and I can hand it over to Chair Boight. >> Excellent. Good afternoon everyone. Um, I'm calling this public meeting to order at 4:34 p.m. In accordance with the building emissions reduction and disclosure ordinance, Boston City Code ordinances
section 7-2.2, Two, the Berto review board will hold a virtual public meeting at 4:30 p.m. on April 27th to review the following energy production and consumption. Sorry, to review the following topics in regard to the reduction of greenhouse gases from building energy production and
consumption so as to promote the public health and welfare of Boston residents. In accordance with the Massachusetts executive order suspending certain provisions of the open meeting law, we are conducting this public meeting online. The public may access this call through Zoom or telephone. For the record, I am Jessica Boatright, chair of
the board, and I will now conduct a roll call of board members. Board members, please say your name in the order they appear on the screen. Uh Jessica Boight, and I believe we're waiting for uh board member Ellis to join us. >> Stephen Ellis.
>> Oh, Stephen Ellis. Great. Awesome. >> Had Lori Ferris. Regginal Stove, >> Brian Warel. >> Thank you. Staff will now introduce themselves.
>> Hannah Payne, director of carbon neutrality in the environment department. >> Diana Vasquez, senior policy manager in the environment department. >> Hi everyone. Claudia Martinez, deputy director of policy and programs, environment department.
Thank you. Um, here's the agenda for today's meeting. We're going to start with the discussion and vote on the Institute of Contemporary Arts short-term hardship compliance plan application. The staff will review the post regulations they presented to the Air Pollution Control Commission. Uh, then we will approve the April 13
meeting minutes and hear administrative updates. Finally, we'll end with adjourning the meeting. So, we're going to move to the short-term hardship compliance plan application from the Institute of Contemporary Art. The staff is going to do a quick review
of the hardship compliance plans and then the applicant will present their slides. I'll give it over to Diana. >> Thank you, chair. Um, we just we figured since it's been a little bit of time since our last uh hardship compliance
plan hearing, we had one quick uh a onelide review of what a hardship compliance plan is and um what it's not to sort of uh give us a little bit of a reminder. So, a hardship compliance plan is a flexibility mechanism or option
that building owners um can use if um if they meet the requirements. And so it can it can provide relief and flexibility when complying with Berto emissions um limits by pro providing alternative either providing alternative emission standards uh and or timelines
for complying with this uh emission standards. It's also available to owners that have buildings um or if the owner themselves meet what we call an eligible hardship um in meeting those standards and it must be approved by the Berto
review board who can then set conditions on those approval. Uh a hardship compliance plan is not an exemption uh with complying with the standards. I think that is something we've heard. Um, and we just want to clarify, you know, hardship does not exempt you from having
to meet the standards. Um, and uh, it is not an exemption from reporting each year. So, you still have to report your building's energy use um, and have third party verification uh, when applicable. So, just a very quick one slide review.
>> Thank you. Um, can the representatives from the A come off mute and introduce themselves? >> Sure. Uh, my name is Jim Regis and I am uh co-founder of Atlas Real Estate Consulting and uh we are the agent who submitted the application on behalf of
the A. Uh I'm also here with Ellie Martinez, my partner. Um I can't see her on my limited screen, but I believe that she is connected as well. Hi everyone. I am Ellie Martinez and Gina already introduced us. A pleasure
to be here tonight. >> And we also have with us today Kelly Gford who's deputy director of the A. >> Hi everyone. >> And I believe that Pedro Rodriguez, uh, the facilities director for the AA has also joined the call.
>> Yep, I'm here. Hi everyone. >> Terrific. Uh, as Kelly I mean as Ellie indicated, we're very grateful to have this opportunity to uh address the board tonight and uh we hope that we can present you with some uh some clarifying
information that enhances our application as you have seen it to date. >> Great. Thank you for joining us. Um I'm going to hand a note I'm gonna sorry I'm going to hand the floor over to you. uh staff will control your slide so feel free to let them know when you want to
proceed to the next slide. >> Great. Thank you. Terrific. Um this is just our title slide which gives you the Berto ID number and the applicant Institute of Contemporary Art. So we can move on to the next slide.
Um we believe that uh as I indicated I'm the presenter today from Atlas Real Estate Consulting. Most people are familiar with the ICA, but we'll just kind of summarize for you that it is uh an important uh nonprofit cultural institution. Uh it's founded in 1936. Uh
it was founded as a laboratory for innovation uh in the contemporary art world and it is a wellrespected and recognized institution both nationally and internationally. Uh there are as heads you can count who
actually participate or uh receive benefit from the About 315,000 people a year. Um if you think of the fact that everyone who has a positive experience in any situation or any experience shares it with one, two or
more people, you can see that the A could have impact of of a million people a year very easily. Uh, as I indicated, it's a mission-driven uh nonprofit organization that is uh about innovation, arts,
access, education, and community engagement. Um, the A is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. Uh, Atlas Real Estate Consulting is actually a woman-owned entity. So, we uh benefited from that uh from their recognition of
of our uh status. And as we look to the future and to capital plans that may or capital projects that may come as a result of the decarbonization effort, the museum is open to looking at further ways to um do outreach within the
community and to keep uh contracting dollars in uh in the city of Boston. Um also should note that the A is proactive not only about climate change but about resiliency response. Uh there was a uh
VHB study done in 2025 and the museum is actively working through all of the things that were brought forward by that study and the museum is also a very active member of the um of the mayor's uh green ribbon commission
um and uh participates in those uh efforts as well. Um the A is a relatively small institution in that it is 65,000 square feet located on the waterfront of the seapport. Uh it is packed full with uses. We can say that there is no square foot of the building
which is not utilized. Um it is uh gallery space on the upper level. We have a large theater. Uh we have community art space, retail, food services and all of the offices that run the organization are all housed within this building. Um, as we will talk about
quite a bit today during the presentation, uh, the A is a 247 climate controlled certified environment because of the fact that it is a museum and not only a museum but contemporary art which often times utilizes uh, very um,
innovative materials that their stability is greatly linked to um, climate control. Um the HVA uh systems are subject to rigorous standards and certification for not only for art viewing but for art
storage. Uh we like to say from door to door from the time that the art is transported to the building it goes through steps to acclimate to the building environment and has to be maintained at a very specific level of temperature and humidity until it is
once again walked through the same steps and left leaves the institution. Uh much of the art at the A is in fact uh contracted for uh for viewing uh as opposed to being from a permanent collection. Uh next slide please.
Um sustainability efforts to date um no nothing is ever happens in a vacuum. So I will talk about things that have happened and then some of the results and some of the things that then stem from actions taken. Um there was a um uh
technical assistance study that was undertaken in conjunction with ICA and Evers Horse in 2024. Uh the final report was issued in February of 24 with very general focus and very general comments. uh it wasn't a strategic plan as much it
was a plan to identify where the building um could tighten up operations in terms of efficiency and reduce its consumption. Um that plan ultimately resulted in the
building installing in 2025 a new building automation system which was all the uh systems uh that control the intricate workings of the HVAC. um that is both heating, cooling, dehumidification, humidification and all
the things necessary to keep um the museum at very strict control in terms of temperature and humidity which we'll talk about in a little bit. Um uh there has been mass safe collaboration in terms of the initial steps to address oper operational waste
and increase sustainable operations and efficiency. Uh so the museum has benefited from some of those collaborations and some of the costs uh for the s the uh bas system that was installed. Um that has now led to the
next step of the sustainability efforts which is in 2026 the museum has engaged through atlas um BR plusa uh a nationally renowned leader in BAS controls and decarbonization planning
uh to initiate a master plan uh for the HVAC capital replacements and a decarbonization roadmap. Really what's happening here is that we're coming off of the new BAS system and realizing that the commissioning of that system needs to be much more
intricate and much more involved than what was done at installation in order to achieve the results that we are seeking to achieve. Um we're expecting that BR plusa in conjunction with Navatas um Nvidas I'm sorry the controls
company that we have hired uh will have some positive report and input by the end of June of this year. Um, and because BR+A is an approved vendor through Massave, they will have tight collaboration with Massave as to
anything that could possibly be uh bundled with their efforts to benefit the museum and benefit the uh decarbonization effort for the building. So we see now that as this 2026 is a very important step to getting commissioning in place that is going to
be optimized. We have seen some good results by manually manipulating the system, but we have to get to the place where the system can operate naturally and respond to input um organically and to uh best serve the building. But we
have been able to force through Pedro uh Rodriguez's efforts been able to force certain results that have shown that it is possible to do better in terms of consumption. Uh the museum has also done lighting enhancements. Um, an LED retrofit is always ongoing. Uh, the
lighting control system is no longer serviced uh by its provider. It's uh outdated and there is an upgrade under study to look at better ways of controlling and uh uh reducing uh consumption on the lighting side. And we
can confirm that all the HVAC uh system pumps and motors are in fact uh variable variable speed drives. And as part of the commissioning effort, uh those will be looked at to make sure that they're running at the maximum level of efficiency.
