The Lynn City Council heard from Neal Duffy, northeast regional coordinator of the Commonwealth’s Green Communities Division, at Tuesday night’s meeting.. It is the third time he has visited with city officials to help make Lynn become a Green Community.
Local green communities include Revere, Saugus, Swampscott and Salem. Lynn could be slated to be eligible for up to $500,000 in grants if it is designated.
So far the city has switched over to LED streetlights and Duffy believes there will be some electric cars for municipal use in the future.
“I’m supportive of Lynn becoming a Green Community, “ said Mayor Tom McGee. “Builders are working in the community and they’re already using the stretch energy code. It’s the direction the whole state is going.”
Duffy said another avenue to take is to use a “stretch energy code,” which is part of the building code intended to encourage energy savings. The stretch energy code pertains to new residential construction. This could help move the city toward earning the designation as a Green Community. This designation would open the city to be eligible for certain grants for energy efficient projects.