Avalon ‘Green Team’ Plans Eco-Fair

AVALON — The Alternative Energy Resource Committee or “Green Team” is planning the first annual Avalon Green Fair, in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce Seafood Festival, to kick off the borough’s initiative to capitalize on eco-friendly practices.
The volunteer “Green Team” led by Jim Collins, Tax Assessor Jeffery Hesley and Neil Hensel, chairman of the Planning/Zoning Board, was initially formed last March for the purpose of gaining grants for environmental efficiency through the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU).
In its progress update at council’s Aug. 26 meeting, the team reported that it has developed a green master plan, applied for Sustainable New Jersey Borough Audit Program and submitted a pre-application for green house gas reduction rebates.
All borough buildings, including the Public Safety Complex, Borough Hall, Senior Center, Community Hall and marina buildings, will be audited to record how much energy they use and where they could be more efficient.
An official inspection will take place and the audit will chart and record energy usage over the past two years of these public borough-owned buildings.
Conversions made to buildings to become more efficient, like replacing standard light bulbs with compact ones, earn points towards a 100-point requirement to be a certified municipality in the state program.
Business Administrator Andrew Bednarek said first the borough will go for “low hanging fruit” and gain points for some of what it is already doing to save energy, like the recent HVAC replacements in Borough Hall for which the borough is eligible for a $3,000 Smart Start grant through the New Jersey Clean Energy Audit Program.
Officials said the borough could be reimbursed up to 100 percent of program costs. Homeowners will get a “soup to nuts review” of their property and $1,000 rebate if they volunteer to participate in the energy audit, said Collins.
Collins said the audit would likely take place before the end of the year.
The mission statement of the Green Team is to “reduce cost of energy and other natural resource usage to the Avalon taxpayers by practicing energy-efficient techniques and utilizing, where appropriate, alternative energy and ground water conservation technologies while creating a green culture for the borough and its residents.”
Team goals include investigating alternative water sources, developing efficiency guidelines for borough facilities and protecting natural resources, particularly energy and water consumption.
This is the second summer the borough has enacted an outdoor water conservation program, in which residents may use water outside on even/odd days depending on their address numbers, to reduce water use and stay under its state water allocation.
The Green Fair will take place at Avalon Community Hall on Saturday, Oct. 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to demonstrate how individuals and government benefit financially from their efforts to be environmentally friendly. A variety of vendors and agencies will demonstrate eco-friendly products and practices.