Uh next slide, please. So let's talk a little bit. I think we lost Jim's video. >> Yeah, I think he may be frozen. I wonder could someone from the ICA team
either text him and let him know or >> I'm reaching out right now. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Thanks. I don't know. Looks like Yeah, I see a black screen, but I don't know if maybe if anyone else from the ICA team feels comfortable
plugging in while James comes back. >> I just call him. He's coming. Give me give us a minute. >> Okay. The pros and cons of remote meetings. I wish I had some like waiting music or something. I think it was some
atmosphere. >> He's He's coming. I I just talked to him again. He's just He was having some issue with his computer. He doesn't know what happened. So, he's trying to come back. >> Oh, yeah. No worries. Were you trying to give us some elevator music, Zion?
>> Yeah. Something saying something a little ambiance I wonder if maybe there's a part of the deck that um that someone else from the team could do just while we wait. >> I can take a little bit on on this one
here about talking the humidity and requirements. Uh we are not a typical building where an office building can have the setbacks at night. Um but in museum environment we have to keep
humidity between like 50% 3% 5% up or down but we have to maintain this could the same as um temperature between 70° plus minus 2° but a typical building can be between 68
and 76 degrees and have the setbacks at night. So that's most likely explained in this slide with the 24/7 operations is also another requirement that we have to maintain day and night and counting
the humidity and corrosion that we have to be at the waterfront exposure. We can probably go to the next slide because this is explaining talking about the redundancy. Um, currently we have no redundancy for
humidification. Um, it's making a little bit more complicated to be better compliance for not having this redundancy. Uh we are also doing the master plan trying to
be able not only to have a better um humid humidification regulation but at the same time see how can how we can upgrade the equipment that we have or more efficient but at the same time maintaining the
requirements that we need for our building and for the financial Sure. I don't know, Kelly, you can elaborate. >> Sure. So, I think that you you probably have spoken or are familiar with several museums. The majority of our funding
comes from contributed revenue. Um, these donations are restricted in their use for the majority. Um and we would need and we have talked about um that we are going to need to do fundraising in the future specifically for
decarbonization um and that type of capital projects. We did a study um with WB Consulting in 2025 where they estimated the upgrades for us um to get to those burdo
requirements would be around 26 million 27 million for the equipment and then another 5 million for electrical. Um we can go to the next slide. Although I think I think James is back. Seems like he joined via mobile. Does
that sound right? Oh, you're muted if you are speaking. There we go. Um, I heard Kelly doing a great job and I don't mean to interrupt. Um, I'm sorry, but there's some greater network outage in my region right now,
so I apologize. Um so uh very quickly uh it sounds like we are through the unique building circumstances. Is that correct? >> Yeah, I think that's correct. Although I don't know if there was anything you you
want to make sure was said or we can just keep going forward. >> Um no, I think that it sounds like everything was covered. Its of course it is building without setbacks and of course its unique location on the waterfront is also a factor in terms of
how systems um can operate at at uh ultimum capacity as well as uh dealing with the um inevitable resiliency needs of the systems and the building itself. So there's a lot going on in terms of
this very small building, but uh from uh temperature control and the need for for consistency and 247 operation and its unique location all become part of the nuances that make this a very um
interesting and challenging project to decarbonize moving forward. Okay. So, I guess we can move to the next slide. Oh, actually, did we take care of the financial constraints? Great. Um so what's
interesting here is that really this this um hardship application is not really in a position where we can talk about the certainty of our future and our path but it is really about understanding our constraints uh as
fully as possible and being able to understand what time and funding requirements are going to be necessary in order to achieve the goals of the of the Berto program and achieve the goals really of the A. Um, based on the use of
the building, there isn't a heavy demand on the HVAC system. Um, as Kelly had indicated, the systems are close to the end of their useful life. That's the good news and that change will be necessary. Uh, the bad news is that
we're not quite certain as to what the best pathway is going to be for decarbonization at this time. Um, and as Kelly indicated, this the museum has constraints as to how their funds can be utilized and therefore um there will be
a need to raise those funds. So, at this particular juncture, yes, we are talking with the board about a short-term compliance plan, and we're hoping that best case scenario is that the building gets back on track under a short-term plan, but we also reserve the um option
or opportunity to come back to the board at some point and say based on what we learn through this phase 26 and 27, um what um based on a concrete plan and concrete action what uh would a
long-term compliance plan look like? So, we just want to be honest that right now we are working very hard to understand our uh decarbonization and resiliency uh needs and uh and we very much hope that we can accomplish that in a short term
but there uh is the possibility it could become long-term. Uh next step, next slide. Yes, I'm sorry. So what we have done is we've put together a request for relief based on the average
consumption over the last three years. Uh we certainly hope that we're going to be heading in the right direction and away from that. But we also understand that some of our actions to date uh where we thought the BAS system was going to have more concrete savings. We haven't quite realized that yet. We
understand sometimes a step forward is a half a step back. And so we uh felt it most sound to come before the board with a request for not exceeding the consumption of the average of the last three years understanding that right now
we should be at a default of 7.8. Um and that's just uh to be clear as to where that number came from. Next slide. And we just want to once again reinforce for um the board and for u just what an
important cultural institution it is and the wide impact that it has on the community and that um it's very important at this point that we all be focused forward so that the museum can continue to have a a long and productive
impact on the community. And therefore that's why we're requesting for the uh compliance plan is to not be immersed in situation where we're being penalized for not being able to meet our guideline our our set point default right now uh but can continue to use the money that
we have to support the uh the amount of cultural and other things that the museum does. Next slide. Um is commit to mission without meeting
term uh as they are at the museum. It's also to addressing the resern going in and out a little bit. Can't really hear you. Oh, >> okay. I don't know if you want to maybe turn your camera off. That could help
possibly. >> Oh, okay. Sure. There we go. Does that help? >> It sounds like we can hear you now. >> Does that help? >> Yeah, it sounds like we can hear you
now. If you want to redo the slide. >> Sure. Sure. It's just we want to end on the positive note of what we does and all of the cultural impact it has and all things does often times. >> Yeah, we're going in and out
>> and >> um I can do this last slide. So, um, one of the things I think that, you know, we're trying to convey is just, you know, the benefit we are to the community in terms of all of our free programming both inside and outside the
museum. I think that um you know when I do my community benefit report for the city of Boston um the whole scope usually comes in uh at a little over a million dollars but many of our programs well the majority of our programs are
free. We're always free for people 18 years and younger. Um we do participate in Boston family days. We have a plus one membership program where children can always bring in one adult with them. Um and we have many many free programs
that are on the waterfront. Uh one of our great partners over the past couple of years has been um the coalition for a resilient and inclusive waterfront. It's been great to work with them and introduce people to the A and just being
down in the seapport. Um the other two areas that uh we were higher highlighting is our commitment to develop a real decarbonization strategy to support the Berto compliance. Like I said, we started that with um the WB
report and we're continuing that um with Atlas to really try to implement those programs. We've also um hired a consultant to work with us in terms of our flood risk and capital planning
around all of you know the the things that we need to kind of mitigate flood risk and rising tides in the seapport. Think we can go to the next slide. I don't know if I should do this one. I'm so sorry. This is a little
