MONKTON — The Monkton selectboard has created a town energy committee to explore energy efficiency programs, like the “Property Assessed Clean Energy” program, or PACE.
The committee will likely be comprised of five members, said selectboard Chair John Phillips, and will replace the sole energy coordinator position, currently occupied by Charlie Huizenga. When town officials recently began exploring the PACE program, they realized Huizenga would need help leafing through the details and searching for other comparable opportunities for energy-efficiency financing.
“It is more than one person should take on,” said Phillips.
PACE provides a way for individuals to finance renewable energy projects and energy efficiency retrofits. If a town’s citizens vote to participate in this program, the town would create a pool of money for loans by selling bonds. The loans would then appear as property-tax liens.
Monkton residents must vote to become a PACE community because the program creates special tax-assessment districts.
The Vermont Energy Investment Corp. (VEIC), which runs Efficiency Vermont, will provide the town with free consulting services to develop a PACE program. VEIC offers a range of services from identifying eligible properties to handling documentation to identifying financing options.
The new Monkton Energy Committee will explore the PACE program and decide whether the town should pursue this opportunity. If the committee likes what it sees, it’ll send the decision to voters on Town Meeting Day, Phillips said. 
Phillips encourages any interested community members to apply for a position on the committee.
“We’re looking for people who are interested in this committee to contact the selectboard by Dec. 12, which is the date of our next meeting,” he said.
Townspeople can notify Town Clerk Sharon Gomez of their interest at 453-3800.
Reporter Andrew Stein is at [email protected].