeting.

Members of the public are encouraged to attend this meeting and ask questions regarding the Ballot Question.

If you are unable to attend the meeting, questions may also be sent to kpuleo@tyngsboroughma.gov by August 9 and September 3 respectively.

These questions will be addressed at the meetings.

Meetings will be replayed on Tyngsborough Community Access TV the following week.
Comcast TV-8  Verizon TV-29 & 30 and be will be made available on the Town Website.

A Powerpoint presentation on the Capital Exclusion is available on the town website.

A hardcopy of the presentation is available for review in the Board of Selectmen Office and the Library.  Limited copies are available for distribution.

The amount due in August is generally 1/4th of last years tax amount.  The office is no longer open Monday nights due to budget constraints.  Postmarks do not count and late payments incur interest.

Non-cash payments may be deposited under the tax office grate in the lobby, (envelopes are provided) anytime the Library is open or there are public meetings at Town Hall.

Free online payment by check is available at via our online portal

Payments made by midnight count as received that day, but it is not advisable to wait until the last day.

Please be sure your routing & account numbers are entered correctly, so the payment is not returned.

Free online payment by check is available at www.tyngsboroughma.gov.  Payments made by midnight count as received that day, but it is not advisable to wait until the last day.  Please be

sure your routing & account numbers are entered correctly, so the payment is not returned.

Gene Spickler
Office of the Tax Collector & Parking Clerk

Details on how this relates to Tyngsborough, MA  below.

See Official Release from The Office of The Governor Below

HOPKINTON – Tuesday, May 25, 2010 – Governor Deval Patrick today designated 35 cities and towns from the Berkshires to Cape Cod as the Commonwealth’s first official “Green Communities” – a status that makes them eligible for $8.1 million in grants for local renewable power and energy efficiency projects. The projects promise to create green jobs and advance both municipal and state clean energy goals.

“I am pleased to honor the vision and hard work of our first group of official Green Communities,” said Governor Patrick. “These pioneers are notable not only for their commitment to a cleaner, greener Massachusetts, but also for their diversity. From tiny towns to major cities and suburbs in all regions of the state, Massachusetts communities recognize the benefits, for the economy as well as the environment, of making clean energy choices.”

“It’s great to see so many communities dedicated to saving energy, making new construction as energy efficient as possible, and accommodating clean energy investment and jobs in support of a stronger, more sustainable future for Massachusetts,” said Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray.

“Taking the initiative to make the changes necessary to promote energy efficiency and encourage renewable energy is critical to a community’s future both environmentally and economically. The cities and towns designated ‘Green Communities’ have taken this challenge seriously and succeeded in their efforts. They are examples I hope that other communities across the commonwealth will follow,” said Senate President Therese Murray.

The signature program of the landmark Green Communities Act of 2008, the Department of Energy Resources’ (DOER) Green Communities Grant Program uses funding from auctions of carbon emissions permits under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to reward communities that win Green Communities designation by meeting five clean energy benchmarks:

•           Adopting local zoning bylaw or ordinance that allows “as-of-right-siting” of renewable energy projects;

•           Adopting an expedited permitting process related to the as-of-right facilities;

•           Establishing a municipal energy use baseline and a program designed to reduce use by 20 percent within five years;

•           Purchasing only fuel-efficient vehicles for municipal use, whenever such vehicles are commercially available and practicable; and

•           Requiring all new residential construction over 3,000 square feet and all new commercial and industrial real estate construction to reduce lifecycle energy costs (i.e., adoption of an energy-saving building “stretch code”).

May 14 was the deadline for municipalities to apply for Green Community designation in order to qualify for the first round of $8.1 million in Green Communities grants. Today’s Green Communities designees – Acton, Arlington, Athol, Andover, Becket, Belchertown, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Easthampton, Greenfield, Hamilton, Hanover, Holyoke, Hopkinton, Kingston, Lancaster, Lenox, Lexington, Lincoln, Lowell, Mashpee, Medford, Melrose, Montague, Natick, Newton, Northampton, Palmer, Pittsfield, Salem, Springfield, Sudbury, Tyngsboro, Wenham, and Worcester – have until June 4 to submit applications for grants that will be awarded in late June.