disjointed. >> Move it back. >> Why don't you just read? >> Oh, sorry. >> He's not back, but I I can read it for him. Um, so this one is our compliance uh plan promises. Um, we definitely has
been showing accountability. Um and we are we are in our desire to have a collaboration with the city of Boston. So we we are promising that we're going to have um annual verdo reporting and
review. We're going to have a hence building monitoring of energy performance. Uh we h we have already continuing operational um acquid and proactive proactivity continuing collaboration. we must save on incentive
and opportunities. We're going to continue and evaluate equity emissions investment funds possibilities uh for 2026. As Jane explaining before, we are already uh working um to
establish and and create an emission reduction path. Uh we had engaged with um we we has complete a BA we're going to complete a BAA's commissioning. uh we had implement we will implement a
BAAS BAS optimization and system improvement uh with a targeting of 50% um reduction year-over-year for 26 2027 we have um scheduled the
capital planning that we mentioned before we are working with BR plus A uh which is creating a decarbonization uh plan for uh for the building. We also um we are also exploring um HBAC and
infra HBAC and and infrastructure change um not only that will be installated for uh for high cooling uh for high cooling the the demand back on house space IT security uh we also um implementing new ways to
run the chiller which will optimize the the running time of the chiller uh out of season. Uh for late 2026, we are planning to also pursue um energy procurement uh strategy where we are
looking we are looking to have um to we are looking to shopping around for a renewable renewable energy. Um, and for me 2020 2027, we're going to evaluate the need for a
long-term compliance plan. Um, great. >> And I think that that is the last slide. Is >> that the last slide? >> Yeah. >> Okay. Did you want to add one more thing, James? No, no, I'm good. Thank you. Oh,
>> okay. Okay. Thank you. Um, I'm now going to hand it over to the environment department staff for comments. >> Thank you, chair. I can provide some staff comments. Uh, so this application was originally submitted on September
20th or sorry, September 20th, 2025. Uh, staff found the application incomplete originally and recommended some revisions. Uh the applicant then resubmitted on February 6 um and submitted a final version that we then deemed complete on March 23rd, 2026. Um
we believe that the ICA demonstrated significant operational and technical constraints um due to its specialized use as a nonprofit art museum um continuous strict climate control requirements for art preservation uh that have to be in place uh I think as James said doortodoors from like the
loading dock to the galleries. Um and these requirements and high capital cost limit near-term feasibility of completing significant emissions reductions. Um so immediate full upgrades would also disrupt operations for the museum and conflict with the institution's uh uh mission of being a a
publicly available cultural space. Um, the applicant outlined long-term commitment to emissions reductions through a 4-year plan, uh, indicating that the requested short-term hardship is intended to support a long-term phased approach towards decarbonization and compliance with Berto requirements.
Um, as a museum with a unique design and energy profile, uh, staff believe that a hardship compliance plan is the best approach uh, for this for this building uh, in order to meet its Berto emissions compliance um, and set a a custom path to progressively reduce their emissions
over the long term. Um, so we think the proposed relief is in line uh, with other approved relief for other hardship compliance plans that have come before the board. um so far just the aquarium and the zoo. Um but also it's in line with the sort of uh proposed relief that
are that's included in the streamlined hardship compliance plan uh form that um is available to certain like nonprofit building owners. So with all of that said, staff recommendations are that uh staff recommend approving with standard conditions and the recommended special
conditions which are listed on the next slide. Um, I can read. Yeah, I'll read it off. The staff recommended special conditions include uh reporting updates on commitments. So, by March 1st of 2027, the ICA will share updates regarding
what was sort of titled as like phase one and two in their uh of their phase commitments within the application. Uh, including building operating system improvements, HVAC control, commissioning, and individual conservation efforts. Results from studies exploring on-site renewable energy production. results from climate
resiliency flood elevation studies and associated elevation surveys. Um reser uh results from engineering assessments plans and specification for initial equipment replacements and relocations and/or flood protection measures for the emergency generator and main electrical
room. Uh by March 1st, 2028, the ICA will share updates regarding phases one through three of their phase commitments, including initial steps for comprehensive chiller and/or mechanical system replacements uh with museum grade environmental control. Uh and if applicable after uh after a hardship
compliance plan extension, so short-term hardship has the ability to be extended for 12 months. uh by March 1st of 2029, the ICA will share updates on their um on their enhanced compliance monitoring and uh feasibility of reaching a 7.8
emission standard by 2030. Um and then in terms of acting on stated commitments for the duration of the hardship, the ICA must demonstrate good faith efforts towards implementing um their stated commitments or demonstrate good faith efforts to pursue similar commitments in the categories that they listed. So
emissions reductions and climate resilience Um, and that's it from me. >> Great. Thank you. Um, we are Sorry, I was trying to do something fancy. It's
not working. Um I before I go to board board Q&A, uh the fancy thing that I'm going to do is um I'm just going to put the recommended staff special conditions in the chat just so that we can um so
that everybody has a record of what they are um since there's a number of them. Um so that board members can reference it if they need to while we're uh while we're discussing. Um but uh I will so now that that's in
there um I will now ask each board member if they have any clarifying questions or comments. Um before we start I should note that the special conditions recommended by staff have been discussed with the applicant beforehand and they've been agreed to by
the applicant. If the board is considering new or additional special conditions, we will likely have to discuss them with the applicant before we can make a vote. I also ask that if you're proposing an addendum or addition to the conditions of approval, please be explicit and descriptive in your request
to ensure that we all understand including the applicant. Um, so now I will ask um for questions. And um before I turn it over, I do just want to ask um
I I noticed in the presentation that um the A discussed, you know, some some both um some financial challenges since COVID and also um anticipated potential impacts of reduced tourism in coming
years. And I just want to understand with the um alternative plan as it's proposed, are the activities that are that are needed to support the plan that you've proposed to us today funded or
are they um relying on some funds or um you know some funds or events that are that are not yet secured. Can I just ask a question? So, um, are you asking if our the the programming is
funded and supported? I'm saying that whatever measures you would need to take in order to ensure that you're meeting the alternative compliance standards that you've proposed. Are all those things things that are already in the works either happening or funded for the next couple
of years? or are some of those things things that you're still relying on philanthropy or operations income or other sources in order to make sure you can achieve them. >> They would need to be funded and we're
like actively in the process of that. So, you know, we have um for instance, one grant that we're supposed to hear about in like two weeks that's dedicated um for some of this BAS and facilities work. And then we have
another opportunity in September where we're going to be applying for a grant for the BAS system. So, it is a main focus of ours. you know, Pedro and I have talked about this pretty much since he's arrived is, you know, fundraising
for this and then also um we will be most going into a campaign in the next couple of months and we talked about capital as being a dedicated section of that campaign um
just because it is so hard to fundra for a capital project. So, we're going to make it a focus of our next campaign. >> Thank you. That's helpful. Board member Ellis. >> Yes. Thank you. And just checking that you can hear me well because I had to connect with my phone. All right. I see
some head nodding. So, first off, I want to thank Jim, Ellie, Kelly, and Pedro for your presentation. Um, I just want to admit that I I've been a happy participant of the ICA, particularly the first Friday since I've moved to Boston almost a decade ago. So, I'm glad to see
that you're still having those. Um, before I start asking questions to the ICA, I'm actually going to pose my questions to the city um, just to make sure that I'm understanding things contextually. So, Diana, um, I'll be looking to you and to help me out here.
