Courtesy of The Athens Messenger
By SARAH GUINN MESSENGER
STAFF JOURNALIST
Trimble school board members took action to reduce the district’s carbon footprint Tuesday evening by authorizing an overhaul of its lighting system to change all bulbs to LEDs by May of next year.
The service agreement with Energy Optimizers, based out of Tipp City, Ohio near Dayton, includes energy efficiency improvements and related ongoing services for 10 years totaling $1,084,294.03.
The total sum is broken down by a project buy down of $282,640 with monthly payments of $6,680.45 for 10 years.
Rebate dollars totaling $42,775 had been applied for by Energy Optimizers on behalf of the district and will be paid directly to the district by American Electric Power following close out of the project, according to a resolution on the school board’s agenda.
Rusty Bookman, a former superintendent for Meigs County Local School District and current representative for Energy Optimizers presented to the Trimble school board and administrators on the particulars of the energy-saving project.
The district currently uses T8 bulbs in its lighting fixtures, which burn 32 watts. Once the project is installed, the district’s wattage will decrease to 12 watts, Bookman said.
Current energy costs for the district come out to about $290,000 annually, Bookman said. Upgrading lighting controls and going to LED bulbs would bring the annual cost down to $74,244, according to Bookman, and net the district $33,648 in excess of the payments.
The project has been “a long time coming,” Treasurer Jared Bunting said. The biggest impact the project will have is making the students more comfortable, he said.
Bookman has seen LED lighting upgrades impact students, particularly those with disabilities, he said to the school board. Prior to upgrading, some teachers Bookman encountered on previous projects chose to turn off lights in their classroom because of an audible “hum,” he said.
Work is expected to begin in early January, and is scheduled as “third shift” to provide as little distraction to students as possible, Bookman said.
In other matters, school board members approved a five-year capital improvement plan as well as a transfer of $850,000 to the Capital Improvement Fund.
The funds will go toward correcting HVAC issues in replacing controls in both the high school and elementary/middle school building, Bunting said. It is expected to alleviate utility bill costs, he said.
