Town Of Plymouth Climate, Energy And Environmental Task Force

Press release from the Town of Plymouth:

April 20, 2021

Overview

This initiative invites feedback, transparency and collaboration across Plymouth town departments and committees with citizen groups and individuals on all items relating to climate, energy and the environment. The task force itself does not currently have ‘members’ or meetings but is rather a process to organize and inventory past, current and future projects to allow streamlined communication between the Town and public. The Plymouth CEE public document will be continuously updated as new information is submitted by both the Town and public.

Phases & Approach

Phase I – Inventory Plymouth Town Items

Timeline: March 1, 2021 through April 13, 2021A request was made to all town departments to submit their initiatives and projects that are completed, in progress, or planned. These items were added to the Plymouth CEE Task Force public document: Climate, Energy & Environmental Task Force Spreadsheet.

Phase II – Public Groups & Individuals Submit Their Priority Items

Timeline: April 14, 2021 through May 7, 2021In this phase, groups and individuals can review the public CEE Task Force document and view the current, past and future CEE related projects. If there is an item that is not listed, additional items can be submitted through this form: Plymouth CEE Task Force - Public Submission Form.

All the submitted items will then be compiled and added to the public CEE document. Phase III – Prioritizing Item Review Through Public Feedback

Timeline: May 10, 2021 through May 28, 2021

Once all public submissions have been received, a public polling will prioritize the top items to be reviewed by the town and set as an agenda item for the Select Board once this phase ends.For each item, the Town will then review and provide feedback on:

• The current priority of the item (if and when it is planned to become an active project).
• Any obstacles, including funding and/or staff resources, that are preventing the item from moving forward.
• What the next steps would be to make the item an active project (grant application, Town Meeting article, re-prioritizing other initiatives, etc.)

During this agenda item at the Select Board meeting, any group or individual can speak to the items on the docket for that evening.

Phase IV – Select Board Response to Each Item

Timeline: After the Phase III Select Board Meeting

For each priority item that was on the agenda in Phase III, the Select Board will review the status of each item, and report any next steps that are put in place as a result of this process at a Select Board meeting. Phase V – Public Prioritizing of Next Set of Items

Timeline: After Select Board’s Public Response in Phase IV

The process will then return to Phase II, where the next set of items can be prioritized for review and feedback by the Town to follow the same process. Public Document to Show Progress & Transparency

The public document will remain online indefinitely. As items and projects are moved through their process, the document will continuously be updated. Important Links

Climate, Energy & Environmental Task Force Document

Plymouth CEE Task Force - Public Submission Form

This press release was produced by the Town of Plymouth. The views expressed here are the author’s own.