5.3. SR 03-07-2011~j
Elk REQUEST FOR ACTION
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River
To Item Number
Ci Council 5.3.
Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by
Administration March 7, 2011 Gary Lore, Building Maintenance
Su ervisor
Item Description Reviewed by
Cancel City Hall Solar Thermal/Reheat Project and Reject All Rebecca Haug, Environmental
Bids for the Project Administrator
Reviewed by
Tim Simon, Finance Director
Action Requested
We recommend that the City Council cancel the City Hall Solar Thermal/Reheat project and therefore
reject the bids for this project
Background/Discussion
At the August 2, 2010, City Council meeting, it was the Council consensus to apply for a School District
and Local Government Renewable Energy Grant Program-ARRA. The project submitted for the grant
was a solar thermal project at City Hall. On September 8, 2010, we received notification that we were
awarded the grant and on December 27, 2010, we received the grant agreement.
The proposed project would install 16 solar collectors on the south facing roof top of the City Hall
building. The system would then be piped into the second floor to a holding tank system with a series of
pipes and pumps attached to a heat exchanger to circulate treated water and transfer heat to the existing
heating system.
The City received two bids: one from Johnson Controls and another from Signature Mechanical. While
the bids were competitive, working with the bidders and the mechanical engineers which submitted plans
for the project, it became clear that the production of the system would not meet our expectations for
payback, due to our current heating system and the number of solar collectors we can put on the roof.
After reviewing all the data with the Office of Energy Security and the city environmental division, the
consensus is that we would achieve greater results by upgrading our heating system and doing other
improvements which would have an immediate payback with the funds allocated for this project. The
Office of Energy Security may allow us to reallocate the grant dollars to a different energy savings project.
Financial Impact
The capital improvement plan had allocated $50,000 for the city match on this project. The updated
calculations would produce a yearly estimated payback in the range of $1,800 to $2,300, or about 16 years
based on the city contribution.
Attachments
N/A
N:\Public Bodies\Ciry Council\Council RCA\Agenda Packet\03-07-2011\Solar Bids.docx
Action Motion by Second by Vote
Follow Up
N:\Public Bodies\City Council\Council RCA\Agenda Packet\03-07-2011\Solar Bids.docx