The Select Board at its meeting Tuesday night learned about the potential benefits of a municipal aggregation plan for electricity and a proposed upcoming public forum on the topic.

Municipal aggregation is a process through which a municipality purchases electricity in bulk from a competitive supplier on behalf of its residents, according to the state website. Communities also can join together to procure electricity in an effort to reduce cost.

Town Manager Elaine Lazarus told the board that while the Board of Selectmen had voted more than a decade ago to enter into the municipal aggregation plan, “it determined later that the terms were not advantageous to residents.”

Because of changes in the program since that time, Lazarus said that the town has been looking into municipal aggregation over the past year or so. Eversource, the supplier of the electricity, would remain the same. But the electricity may be purchased through another vendor, potentially at a cheaper price.

Julia Chun, the town’s sustainability, economic development and equity project manager, explained that under a municipal aggregation plan, there would be a distributor and a supplier of electricity.

“Municipal aggregation basically allows the municipality to set contract terms for anyone who resides or is located within the town to automatically be opted into this aggregation plan,” she said.

People would be able to opt out of the plan at any time or participate at different tier levels, she added.

One benefit of this program is its focus on providing “green electricity,” according to Chun.

Consultant Mass Power Choice has created a draft plan for the town that has been sent to the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) for review. It then must receive final approval from the state’s Department of Public Utilities (DPU). This takes about four months and incorporates public feedback. Once approved, the town and the consultant can put out a request for proposals for the electricity supply company.

Said Chun: “We’re well positioned now to have a public comment period for 30 days, where we’ll introduce the draft plan to residents.”

She hoped to schedule a public forum in late July. Once the meeting is held, the 30-day public comment period can begin.

Vice chair Mary Jo LaFreniere, who chaired this portion of the meeting, balked at the idea of having a meeting during late July because many residents will be on vacation. While both LaFreniere and member Amy Ritterbusch suggested holding the forum in early September, member Joe Clark asked Chun for her advice.

“I’ve had residents reach out, excited about moving this program along as quickly as possible,” she said. She recommended holding the forum at the end of July with a virtual option. If it is held then, Chun anticipated that the final plan would be approved in December.

Geoff Rowland, the chair of the Sustainable Green Committee, agreed with Chun. His committee had begun doing research on municipal aggregation before Chun joined the town’s staff last year. He explained that municipal aggregation is “incredibly common throughout the state.”

About half of the towns in the state participate in the program, he added, noting that the “vast majority” of them paid below market rates for their electricity. By contrast, Hopkinton’s rate has usually increased over the past few years.

Said Rowland: “The sooner we can get this done, we can save residents and businesses money through their electric rates ideally.”

Clark asked if the forum could be recorded and was told that it shouldn’t be a problem by Chun.

“It’s seems like a lot of work’s been done in the background,” said Clark. “Let’s not slow it down anymore.”

Cultural district progress outlined

Chun also spoke to the board about progress on creating a town cultural district.

The town’s Cultural Council has been working toward creating a “map of assets” over the past few years to include in the cultural district, she said. Fifty-seven assets have been identified, including the Hopkinton Center for the Arts, the Hopkinton Public Library and several local artists.

Said chair Brian Herr: “It sounds like a pretty strong inventory.”

Representatives from the Massachusetts Cultural Council will be visiting Hopkinton on July 30 to tour the town and learn about these assets. The cultural district would include the downtown area and the historical district. Chun noted that it would not impact current zoning.

The cultural district designation should “entice more artists to come to town,” Chun explained. There are about 50 cultural districts in Massachusetts now.

Board approves annual appointments

The Select Board voted 4-0 to approve the annual appointments to town boards, committees and commissions. Appointments to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board, the Personnel Committee and the Woodville Historic District Commission were uncontested.

The Council on Aging had six applicants for four seats. Incumbents Gail Levine, Nancy “Punky” Drawe, Paula Hass and associate member Sandra Story were reappointed in a 4-0 vote.

The Select Board reappointed seven incumbent members to the Marathon Committee. They included Judith Pitasi, Jane Goodman, Alex Danahy, Craig Gormley, Chuck Wallace, Jacques Leduc and Jean Cann. The four new applicants were encouraged by LaFreniere to volunteer to learn more about the committee’s function.

Peter LaGoy was reappointed to the Trails Committee for what he said will be his final term.

New process introduced for approving town hires

The board approved the recommendation by Lazarus of hiring new employees during the consent agenda. This freed up meeting time that was previously used for applicants to introduce themselves before being interviewed by Select Board members in a basically perfunctory manner before being officially hired.

Clark suggested periodic appearances of groups of new employees before the Select Board to welcome them to their respective roles.

SGC proposed committee charge revision tabled

The Sustainable Green Committee sought approval to amend its charge, adding required qualifications. These included attending at least one meeting in advance of seeking appointment, committing to attending most meetings, and committing to volunteering between six and eight hours of volunteer time.

Committee secretary Linda Chuss explained that in the past, some people had been appointed to the Sustainable Green Committee without understanding the depth of commitment involved. By the time they decided to resign and a new person could be appointed, an average of three months of volunteer time was lost, Chuss said.

Herr suggested that the request be tabled until it could be reviewed by town counsel because of the requirement aspect. Chuss suggested that the requirements be changed to recommendations if town counsel perceived an issue. Herr said feedback on appropriate language would be provided by town counsel and shared at a future meeting.

Application language also could be modified that would ask applicants to review the committee charge, Chuss added.