Um, first off, this is the first museum hardship uh application that we've listed. Correct. >> Uh, correct. So far, this is the third short uh, sorry, this the first third hardship compliance plan to come before the board. The first two being uh, the
the aquarium and the second one being the zoo. >> Okay. Just wanted to make sure I understand like I didn't miss any other museum. So, ICA is right out in the front having to to sort of uh, go through this a little bit. But one thing that I I wanted to seek some clarification on and if we can just go
back to the slide where um the requested relief from the AA was a part of the presentation if you need the slide number. I think that was slide 14. Oh, perfect. Um I just wanted to make sure I'm understanding what I was seeing in the application versus what is the proposed
alternative here. So in the application the consultant Atlas I believe is the name of it uh had listed three years of um projected emissions. I'm assuming that you know if you take those three years the the average of that is 10.5
roughly speaking. And so I'm just trying to understand how did we go from 10.5 to 11.3 given the asterisk there is calling out 3 years and the application itself also calls out three years. And so I'm wondering how the city sort of um
understood what was being calculated to make sure that we're all on the same page. So, uh, I don't know if you can hear me. Uh, my phone. >> It's It still sounds a little bit unfortunately sounds a little bit in and
out. >> Um, but I can um I can add in a little >> three different >> Yes, thank you. >> Um, awesome. Okay. Um so I can add a
little color at least from the city's perspective. So uh the 11.3 standard here comes from the building's own reported emissions data for the last 3 years. Um this is actually also what was recommended to the aquarium in the zoo.
So sort of like benchmarking against um sort of benchmarking against itself. Um the idea being that because these buildings are sort of unique in the city and you know their energy profile is pretty unique. Um it seems like the custom plan that the hardship can offer was sort of maybe the best approach in
terms of a proposed relief. Um and that's so sort of where the 11.3 came from. Uh, and then I believe the projected emissions I'm may have come from the Berto emissions calculator, but I I'll let the >> Yeah, it came from that. And we are
consistent with the three years knowing that we have the same equipment. We're trying to make some adjustments, but we still working under the same type of equipment. We are not making replacement. We are doing adjustments. That's that's why. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, thank you Dianis and uh Pedro for that response. Um I'll
pivot over to the ICA uh for a moment here just to make sure that I'm understanding um you know with the requested relief uh you know in one of your future slides it I I I noticed the the statement that exhibitions for the
ICA are planned 3 to 5 years out and you know each art piece or any kind of installation in the museum would require certain types of temp temperature control from door to door. My main question here is for the future have we
projected you know what those uh additional art installations may need and will that cause your energy needs to be different than that 11.3 or or will it be higher is essentially what I'm trying to ask or is it just one flat
rate which was mentioned earlier which was the museum requirement of that 70° along with that 50% relative humidity just wanted to get a confirmation on that. >> Yes, that um Pedro, you can confirm as
well. That's confirmed. It's it's um the the types of >> the types of exhibitions that we have no matter what they are just need to stay in that requirement of the 7050.
Um >> yeah. >> Okay, not a problem. So essentially this is like a flat constant through the future. Um it just want to make sure that there's not going to be any potential surprise exhibition that requires even more control in in the
future because I I know you have some pretty intricate um excavations at ICA. So, with that being said, I I just, you know, want to just say that, you know, I support what you're asking for and the city's, uh, special conditions makes sense to me, um, given the engagement that we will be receiving from you as a
result of if you get your application approved today. So, thank you again and, uh, those are all my questions. I'll turn it back over to the chair. >> Thank you. >> Thank you um, board member Farooqi. >> Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the ICA team and the consultants. um big
fan as well. So uh I wanted to first start by asking have you all filed your report for the 2025 year? >> Yes, we started already. It has been submitted for the
the first the first step has been submitted and we are just waiting for the confirmation for the verification party. >> Got it. Okay. Thank you. Yeah, I'm not seeing it in the 2025 disclosure spreadsheet, but it may be
because there's that next step that needs to happen. Is that right? And staff may be able to clarify that. >> Um, are you asking about last year's reporting that was in the >> correct? Yes. >> Um, I can I can pull up the most
accurate um compliance status, but just give me a moment. >> Sure. Yeah. No, no problem. take your time and and I'll have other questions to say. Um sorry, Claudia, what were you going to jump in, too? >> Oh, no. Sorry. >> Okay. All right. No, you're good. You're
good. Um so, okay. Well, thank you. That's that's helpful. Um so, am I right then in uh taking that the current um emissions intensity is the one that was included in that um consultant brief, this is the 10.6 for 2025,
>> correct? >> Okay. Right. Thank you. Um, and I found this whole uh report and presentation very helpful. So, thank you for that. Um, so that's good to know. You mentioned as well in your uh request
that you would have to pay about $43,000 annually in alternative compliance payments without relief. Do you have a sense of what that amount would be if we grant relief today? Is that for the ICA? Not exactly. Can you repeat?
>> That's the fine, correct? That the 43,000 is the Berto fine. >> That Yes, that was our understanding that, and I believe this was even from your report, that if we do not grant this relief that you're seeking today, then you all would incur a cost of about
$43,000 in those Yes. fines of sorts, the alternative compliance payments. Um, >> yes, >> annually. Okay. And if we don't grant relief, I'm sorry, if we do grant relief, uh, then what do you have a sense of what that amount of money would be?
>> Well, I don't I know. Wouldn't I I don't know if we understand the question. Would the city I think the city would tell us what that number would be. Correct. >> So, I I can jump in. I think that the so the alternative compliance payments are
based on emissions above the limit. And so I think another way to perhaps ask the question if I may is um with the um if this uh compliance plan were approved, do you have any expectation of having
emissions above that limit for the next compliance for the for the next few compliance years? >> Okay. Not not emissions above the limit. No, we definitely the goal is to reduce and try to meet the the goal that the city requires. That's the goal. But
that's why we this hardship because we won't be able to accomplish it right now. But the not to go above. It's just always to keep reducing what we have right now. >> Great. Okay. Great. Thank you for clarifying. So it's it's zero effectively when you know is the expectation. Good. Right. >> Okay.
>> And um thank you. And then can you speak to a little bit of how what what how that looks in the context of your total budget for maintenance and operations for a given year the 43,000 I should say you know >> oh
>> um >> how the 43,000 will fit into our budget or how we What what percentage would $43,000 be of your um of your just your maintenance
and operating budget? >> For example, would it be 30% of your maintenance operating budget and over a >> just a ballpark? We don't need the specific number. Just wanted some context. Yeah, thank you for that. It it's true that the ICA has a very uh
skilled but a very lean staff. So it would be a significant percentage of their maintenance and operating budget. >> Got it. Okay, sounds good. Yeah, we can circle back on that and and certainly I do appreciate the uh the challenges of the restricted funds that you know limit
which how the total budget can be deployed towards you know these kinds of capital repairs and you know see that myself. Right. >> I see Hannah has her hand up. >> Yeah, Hannah. >> Yes. Just following up on the previous question about compliance. I was able to
confirm that they um did in fact complete their reporting last year. So, it may have been either um you know a when the report was done and when our compli um disclosure happened. I also noticed there's two entries which is so
it might be a data error on our end for that. But they are definitely did their reporting last year and in compliance for that. Um and then this year it looks like they're waiting for their thirdparty verification to get sent through to us. >> Excellent. Thank you so much. That's super helpful. Just wanted to make sure
that that minimum condition was taken care of before we talk about other things. Um okay, great. And then you all my last question is you know in terms of the next 3 years if we were to grant this relief do you even though your uh
emissions intensity standard would stay constant at uh you know just over 11 do you anticipate making any kinds of um emissions reduction um you know investments in that time? I I know you speak to that a little bit in
your report but if you want to just expound on that that'd be great. >> Yes. Um short answer is yes. The idea is to make some improvements. We are we have some equipment that is aging. We definitely need to replace some we can extend the life and part of the equipment that we have but at the same
time reducing or consumption and that's why we need the commissioning a full commissioning of the system and trying to find out what we can lower set points and lower humidity controls. But it is possible. Yes, it is. And and Pedro, you
can speak just a little bit to some of the cooling you might take offline. >> Correct. For the shoulder seasons, um we are we have been testing when we can turn off the chillers on and off and use the humidific I mean um or um
economizers, open economizers. And with the test that we made, we were able to identify areas where we can have some savings, especially on the shoulder seasons. Definitely. Yes. The consumption should be go down instead of up. And yeah.