“These 35 cities and towns have already distinguished themselves as leaders,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian Bowles. “With the help of Green Communities grant funding, they’ll be able to go further – saving energy costs for their residents, reducing the environmental impact of municipal operations, and validating the Commonwealth’s reputation as a national clean energy leader.”

“We are confident that these 35 municipalities – and the projects they will undertake with Green Communities grants – will serve as shining examples to the Commonwealth’s other 316 cities and towns, all of which we hope will also work toward becoming Green Communities and reaching their clean energy goals in the months ahead,” said DOER Commissioner Phil Giudice.

In addition to grant eligibility, each Green Community designated today will receive a Big Belly solar waste compactor, to be delivered by June 30 in time for the summer parks and beaches season. Purchased with DOER energy efficiency funding, Big Belly compactors can hold several times more trash and litter than similarly sized regular trash receptacles – thereby reducing the number of garbage truck trips required to empty them. Each municipality will also receive a certificate from the Commonwealth congratulating it on becoming an official Green Community.

DOER will take additional applications for Green Community designations and grants later this year. Click here for more information on DOER’s Green Communities program.

###

Tyngsborough as a Designated Green Community

The official designation of Tyngsborough as a Green Community by the Department of Energy Resources shows that our town is a leader in municipal management in regard to energy efficiency, operations and design.

As one of the first 35 communities simultaneously designated, this certification shows that 5 criteria have been met on the path to designation:

• As-of-Right siting for large scale solar projects in the I-1 industrial zone.
• Expedited Permitting.
• Adoption of the Energy Efficiency Stretch Building Code

780 CMR Appendix 120 AA

• Vehicle Efficiency Policy
• Energy Reduction Plan.

The adoption of these 5 criteria affords Tyngsborough the policies and procedures to promote the economic development of clean energy, to provide for greater efficiency and longer live cycles of building materials and vehicles.

Most importantly, the energy reduction plan provides for a reduction in town wide energy usage by 20% by 2013 resulting in significant cost benefits for the town and its schools.

As a designated Green Community we are eligible to apply for up to $ 1 million of grant funding for implementation of our Energy Reduction Plan.

The first grant round will be awarded in June 2010. Funds are provided from the Regional Green House Gas Initiative (RGGI).

Local info complied by Selectman Elizabeth A. Coughlin, Chairman of the Energy and Environmental Affairs Committee

###

Year Ending 2009 Annual Town Report

Now you can watch Board of Selectmen and School Committee Meetings Online at your leisure from practically anywhere – home, work, office and even your smart-phone.

Online Now:

Board of Selectmen May 3

School Committee May 10

Please note:

This is not a LIVE service. Meetings are posted  24-hrs after the meeting date. Currently Board of Selectmen and School Committee Meetings are televised.

Visit: http://www.tyngsboroughma.gov/meetings-on-demand/

As Certified By The Office of The Town Clerk

May 11 2010 | Town Election Results

Each DRC is staffed with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and state agency disaster recovery specialists who are ready to help survivors through the process of applying for disaster assistance. Applicants should register by calling FEMA toll-free 800-621-FEMA (3362). Those with speech or hearing impairment may call TTY 800-462-7585 and apply. Multilingual operators are available. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily until further notice. Registration for disaster assistance can also be made online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov.

Homeowners, renters and business owners are urged to register before visiting a center so necessary information is already entered. Once registered, FEMA disaster recovery specialists at a center can check an individual’s case, answer questions about their claim, or request information FEMA needs to process their claim.

Recovery specialists can also supply contacts for other programs that may provide help as well as suggesting low-cost risk-reduction measures to make homes or businesses safer. Other federal agency representatives at the centers include IRS tax specialists to discuss disaster-related issues. Volunteer agency personnel are also available to suggest existing community resources to help in the recovery process.

