Traditionally one of the purposes of the Infrastructure Committee is to vet requests for support and make recommendations to the Board. At its October meeting, the Committee discussed public policy position guidelines, drafted to help define how we make those decisions. The guidelines are modeled after a policy adopted by the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce.
The Tech Council is often asked to take a position on technology-related concerns. Recent examples are Cape Light Compact’s three-year energy efficiency plan, and aspects of Cape Cod Commission’s regional policy plan. Not all issues brought to the Infrastructure Committee relate to our mission or are of interest to our membership. There are also restrictions on what a tax exempt organization is permitted to do. We do not traditionally endorse candidates.
When organizations or individuals come to the Infrastructure Committee with concerns or areas of interest, they may present a specific request for support. Vineyard Wind, for instance, asked us to support a particular environmental statement that was under consideration. On occasion, the Committee may request a written statement from the organization specifying what they want us to support.
The Infrastructure Committee makes recommendations to the Board based on how issues affect our constituents or organization, and if we believe there is consensus among the Tech Council’s members.
The committee agreed it is useful to have these guidelines and will ask the Board for its approval. Once approved, the policy will be posted to the website.
Net Zero Conference
See how businesses can come back from the pandemic in a way that’s more sustainable, with less of a carbon footprint, at Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative’s Net Zero conference. [Note: conference sessions may be viewed at netzerocapecod.org]
Free Wi-Fi
The Committee is interested in assisting underserved individuals access internet access. At a previous Infrastructure Committee meeting we had discussed creating or sourcing a list of free Wi-Fi hotspots. A subcommittee was formed to develop recommendations for a resource page on the Tech Council web-site.