>> Excellent. All right. Well, thank you. This is very helpful. Uh, no other questions right now. I'll yield back to the chair. >> Thank you. Um, board member Ferris. >> Thanks. Um, thank you for the presentation. Uh, it's really it's great to see how much you anticipate being
able to achieve through retro commissioning. Um I I had a question about the climate control um uh constraints. I guess I've I've seen a lot of research coming out in the museum space that's expanding those temperature
ranges and humidity ranges even if just by you know a couple of degrees or a couple of um percentage points of humidity um in in collections in the US and elsewhere. And I was wondering if that's something you all had explored. Um, and you know, given that I'm sure you're locked into contracts is a lot of
the the uh works you show are on loan rather than part of a permanent collection, but if that's something that you've um started talk exploring internally andor I guess discussing with artists um to potentially incorporate. Yeah. >> Yes, we already started a conversation with the curatorial department. We
already um about two or three months ago uh there was some small changes that we can go up and down a little bit more than where we used to have not a lot but even two% is is a lot for for HVAC
system and yes we had those conversations we are trying to implement it right now uh but also at the same time knowing that we can't just not make changes from like 45 to 50% to maintain that it has to be slowly up or down in a period of 24 hours and not that we can
make the changes right away. But yes, those conversations are in place and and we already implemented. >> And do you have a sense of how much that may help reduce emissions over the next few years? >> We haven't made those calculations yet. Um,
>> but basically Pedro, it's basically going, if I'm correct, like, so now it's 50% and it widens it to 45 to 55% or 40 to 60%. >> 40 to 60. >> Yeah. >> But we we cannot go all the way down to
40. We we maintain under 43 to go back to 45. And that's why it's a little bit difficult to make those calculations right now because it's something fairly new. is part of what we're doing with Atlas and BR plus A >> by June 30. We should be able to have
more data on that. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. And Lori, those are the Beo protocols and we actually just worked with the Gardener Museum and did, you know, we invited guest speakers in to talk to us about it. And it was after the work that we did with the gardener
museum that our register, you know, heard everything and asked all her questions and she agreed to um for us to follow those beo protocols. And so as part of our like reacreditation, we have
to include like our facilities report that includes information like that. So we are including that we're expanding our guidelines a bit and like you were saying so then like artists and other institutions will all be aware that
we've expanded and we've embraced the beo protocols. >> That's great. Thank you. Um yeah, I think it will be exciting if since you're able to implement that to start to see some of the benefits and um it's it's great to hear that you're uh working with the gardener and other
institutions to share knowledge. I think a lot of people will benefit from that. Um, and I I guess I similar question, not a similar question but about knowledge sharing is since you are such a prominent cultural institution with with such broad public outreach, I was
wondering if you had considered maybe as part of the fundraising or just as part of your programming um uh talking about the the um decarbonization and resilience measures you're taking through some of that programming. >> We'd love to. I mean, I think that
ideally, um, you know, we get, you know, once we can get some of those grants and some of that funding to implement the BAS system where um, Pedro and James want to take
it, and we start to see those changes, we definitely want to do that. We we did a presentation um with the GRC around like the BO protocols and I think that this would fall, you know, into line with that. Um
definitely I think that there's, you know, sharing for like midsize museums like us that that's really beneficial across the field. You know, we're not big big like the MFA um you know, or the Met or MoMA. So, you
know, institutions that are our size, it's really helpful. >> Yeah. All right. Thank you. That those are my only questions. Thank you. >> Thank you, uh, board member Latimore. >> Yes. Thank you. And I, like other board
members, have a fine museum also. My daughter went through programming there for a couple years in high school and thoroughly enjoyed it and does sometimes come back and participates and works occasionally for
the museum as well. So, um she very good program program. So, appreciate it. Um I'm just curious about um looking at the staff proposed special conditions and curious about the the relationship between the first condition which is the
ICO share updates regarding phase one to two and two of their phase commitments uh with the BAS etc. How that relates to the study that is going to be completed by June 30th of this year. Is is that is
is that phase one and two the study or is that a separate issue that's going to be completed by June 30th? That's my question. One of my questions. >> I believe that's related to you're
you're uh I believe you're referring to the the study to sort of update the HVAC. >> Yeah. Yeah. The first one. What's due by March 1st, 2027? And I'm just curious how that relates to the study that the museum, as I understand, the museum is
doing a study that will be done by June 30th of this year. If I understood that correctly, some type of a study. >> Correct. The study that we that we are currently doing already started and it's going to be by June 30th is to identify where we can make those corrections
where we can do uh the commissioning of the system where we can have more savings >> and that will kind of lead us into the second one which is the the repairs. >> Yeah. So the the first um the first bullet point uh so basically the idea
will be but that by March 1st 2027 we'll have uh an update on how you know the results of that study that can be shared with the board. >> Um and I can maybe add a little bit more color to the March 1 deadline. So that's also the reporting deadline for the um
special conditions related to the zoo and the aquarium. So hopefully just trying to keep them aligned so that we can um keep track of the the reporting deadlines for the different heart approved hardship compliance plans. I I don't know if that's maybe that was part of the question. Why why March 1st?
>> No, no, that answers the question to some extent. I mean I'd be interested in seeing the study, you know, whatever is done by June 30th, but no no pressure on that. I'm just curious about what that would look like. Um so that's fine. Um it answers my question. Thank you. Um
the other uh question I have has to do with the I I recall when the ICA moved to the seapport about 20 years ago and was a big splash and a huge moment momentous occasion. I thought the
building got some design awards as well if I'm not mistaken. Um and I wonder I don't know if any of the ICA staff is around was around back then. Couple of things. One is like when when you talk about an almost $31 million estimated
cost to do the um emissions upgrades, emissions reduction upgrades. Um wondering like how if anyone knows historically how that compares to I assume there was a capital campaign to actually build the new building. how that compares and how long that took and
just trying to get a gauge of like the real the realism of of time for that $31 million cost if anyone has history on what I assume was a major major similar kind of campaign for the new build for the building it went 20 years ago. So
that's my first question. That's my second question. So, um, the campaign for the new building was $65 million, uh, in total, and I believe that took five years
to raise that that 65 million. Um, yeah. >> Okay. No, that's that's helpful. And I also wondered if there given given the location of the museum and I know things change quickly especially in environmental issues and systems issues.
Um but I just wonder if there were any if there were any kind of at that point in time uh innovative environmental and energy efficiency um uh factors built into the design. I'm just wondering if anybody knows.