U.S Small Business Administration (SBA) representatives will be on hand at the DRC to meet with individuals and business owners to answer any questions about SBA’s disaster loan program; help them complete their SBA disaster loan application and accept the completed disaster loan applications.  Anyone not able to go to a DRC should call the SBA Customer Service Center from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday, at 800-659-2955 for information and assistance or visit the SBA Web site at www.sba.gov.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and private non-profit organizations. These loans are to repair or replace homes, businesses and personal property not covered by insurance and damaged by the recent flooding.

Hours of operation will vary at each center. Locations and daily hours are:

Middlesex County
Billerica Public Library
15 Concord Road
Billerica, MA 01821
Hours:
Monday – Thursday: 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

On The Web at: http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=50817

Demolition of Old Shurfine Market from TyngsboroughMA on Vimeo.

Live video chat by Ustream

Video Provided By The Tyngsborough Office of Media Programming

In order for Tyngsborough to remain eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the new Flood Insurance Rate Maps must be adopted by the town and incorporated into the zoning by-law regulations.  Failure to enact the necessary floodplain management regulations will result in Tyngsborough being suspended from participation in the NFIP and subject to the prohibitions contained in the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973.

The Tyngsborough Planning Board, with cooperation from Town Counsel and state FEMA officials, has developed the necessary amendments for the zoning by-law.  A public hearing will be held on March 18, 2010 to officially endorse these amendments which will then be brought to the annual town meeting in May for official adoption into the Tyngsborough Zoning By-Laws.

Tyngsborough’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps will become effective on June 4, 2010.  At that time, the final printed and digital FIRM panels will be provided to the town.  Further information regarding these maps will be forthcoming.

Additional information and resources are available on the FEMA website at http://www.floodmaps.fema.gov/lfd/ .  In addition, feel free to contact the Planning Board or Conservation Commission offices if you require any additional information;

978-649-2300, ext. 115 or ext. 116.

Via The Tyngsborough Planning Board

The Stretch Energy Code is the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) 2009 with amendments contained herein.  A copy of which is available in the Selectmen’s Office and via the links below on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts  Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) Official website.

Town Residents will have the opportunity to vote for this adoption during Special Town Meeting scheduled for Tuesday March 2 at the Tyngsborough Elementary School on Westford Road.  More information regarding this Warrant Article is available here.

Stretch Energy Code

The Stretch Energy Code is an appendix to the state energy code, created by the Massachusetts Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS), that provides the option for cities and towns that wish to have an energy code for buildings that results in greater energy efficiency in buildings than the base code that is otherwise mandatory for municipalities across the Commonwealth.

On Monday February 22, the Tyngsborough Board of Selectmen held a public hearing on whether or not to adopt the Stretch Energy Code appendix. Residents will have the opportunity to vote for adaptation during Special Town Meeting on March 2. If passed the higher standards for energy efficiency in building projects will go into effect on July 1, 2010.

The Energy & Environmental Affairs Committee and Inspectional Services Department are working on disseminating information to the community about the stretch energy code. The state Board of Building Regulations and Standards, which created the stretch energy code, is holding trainings for code officials which are also open to the public at a cost to cover materials. The training schedule can be found on the website of the Center for Ecological Technology, the state’s training contractor. The training workshops will cover the base energy code as well as the stretch energy code appendix

Below is background information about the stretch energy code. Many of these files are in PDF format and require use of the free Adobe Acrobat viewer.

General Information

• EEA_stretch_energy_code_MarcBreslow.ppt (3.24 MB)
• EEA_stretch_energy_code_summary_appendix.PDF (66.17 KB)
• MA stretch code Webinar.pdf (1.06 MB)
• overview_home energy rating system.PDF (164.05 KB)
• StretchEnergyCodeFAQ10-30-09.pdf (363.2 KB)
• stretch_code_overview_jun05_09.pdf (66.17 KB)

For More Information For more information about the Stretch Energy Code and the Energy & Environmental Affairs Committee Contact The Office of The Board of Selectmen at 978-649-2300 x100

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