CMM 2017-06-04

Minutes of Meeting for Worship for Business

Concord (NH) Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends

Sixth Month 4^th, 2017

Attending:  10

6.1  The meeting opened with worship.

6.2  Friends expressed their appreciation for the retiring co-clerk’s seven years of service to the Meeting.

6.3  Fifth Month Minutes:  Friends approved the Fifth Month 2017 minutes [1] as posted on the website.

6.4  Budget Committee Report:  The totals for FY 2017 were as follows: Total Income, $25,268; Total Expense, $24,445; Net Income, $832.  It was noted that contributions had increased this year to 98% of the budget amount.  The Committee has decided to charge the wood pellets as they are used rather than as they are purchased to smooth out the ups and downs in that budget line.  Snow removal was at 111% as the parking lot seemed to require lots of sanding this winter.

The Balance Sheet was presented in a new format suggested by the bookkeeper [2], on an accrual basis.

Friends approved the financial report and the new format.

6.5  Solar Committee Report:

(J.J. Smith and Sara Smith stepped aside from the consideration of this minute.)

The Solar Committee reported the current state of the project in respect to funding, legal advice, and Net Metering Group [3] members.

Funding of project:  The funding for this project relies on the resources of the LLC investor(s), a $10,000 Power Purchase agreement with Concord Friends Meeting (CFM) (more below on this), a NH State Rebate of $10,350, and a $13,383 USDA REAP Grant (application will be made by October, decision will be in November).  Without this REAP Grant, the project will not be financially feasible and we recommend it not go forward.  Furthermore, the financial viability relies on the project application (as a Group Net Metering Project) being made to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) before the current rate structure for group net metering changes, possibly within this month.

Legal advice:  Since December 2016, the Solar Committee has been working with Paul Burkett and Chuck Willing, two attorneys at Rath, Young, and Pignatelli [4].  They agreed to accept $2,500 for this project and complete the work pro bono [5].  They have submitted bills indicating their pro bono portion of the project (through April 2017) is $25,500.  We are very grateful for their work on this.

Among the documents they drafted are the Lease and the PPA, which must be signed by the co-clerks on behalf of CFM:

Lease:  As part of the solar project that will be installed on the Meetinghouse roof, CFM is leasing the roof to Oxbow Solar LLC, the owner of the solar array for the sum of $240 per year or the cost of any billed property tax, whichever is greater.  (This is likely to be triggered by this array which is not solely for our use).  This was prepared by our lawyers, and has been extensively reviewed by the Solar Committee, who recommend we sign this.  We ask the Meeting to reaffirm authorization for a co-clerk to sign this lease on behalf of the CFM.  Friends approved.

PPA (Power Purchase Agreement):  Rather than pay each month to the LLC, CFM agrees to pre-purchase ten years of electricity from Oxbow Solar LLC for $10,000.  This represents the $1,000 per year on average we pay Unitil for electricity.  Future rate increases (or decreases) will not affect this arrangement, locking CFM into current electric rates for 10 years.  CFM electric usage will be paid by the LLC.  The LLC will retain ownership for at least 15 years.  Between years 10 and 15 the Meeting will owe to the LLC its cost of electric usage but also be receiving from the LLC our percentage portion of income generated by the array, less expenses which may nearly be equal.

As part of these agreements, the LLC agrees to pay CFM $200 per year to cover the increased cost of insurance an array of this size requires.

The Solar Committee has reviewed this document and (with lawyers) is making small changes to it.  When correct to our satisfaction, the Solar Committee will notify the co-clerk that the document is ready for signature.  This will very likely be on short notice.   We ask the Meeting now to approve this minute:

The Meeting authorizes a co-clerk to sign a Power Purchase Agreement in the amount of $10,000 for pre-payment for 10 (ten) years of electric usage.  Friends approved.

Group Membership:  We have been working with South Church [6] and Concordia Lutheran Church [7] since last fall.  In April, we provided final legal agreements they would sign (Group Net Metering Agreement) and the very detailed spreadsheets showing their projected income over 25 years.  However, both of their Property Committees felt they would need to retain a lawyer to advise them (even though one of the South Church property committee members was a lawyer and he read and asked detailed questions, to which we and our lawyer responded).  We concluded that the conservative nature of institutions and lack of passion corporately for the project made it unlikely to recruit other members before the PUC changes the rules for group net metering [3].  Therefore, we have sought and found two solid partners (Rob and Louise Spencer and Stephen and Patrice Rasche from Canterbury) who wish to join us.  Several other people we have contacted have been interested and we provided them with background information.  With just these two partners we can go forward with the project.

Originally, we envisioned a system sized at 16.2 megawatt hours (MWh) per year. With these 2 other partners our total usage is about 12.9 MWh/year.  During the past year Meeting used 2.2 MWh/year; Spencer family used 7.9 MWh/year; Rasche family used 2.8 MWh/year.  With just these two partners we can go forward with the project, but we would be much happier to obtain another partner to add to the size of our array.

We are disappointed that our initial vision of this project as a model for non-profits and faith communities to benefit from solar is not currently fulfilled.  However, we have developed all the legal documents and hope that the existence of our group is an encouragement for other groups to form.

We intend to use the remaining money in the grant as outreach about the project once it is completed, in order to further that vision.

Friends hope that this project will have a positive effect on, and not detract from, our community’s spirituality and interpersonal relationships. 

6.6  The Climate Pilgrimage [8] is a group of Quakers who are walking between two coal-fired power plants to raise awareness of the issue of climate change.  They plan to perform actions of civil disobedience at the power plant in Bow, NH.  They would like Concord Meeting to sponsor their pilgrimage.  This would include supporting them with a meeting for worship on Saturday morning, July 15^th, and providing meals that evening.

Friends approved sponsoring them if we can find a coordinator.  PSECC will meet to discuss this opportunity and will perhaps assume some responsibilities from Ruth Heath who is the initial coordinator.

6.7  Friends would like Ministry and Counsel Committee to consider the issue of dogs in the Meetinghouse.

Submitted by

Recording Clerk,  Jonie LaBombard

Presiding Co-Clerk,  Richard Kleinschmidt

Do we have the resources to support our obligations? YES

Variable Assets Less Current Liabilties and Replacement Reserve = $4,402

The Balance Sheet was created with two decimal points, which were removed for readability, the cents being unimportant to the overall understanding. This can have the effect of throwing off any given sum by a dollar due to compounded rounding.

Prepared by Greg Heath 2017-05-31