>> Yeah, there were not. That's interesting. >> There there were not um even to the point where we're doing this climate resiliency, you know, kind of study for rising sea level. Um one of the things that BHB
told us was at that point, um you know, they so when they were doing those designs, it was it opened in 2006, so maybe the designs were done in like 2002.
um they were not thinking that rising sea levels would be like what we know today. So there's some like structural things with the building that it wouldn't be built the same way today as it was built in 2006 because of like
you're saying those the changing know like the knowledge that we have now. >> Yeah. Yeah. That it's it's interesting that the difference 20 years makes in this in this field. Yeah. One thing that they did do, I have to say, is they put um the majority of the mechanicals on on
the top floor. So, so they did do that. There's some mechanicals that, you know, are unfortunately on the first floor, which we're talking about how we move those. >> Um, but that was really it. >> How time changes things. So, thank you. No, those are all my questions. So,
thank you. age back back in 2006 what were on on the table was to have condensing boilers gas fire which was the most efficient at the moment but now we are getting out of gas >> right right time changes thank you uh
that's all I have thank you >> thank you board member soal >> yes thank you um I just I pretty much everybody's asked us all of the questions. I I noticed when you came on, you said that when you did the capital
work, you were going to make sure that people from the area were hired to do it. I just want to make one more statement. I I hope and pray that you hire um you do your best to hire um
minorities and women as contractors. And that's pretty much all I uh had to say. I'm done. >> Okay. >> I yield back to the floor. >> Thanks. I wasn't sure if the applicant wanted to respond to that or just we can
move on to um we can move on. >> I'll take it. I'll take a response. >> I know. >> I want to hear from you guys. Well, um I think as I indicated, if you can hear me, um this is Jim. I you know,
Atlas is a a womenowned enterprise and uh we're very happy to be part of this planning and uh implementation process on the decarbonization. And although the museum doesn't have a specific policy right now, I know they're open to conversation, discussions as to how
enhanced outreach can be used when these large projects come forward in the future. >> Okay, >> thank you. Um, councelor Roel, do you have any questions? And then I see a
couple of additional questions um for another round. >> Uh thank you chair. Thank you to ICA uh for your presentation and also big fan of the museum um and the access you
provide the community to your space. I just am, you know, this is like my third or second meeting and I'm just blown away on the, you know, expertise and the questions my uh fellow commissioners have presented and I'm learning a lot.
So, I I have no uh follow-up questions. Um I think a lot of great questions in the presentations have covered um a lot of it. So, thank you uh for the presentation um and look forward to supporting uh the A in uh their hardship
proposal. Thank you. >> Thank you. I see another question from board member Farooqi and then um and then board member Latimore, why don't you go after him? >> Great. Thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, my question was building upon what board member Doville had asked and Jim had
answered some piece of this, but I just wanted to ask it again if the anyone from the ICA wanted to speak to this as well. um if you wanted to speak to any of the current policies or uh practices that you have with respect to minority business enterprise use or more broadly
disadvantaged business enterprise use um broadly speaking within you know your operations but if you have anything specific to um you know the capital side that would be helpful I think for us to know >> sorry I'm trying to unmute myself Um
I I don't we don't have a you know I don't think we we do I don't think I we don't have a written policy yet but I know that it is something you know that we actively look at you know I'm just thinking about Pedro the you know that you hired not only just local Boston but
local East Boston for the watershed um and you know our cleaning service um is local so I know that it is something that um you know we actively look for. Uh that is interesting to me. So I
should have to say like me in my role. Um it does the city have a temp like do you have like a template that you give people like that you use for like that type of policy? because that is something that I'm interested in
in understanding like and just if you if you already have something like that written up that you use for your own handbook or your own policies I would love to see that um because I know that that's something that you know we would definitely try to do.
>> Yeah. Yeah. And Kelly, I I I know you were off last week, but I was talking to Pervy or HR department last week about it and see how we can implement my notaries and with this enterprise into u the A. We are the process. We already
started with the small contractor as Kelly mentioned for the watershed. Uh we are moving away from the current contractors to small vendors as far as plumbing and electrical. That's what we can have at the moment. We haven't make many changes, but this is a good
opportunity after we have our report by June 30th from Atlas and what needs to be done to have the opportunity to hire those type of vendors. Yes, >> that would be great. Thank you. >> That's great. If I can just directly respond, that's a great question and I
certainly would not be the expert on all of this, but typically the way that I've seen those kinds of policies be um memorialized by an organization is typically within the scope of a collective bargaining agreement. That may or may not, you know, be the case for every uh building owner. That may
not sometimes make sense, but um if I'm sure there are other city departments that would be more than happy to support terms of figuring >> I'm sure I can find it. I I'll I'll look into it. But thank you. >> Of course. Thank you. That's very helpful.
>> Guess I should move on. >> Yeah, go ahead. >> Thank you. Yeah. No, I appreciate um board member Stoval raising this and also the followup with board member Farooqi and I also was going to follow up on this very thing. Um these equity issues are extremely important uh
historically to the board. Uh so I appreciate that. I guess uh in terms of res I was going to also um you know your question about resources um for this there are multiple examples. I know my past nonprofit organization had kind of
a jobs policy so to speak that so there are multiple examples. I'm sure the city can as board member Fuki said can share anything they have. But I was going to also ask the city um to talk about the uh WMBBE resources. We had some
conversations about that at at a previous um review board meeting about making um resources uh available to uh applicants that you know related to WMBBE utilization meaning just de um I'm
sorry my daughter's singing. She's distracting me. Sorry. Um just having like a list of uh women and minority business uh businesses to offer to applicants. And I know we talked about that. So I don't know if the city wants to reiterate that or just make sure that
applicants know the availability of those type of lists. >> Yeah, I can um jump in and answer that. Um, so there are like two big lists um that the city of Boston maintains one list and we can follow up um with the
applicant with these resources too um of kind of folks uh businesses, women minority owned businesses that have registered with the city and then also um the state maintains a a separate list as well. So those are two of the big ones. I know um board member Latimore you shared some others so we can include
those as well. Um, and typically, you know, I think they're and we can try to crowdsource some some guidance and I think as we get more applicants through, we can hear from others of what they've done. But, you know, doing things like um like in the city, it's like when we do a procurement um we make sure that we
always include at least one um p um someone from that list, those um qualified vendors or women minority business list um in the b or solicitation. So making sure that you know at least there's um an opportunity to respond and then evaluate folks on
that. So that's you know one thing but we can share those lists and some of those tips after this. >> Yeah. And uh this is Jim again. Uh, and I can tell you that our experience in the affordable housing world is that um there are um there are things that we
can share with the A in terms of how to implement um outreach programs that are effective in terms of the uh the communities they reach in terms of women and minority owned businesses. >> Thank you. Are there any other questions
from board members? Okay, seeing none, um we will now open a public comment period. As a reminder to members of the public, uh to provide a public comment, you can use the raise your hand function or type it in the chat. If you're calling in, you can use
your raise your hand function by pressing star9 or send your comments to staff via email at border review board.gov. One final reminder reminder, please try to limit comments to three minutes or under and um please try to phrase your
um thoughts as comments um rather than questions if you're able. Are there any public comments? All right, I do not see any hands. Let's give it a few a little bit longer. Okay.
Um I'm going to move on um and ask if there are any further discussion or questions from the board or a motion regarding approving this application. It can be a motion to approve with standard conditions and the special conditions proposed by staff. um or a motion to
continue this hearing to a future date if there are additional special conditions that um that people want to propose. >> A motion to approve ICA's application with standard conditions and special conditions as recommended by staff.
>> Thank you, board member Ellis and board member Latimore. Um, on the motion to approve the IC's application with standard conditions and special conditions as recommended by staff. How do you vote? In favor, opposed or abstain. I vote in favor. Board member Ellis
>> in favor. >> Board member Farooqi >> in favor. >> Board member Ferris >> in favor. >> Board member Latimore. >> Favor. >> Board member Stoll. >> Um, I saw his hand raised. And then
>> favor. Okay. No, no. And then, um, councelor Royel. >> Yes. >> Great. Um, the eyes have it. The motion passes. The A's hardship compliance plan has been approved per the regulation. The environment department will send the
applicant a copy of a written decision letter within 7 days. Thank you for your presentation um, and all of your work and um, and all your time and answering our questions as well. Thank you. Thank you so much for all of
your time. We really appreciate it. Thank you. >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> Great. Thanks to the board and to staff. Uh the staff has been amazing. >> Thank you. >> Thank >> Thank you. >> Um so we'll now discuss the proposed
regulation updates that the staff presented to the Air Pollution Control Commission and I will hand it over to Claudia. >> Hi everyone. Um next slide. Oh, thank you. Um, so I'm just going to give you
um review of the same presentation that the Berto team presented to the Air Pollution Control Commission at their last monthly hearing uh where we propose amendments to Berto regulations related to requirements for Massachusetts class
one Rex. Um so the background of why we uh came to the air pollution control commission and request this regulatory update is to ensure that massclass one Rex remain a feasible option for building owners to come into compliance with the mission standard during the
annual Berto reporting season. And there's three sort of key uh timelines that we have to work with at the same time when we're talking about building owners being able to procure and retire mass class one rex. The first layer of
requirements is the ones that are set by Berto and specifically Berto regulations uh which set requirements on when a musclass one wreck can be generated and retired to be used for a given compliance year. in um current in the
current version of the regulations. For example, for 2025 emmissions compliance mask plus one Rex Rex uh must be generated any time between Q1 2024 and Q4 2025. On top of these um restrictions that are
set by our own regulations, building owners have to work through the specific trading periods that exist for mask plus one Rex within Nipple, which is the organization platform where Masclass 1 Rex are actually bought and retired. Um,
so for example, uh, staying with the 2025 emissions compliance year, Q4 2025 Rexs, uh, which are the last bunch of Rexs that are eligible for 2025 emissions compliance, those can be traded from April 15 to June 15 of 2026.
