1300 Block of Kains Avenue

Minutes for February 2009

Apr 05, 2009

Minutes from the meeting held February 25, 2009

Corrections to the Minutes: None.

Treasurer?’s Report: Beatrix reports the treasury balance is $170.

Dues Payment Report: Sandy collected a total of $252 from seven households.

Guest Speaker: Marna Schwartz, City of Berkeley, Solar Energy Financing Program, provided an overview of the Berkeley First Program, which allows homeowners to finance solar energy installations with no upfront costs. Phase I of the program is now closed to new applications. It was open for only a two-week window last November and was limited to 38 households. The program was very popular?—Phase I enrollment closed just minutes after the program was launched.

Phase I is a pilot project which will be evaluated in June or July. If the evaluation is positive and funding is available, Phase 2 is expected to be available in the fall of this year. The city hopes to know by summer if Phase 2 will be approved. Anyone interested in being notified when the next Phase opens for enrollment can go to the city?’s website and register to receive updates on the program.

Berkeley First Program offers a 20-year special tax levy to help homeowners offset the upfront costs of solar energy installations. There is also a 30% one-time-only federal tax credit available and a one-time-only cash rebate from the state. The homeowner works directly with the solar installer. If you are using the Berkeley First financing program, you must select an installer from the city?’s approved list of installers.

The city plans to add a solar mapping assessment tool to their website soon. This assessment tool will allow homeowners to type in their home address and receive an assessment of their sun exposure, available roof space and a calculation of their cost savings.

Treasurer Resigns: Beatrix announced that she is resigning her position as treasurer as she and John will be moving to a bigger house to meet their family needs. We will all miss Beatrix and John. Beatrix has served as our treasurer for many years and John designed the database for our disaster program and was a key member of the team that developed our disaster program. John and Beatrix have contributed countless hours of their time and energy to all of our events and activities. We appreciate their many years of loyalty to our neighborhood group.