Special to the Record
Add climate change and environmental sustainability to City Manager Jay Ash’s seemingly endless list of priorities. 
Both in his municipal role and as president of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the regional planning agency for 101 communities in and around Greater Boston, Ash is emerging as a respected advocate for better ecological stewardship.
“We need to be cleaner and greener,” Ash told a MAPC conference of 150 municipal officials and energy consultants he led at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston recently. “Municipalities can and must lead the way, and we need to bring our residents and businesses with us towards a healthier planet.”
At the MAPC conference, Ash discussed the emerging energy and environmental strategy he has been developing for Chelsea. Among the items he discussed were the pending conversion of street lights to more energy efficient LEDs, weatherization of local homes, increased recycling, the City’s interest in renewable energies and the likelihood that the City would engage an energy manager to assist both City government and local residents and businesses in energy conservation initiatives.
To advance those and other initiatives, Ash is seeking advocates and experts from the community to participate on an environmental sustainability committee. He hopes to have a committee comprised of City officials and community volunteers work with him to steer municipal and community efforts on what he is calling a “Greener Chelsea” agenda.
“We’re fortunate here in Chelsea to have many people taking up the sustainability cause. In some cases, those advocates are pushing us to do more, while at other times, City government may be leading the way. No matter whether we lead or follow, anything we can do to be more responsible stewards of our environment is a good thing,” stressed Ash.
Those interested in learning more about participation on the Greener Chelsea Committee can contact Ash at [email protected], or send him a communication at 500 Broadway, Chelsea, MA 02150.