So this in principle would work with the BTO reporting deadline, which is May 15. Um however there is an additional layer uh of timelines that building owners have to work with which is that uh wreck brokers so the actual companies that
sell and retire wrecks on beha on behalf of Berto building owners usually need to receive wreck orders in advance of grading periods to be able to set aside enough Rex for their clients. Uh so again staying with those Q4 2025 Rex uh
building owners would have needed to purchase these Rexs for brokers by March 1st and this is the deadline that we had for Massless One Rex connector program. It is possible that this deadline varies by brokers but generally they just need to know how many wrecks a client it's
pursuing in advance of this trading period. So with these three timelines that are working together at this point, these conditions do not physively feasibly allow building owners to buy maskless bond Rex during the annual reporting season. Uh this being the May
15 original deadline and also especially now that we have also a reporting deadline extension. Next slide. Um so this is just a table that shows the nipple trading periods for um rerecks that are currently eligible for
to be used for 2025 emissions compliance. So you can see uh for each quarter quarter of Rex when they can be traded the nipple issuance date it is the first day that wreck could be tra retired in in Nipple and the nipple trading deadline is the last day that
that wreck could be um retired in Nipple. So again, this just shows that um Q1 2024 to Q4 2025 um that last trading period is April 15, 2026 to June
15, 2026. Um which again under or even our own city program for uh connecting building owners to mask one Rex, those would have needed to be bought by March 1st of this year, a deadline that has already passed. Um and you can see that
other wrecks that could be traded during during the actual um annual reporting period. Uh so Q1 2026 Rex or Q2 2026 Rex are not currently eligible to be used uh for 2025 emissions compliance. Next
slide. Um so the solution that we proposed to the air pollution control commission was a draft regulatory language that would extend when mask class one rex can be generated and retired um by six months. Next slide.
This is the actual draft language that is included um in the draft regulatory language that is open for common public period. I'm not going to actually read all of this language, but I want to highlight what each of these sections is actually doing. Um and all of this is
reflected on section 10 of BTO regulations and this is the only section that has any draft um amended language. So in um the first two um kind of bullets A and B that is the language
that is extending when M mask plus one Rex can be generated in retired. Uh so with the amended the proposed amendments Rex might be generated within the 12 months before a compliance year within the compliance year or the 6 months following a compliance year. Um and
owners must demonstrate that directs are retired no later than 12 months after the end of the compliance year. So that is the core change that we're proposing. Um you will see under uh paragraph B there's uh two new subsections. I uh one
and two. And what this does is clarified how reporting for wrecks that are bought and retire after a reporting deadline would work. Um this is all based on section four of our regulations which already establish how building owners must keep additional information that
it's relevant for emissions compliance after a reporting deadline. So here we're just pulling from that section and clarifying how it would work for Rex. Um, so what we're proposing is that owners who acquire wrecks after May 15 or the alternative reporting deadline uh
would submit proof of wreck purchase within 30 days of that purchase. Um, and owners um who do not have proof of wreck retirement by May 15 or the applicable deadline would have to submit proof of wreck retirement by the earlier of 30
days from the retirement or no later than December 31st. Again, this is just the same timeline that is used for any other additional information that a building owner would give that is relevant for emissions compliance. And finally, a new section C gives the burd
uh to change these timelines in future years if there are any unforeseen circumstances that we cannot um control. uh changes to the RPS requirements, changes to the market itself uh or other unforeseen circumstances so that if
there is any issue with these dead deadlines in future years, we don't have to go through a whole regulatory update and we can come to the Berto review board to propose alternative um timelines as needed. Next slide.
Um so this is how that same table I presented before that has all of the different nipple trading timelines would look like with the proposed changes. Essentially what uh the changes would result in is that Q1 and Q2 2026 Rex would now be eligible to be used for
emissions compliance uh for the 2025 calendar year and uh we have been in contact with green energy consumers alliance who is our partner for the massclass one red connector program. So with these proposed changes, um, building owners would be able to buy
maskless one Rex for 2025 emissions compliance as late as October 31st. Next slide. Um, so the next steps is that the Air Pollution Control Commission already voted to open a public comment period on the proposed draft regulations I just presented. This
public comment period is open until Friday, May 8th at noon. Um based on any comments that we'd received, we would go back to the Air Pollution Control Commission uh during their monthly hearing in May, which I believe is May 13, uh with any changes that we might do
in response to comments. Uh and uh our hope is that the Air Pollution Control Commission would be able to adopt these regulatory changes at that hearing. Um considering there's no um significant changes to the the language, of course.
Um, next slide. And we believe this is all and uh, happy to answer any questions the board may have. >> Thank you, Claudia. Um, I'm going to go around and ask each board member if they have any questions or comments. Um, I just have one question, which is, um, I
I know that we we've discussed this proposal I think at our last meeting. So, I'm just curious um were the contents of our discussions at the meeting and and the minutes shared with
the air pollution control board or is it helpful for the board members to share the same questions and comments um as part of the public comment in order to be sure that um that our our discussion is recorded as part of the public
comment period. I guess I can answer that one. Um I think that um it's a great question. I um I think that looking at you Diana, I think that we can capture meeting minutes and include if there are kind of comments and feedback, we can um figure
out how to include that in a package with the public comments for um the Air Pollution Control Commission. >> Okay. Um, yeah, I don't um Oh, Diana, did you have another thought? >> Uh, no, just just echoing. Yes, all comments are captured in the in the
minute. So, if there's any like specific feedback, we can definitely capture that. >> Uh, yeah. Um, I mean, my main thought is just that we did >> discuss this last time. I think it was a thoughtful conversation. And I think there was a lot of deliberation and I think that the uh the general sentiment
unless another board member remembers it differently, the general sentiment was that you all had spent a lot of time thinking about this and that it it makes sense within the confines of the reality that we live in and what's available to building owners. Um and I think the
board generally felt comfortable with it. So, um I would just it would be great to share those minutes as as part of the public comment if that's possible. >> Yeah, I think that's a great suggestion and we can do that. And also um I think
we can also kind of share that in our presentation that we make back to the commission um following the public comment period as well prior to their vote. >> Great. Thank you. Um board member Ellis, do you have any questions? >> Yes. Thank you, Chair. And uh first off,
thank you Claudia for um this presentation. I I appreciate the the detailed red lines of of changes that are being proposed. Um as I said before, I think it this is something that I support. Um just for the sake of languages cuz I want to make sure I I
read this correctly. Can you go back to the proposed draft regulation language, please? Okay. So, under section uh I'm going to call it B. I'm not going to read all the way down there. B2. I I'm just making sure that I understand the second part
of that B. December 31st of the year the wreck was retired. I can you explain that to me in in a different layman's term because I I'm I feel like I'm reading that incorrectly and and I it might need to have the language
tighten up. Um maybe not, but if you can just explain that to me again so that I make sure that I'm I'm capturing what you said. Yeah, actually Diana, could you go back one slide to the table with Naple? Um, thank you. Uh, so what I wanted to
show here is that with the proposed changes, Q2 2026 Rex would be the last batch of Rexs that would be eligible for 2025 compliance, for example. And you can see here the trading period is October 15 to December 15 of 2026. So
even if a building owner wanted, they couldn't retire a Q2 2026 wreck after December 15. Uh so what we're saying in the case of a building owner that did this the last possible day, December 15, they would have to provide documentation
of that retirement no later than December 31st of that year. Uh so we would not be accepting proof of retirement in 2027, for example. Uh so that just covers that scenario. Um according to section four of the
regulations, uh building owners generally have 30 days since they get new information to report that uh to the city of Boston. Um so in the case of Rex, we're doing the same once you get proof of retirement. Give us that proof of retirement within 30 days, but it
should not exceed that same year. >> Okay, got it. cuz I was just reading that and I I was like but the Rex are for December 20 in this case 2026 not 2025 but you're saying retire retroactively backwards to to the to the year that you're reporting on is that
correct? >> So it says that year that retire. So if the wreck is retire in 2026 it would be no later than by and okay got it. Sorry different from Yeah. No it's so many deadlines. Yeah. >> Yeah. Okay. Not a problem. I I got it
now. And um I also just want to appreciate the support that you are giving for the board to uh be able to have um some wiggle room for flexibility cuz these purchasing and contracts can get a little bit convoluted and and timely or take a long time to approve.
