The Peabody City Council ad hoc committee on energy efficiency and renewable energy heard an update Tuesday on the city’s participation in the state Green Communities program, progress on a citywide net‑zero roadmap and preliminary discussion of applying for a higher-tier Climate Leader Community designation.

Kurt Bellavance, director of planning and community development, told the committee the city received a Green Communities participation grant of about $230,000 and identified 19 projects in an energy audit. "We received that grant for approximately $230,000," Bellavance said, adding that 16 of the 19 projects are complete and that about $73,000 of the original grant remains unspent.

The leftover funds will be cleared by the state before the city can spend them, Bellavance said. He said the city has spent about $157,000 and has leveraged roughly $180,000 more from other incentives, including programs run by National Grid. "We typically look at the payback for repairs and the age of the building," he said, noting some investments were deferred where buildings may be replaced in the near term.

Why it matters: completing the first‑year work and filing the Green Communities annual report are prerequisites to applying for the Green Communities competitive grant rounds, which award larger sums for higher‑cost projects (for example, boiler replacements). Committee members pressed staff on the timetable after Peabody missed earlier competitive rounds.

Committee questions and procurement delays

Committee members raised why progress slowed after a December 2024 update that expected 18 projects to be finished by January. Bellavance blamed a combination of factors, including an incorrect window measurement and wrong materials ordered for city hall that delayed work on the first and second floors, and procurement requirements for lighting upgrades that required formal bidding and engineering review. He also cited turnover in the facilities team; Jim Politano in the facilities department recently joined the effort and is coordinating with the city’s consultant, Energy Conservation, Inc.

"With the lighting projects, we'd need to go out to bid," Bellavance said, describing a longer procurement path than for several other work items. He said the city has narrowed remaining candidate projects and is preparing the annual report required by the state so it can seek approval to spend the remaining $73,000 and then pursue the competitive round of Green Communities grants.

Climate Leader Community designation: preliminary questions

Committee members asked about pursuing the Climate Leader Community designation, a higher tier the state offers to municipalities. Bellavance said Peabody must first complete a full year under the Green Communities program and file the annual report. He outlined other typical Climate Leader requirements discussed by the state: forming a local advisory committee, a municipal decarbonization commitment (to eliminate on‑site fossil fuel use by 2050), a roadmap for decarbonization and an all‑municipal zero‑emission vehicle purchasing policy (where feasible). He also noted adoption of a Massachusetts "specialized stretch code" could be required for new development.

Bellavance said the city is only at a preliminary stage of evaluating the designation and that staff will analyze whether existing plans (such as the net‑zero roadmap) would need amendments to satisfy the Climate Leader requirements. Several councilors said they wanted more information about potential impacts on private residents and small businesses before committing to pursue that designation.

Net‑zero roadmap: actions across five topic areas

Bellavance summarized the city’s net‑zero roadmap, which his office developed with multiple partners including the Peabody Municipal Light Plant (PMLP), the Housing Authority, schools and nonprofit groups. The roadmap outlines five sections—buildings, mobility, energy, natural systems and other—and recommends actions for each.

In buildings, the city is promoting energy best practices through its construction review process, encouraging efficiency in 40B and other developments, and has adopted PACE (property assessed clean energy) financing to allow low‑rate, property‑tied loans for energy improvements in commercial and multifamily buildings of five units or more. Bellavance said the city would require net‑zero performance for new municipal buildings and is considering an energy disclosure policy for public review.

On mobility, the city received a $110,000 federal grant to develop a pedestrian and bicycle plan; Bellavance said that grant is currently on hold. He described an imminent ground‑breaking for the first section of a bike‑path extension (Leahy to Endicott Street) and a planned later section to connect Lieutenant Ross Park to Peabody Road. The city is also improving sidewalks on Central Street, discussing regional shuttle expansion with Salem and Beverly, and coordinating with the MBTA on bus‑stop improvements. Bellavance said six new electric‑vehicle charging stations were installed downtown and the city wants to expand charging infrastructure and adopt a zero‑emission municipal fleet policy in time.

In energy, staff continue to work with facilities on mechanical upgrades in older buildings, to apply for National Grid incentives and to explore renewable‑energy purchase programs in coordination with PMLP. Under natural systems, staff have supported local open‑space acquisitions, funded programs at Newhall Fields and are exploring air‑quality monitoring pilots and waste reduction efforts. The roadmap’s "other" category recommends hiring a sustainability coordinator to manage implementation; Bellavance said that position has not been filled.

Next steps and timeline

Bellavance said the immediate next step is completing and filing the Green Communities annual report with the state and obtaining approval to spend the remaining $73,000. After that, the city intends to identify 2–3 larger projects for competitive grant funding. He said staff spoke with the state about the spring competitive round and are organizing materials to be ready, though technical work on heating, ventilation and cooling systems will require facilities expertise and possible outside engineering review.

Councilors said they want more detailed information on possible impacts to residents and businesses before advancing the Climate Leader designation and asked staff to include procurement timelines, cost‑benefit analyses and options such as carbon credits in future briefings.

Peabody staff asked to return with the annual report, procurement schedules for the remaining projects and detailed options for pursuing Climate Leader designation; no formal vote was taken at the ad hoc committee meeting.