Presentation at 2014 Massachusetts Sustainable Communities and Campuses Conference

1. Introduction.
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2. Andover’s Open Space Plan continues the long history of land preservation in Andover,
reflecting the citizens’ understanding of the importance of open space.reflecting the citizens’ understanding of the importance of open space.
Andover is bordered by the Merrimack River, and has a very active watershed group
working to protect the Shawsheen River.
The Conservation Commission and Planning Board work closely together to identify
important parcels to protect, and opportunities to preserve open space through
zoning.
Thousands of acres of land in Andover are dedicated to passive and active
recreation.
The Town has partnered with sports groups to develop active recreation spaces.
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3. 39% of Andover is Open Space. 25% of Andover or over 5,000 acres is permanently
protected as conservation and passive recreation land.protected as conservation and passive recreation land.
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4. Town of Andover Conservation has custody and control of over 2,000 acres.
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5. AVIS, or the Andover Village Improvement Society is the second oldest land preservation
society in the United States. The group was formed in 1894 for the purpose of makingsociety in the United States. The group was formed in 1894 for the purpose of making
Andover clean and beautiful. To date they have secured, through donation or lease, 22
properties, over 1000 acres, has over 1000 members, and has developed 30 miles of trails.
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6. The Trustees of Reservations also owns the Charles Ward Reservation in Andover, a very
popular hiking spot with a wonderful view of Boston. It includes Holt Hill, which at 420 feetpopular hiking spot with a wonderful view of Boston. It includes Holt Hill, which at 420 feet
is the highest point in Essex County.
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7. Harold Parker State Forest also offers great opportunities for passive recreation.
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8. The Town of Andover’s citizens have continually supported its public parks, with many
activities, concerts, craft shows and events taking place in the The Park just behind Mainactivities, concerts, craft shows and events taking place in the The Park just behind Main
Street in the center of Town.
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9. Sports are an important part of family life in Andover. Through Town Meeting funding and
the partnership with Andover Little League and Youth Soccer, the Town has developed athe partnership with Andover Little League and Youth Soccer, the Town has developed a
new 12 acre park opened in 2013 on previously farmed land.
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10. All of these parks and spaces are important for quality of life in Andover, but the Town must
also serve its business community and support industry and development. Andoveralso serve its business community and support industry and development. Andover
Planning and Conservation work together to support development, promote new business,
and preserve open space. Case Study: Senior Residential Community Overlay District at the
Franciscan Monastery property on River Road in West Andover. The Planning Division
worked with a Town Task Force and the River Road neighbors to create an overlay district
for a senior residential community. By making density concessions the overlay district
protects important riverbank and wetlands along the Merrimack River.
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11. Andover was designated as a Green Community in the first round of the program in 2010.
At the time we already had a good handle on energy, with a system wide energyAt the time we already had a good handle on energy, with a system wide energy
management system by Johnson Controls in use and energy tracking going back to 2007.
Many energy projects were already completed or underway.
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12. Lighting was a low hanging fruit and our first Green Community Grant for $160,329
included a town wide retrofit of all lighting. The Green Community Grant, utility rebates,included a town wide retrofit of all lighting. The Green Community Grant, utility rebates,
and no interest loans helped fund this project. We are currently finishing our second Green
Community Grant of $220,599, which included retro-commissioning of 5 buildings and
demand control ventilation at 3 locations. Demand Control Ventilation was installed in 100
classrooms at the Andover High School using in house labor and 50 classrooms at West
Middle School during a steam conversion project. The Green Community Grant and utility
incentives funded most of this project. These projects only represent some of the energy
savings improvements implemented over the past 7 years. All of our major buildings have
white Sarnafil roofs, and we have been practicing energy management and tracking since
2006.
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13. Our total energy use trended downward during a time of challenges and demands.
Weather is unpredictable and has also changed over the last decade, with demand forWeather is unpredictable and has also changed over the last decade, with demand for
cooling in summer months increasing. The last 3 years have had record setting summers.
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14. We consider our usage reduction a success amid an increased demand for services.
Education for 100 years operated effective ways of instruction with very low-tech methodsEducation for 100 years operated effective ways of instruction with very low-tech methods
requiring little energy use. Today, teachers, parents and students are demanding
technology in the classroom. Citizens also look to their Town for services outside the
classroom and for all ages.
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15. Despite these challenges, our energy management team has some excellent success
stories, like the Andover Public Safety Center.stories, like the Andover Public Safety Center.
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16. The first step was for our energy management team to understand the Public Safety
operations, including when offices were occupied or unoccupied in order to identifyoperations, including when offices were occupied or unoccupied in order to identify
scheduling opportunities. Then the team began to make progressive – not aggressive
changes over time with the heating and cooling plant. Even though Public Safety is a 24/7
operation, there were still opportunities for savings. We also used high tech tools such as
this infrared camera to examine our structures for heat loss.
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17. Under our 2nd Green Community Grant we Retro-Commissioned the Public Safety Center,
which included trend analysis and field measurements. This trending and field checking ofwhich included trend analysis and field measurements. This trending and field checking of
heating and air conditioning systems resulted in a long list of performance issues, and
produced work orders to fix them. Work orders varied from air sealing and insulation, to set
point resets, damper repairs, to simple temperature control.
So what were the results?
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18. Our building efficiency increased dramatically, currently running at $137 per square foot, all
utilities combined for a 24/7 operation.utilities combined for a 24/7 operation.
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19. Andover schools provide an excellent educational opportunity to teach sustainability, and
town departments enjoy working with the town’s youth. Last year on Arbor Day a programtown departments enjoy working with the town’s youth. Last year on Arbor Day a program
was created with the Doherty Middle School, the energy team presented and toured the
boiler plant with 2 engineering classes at the high school, and our Conservation Director
hosted a campout on Town conservation land.
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20. We could not be successful in getting the word out, gaining local support, and executing
these programs without the help of our community partners, of which these are a few.these programs without the help of our community partners, of which these are a few.
Andover’s citizens enjoy the outdoors, care about the environment, and many of them are
already educated about green practices. This makes Andover ready for continued progress.
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