So I appreciate that section C on um on the proposed draftulation as well. So uh thank you for that and I will yield my time back to the chair. >> Thank you board member Farukqi. >> No questions. Thank you, Claudia. This
is great. And um I think the chair's characterization of the last discussion is accurate. So, thank you. I'll yield back. >> Uh board member Ferris. >> Uh same here. No questions for me. Thank you.
>> Thank you, board member Latimore. >> Yes, same here. Good presentation. Appreciate it. And no questions. >> Thank you. Um board member, >> I have no questions. Thank you. I'm glad that uh Steve asked that question
because it kind of answered the same. I had the same thing. I was trying to figure it out myself. Thank you. You did a great job. >> Thanks, Councelor Ro. >> Thank you, Chair, and thank you for the presentation. Uh no, no questions. Thanks.
>> Thank you. Um we will uh move on to the next item. Please keep us posted um as that moves through the air pollution control board. Um the fourth the next agenda item is to approve the previous meetings minutes from April 13th. Are there any questions or comments
regarding the minutes? >> Motion to approve. >> I think we have a motion from >> second. Do you want to make a a motion from board member Latimore, a second from board member Farooqi. Um on the motion to approve the meeting board
member Ellis. >> Sorry, I apologize. I I was trying to get to the the hand button here. Um just question regarding not to hold up the board's time but because chair you had asked about notes being shared to the air pollution composed commission. I'm
reviewing the notes. I'm not really sure that there was much said uh on behalf of the board regarding what Claudia just presented. I I mean hold on one second. I I think I found it now. And just to understand what would the city staff do
with board's comments? Hannah, can you provide or shed some light on that, please? >> Yeah. So, I think there's a few things. One, we can like include the minutes in a package of like all the the comments
of like this was discussed at this here at this um meeting and you know sharing that with the commission and like with the whole like package that they get. And then I think the other piece that we can do is in our verbal presentation to the commission and um I believe staff
comments also ahead of that we can note that we presented this to the review board. They are supportive of this and um kind of just give a general overview of that of that the discussion we had and the support from the review board
for these changes. >> Okay. So, is the whole minutes or just sections of those minutes essentially? >> I Yeah, I I have I'm like I'm not looking at the whole minutes. I So, I don't know how long they are, but we could Yeah,
>> I just want to make sure that the instructions are clear because I I don't know if it's necessary to send an entire B of Review Board minutes to the to the commission when we're only talking about one specific section. So, Diana, I saw you unmuted. Yeah. Uh I was going to say
I'm I think we can also specify for sections related to the the updating of the of the regulations because uh agreed. I don't know if if the commissioners need to read the full the full minutes. So happy to just like pull out uh specific sections.
>> Well, and I'll just clarify. I mean I think yeah the minutes are public, right? So maybe you just refer to them in your notes, but my general thinking is if if I was on the board, I would want to go back to the minutes and like read and
make sure that there hadn't been anything like nothing positive, nothing negative said is the more important thing I think to me. So obviously today we have recorded >> positive feelings about your work. Um but um yeah, so I think a section is
fine, but I also just in my head, you know, the commissioners like at least one of them likely will look to our minutes just to make sure that there wasn't extend the fact that there was an extended conversation is also a reflection of our support, I think. >> Okay, thank you for the clarification
staff and chair. Sorry for holding up that process. I just was like, wait a minute, are we just sending everything to them? But that's not necessary, but I'm good. We can >> Okay, great. So, there's a motion on the floor from board member Latimore to approve the minutes with the second from
board member Farooqi. Um, all those in favor, please either say I or um raise a hand. >> I
>> Great. Um any abstained any opposed? I think we are unanimous in our eyes. Um so the minutes have been approved and we will now move to administrative updates which um Diana is going to do this meeting. >> Yes. Uh happy to provide some
administrative updates for you all. Uh currently we have not received any new submissions for flexibility measures at this time. Uh so there are no uh applications that are queued up uh at least at the moment for review. Uh as a
result of our last board meeting, as you may remember, the review board voted to one extend the reporting deadline to August 15th um and update some policies that shifted um a small number of buildings from lodging to healthcare.
So, we've notified all of the we've notified via the Berto newsletter, via a message through the reporting platform called Touchstone where people go and report for Berto and on the Berto website that the reporting deadline has been extended to August 15th this year. Um, and we've also emailed every owner
that had that sort of shift um in their building use type to sort of notify them that this shift has happened so that they are now within the healthcare category. Um for some uh updates in terms of our engagement, we are hosting
the last Berto inerson workshop of this year on May 5th in Roxberry at the Bowling Building. Um it's from 3 to 6 and uh registration is not required, but it is uh it is encouraged so that we can sort of get a number um or an estimate
of like how many people we think will show up. Um the event page is available on the Berto website, boston.gov/berto. /berto. Um, we're also hosting a Oh, we well we hosted an equitable emissions investment fund information session on
April 15th. The slide deck and recording for that is also available on the fund website and we have another information session on May 6th coming up. It's also virtual. Um, and we'll also update the slide deck and recording on the website there. Uh, as a result of that, we also
now have a log of questions that are asked about the fund on the website as well. Um, and just just as a heads up, uh, we also, Alberto team member is planning on joining our partners at Built Environment Plus at the Massachusetts Apartment Association
Expo. So, trying to meet owners where they are and spread the word about Alberto and, you know, so they can understand sort of their resources and options. Um and then lastly there because there is uh well here our next scheduled
meeting is May 11th but we don't have any agenda items for the for that meeting. So we were going to propose forgo in that meeting since we don't actually have anything to bring before the board. Um and then just a reminder that the next meeting is May 25th but
that is actually a holiday. So the city will be closed that day. Um, so that they will actually move to Tuesday, May 26th. And that's it for me. Thank you. Um, any significant concerns about May 26th?
Great. Um, so, uh, is there a motion to adjourn the meeting? >> Moved. Second. >> Uh, a motion from board member Furki, second from board member Latimore. Um, on the motion to adjourn the meeting, board members in favor, say I or raise
your hands. >> I, >> I. >> All right, we have a unanimous vote to adjourn the meeting. Um, so the meeting is adjourned at 6:14 p.m. Thank you everyone um for your participation today.
>> Good night. >> Thanks so much. >> Thank you everyone. Good night.