Energy manager needed, says sustainability board chair

 

BY PRU SOWERS

KONKLIFE STAFF WRITER

 

As budget negotiations for the upcoming fiscal year begin in earnest, the Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) is urging the City of Key West to create a new position of energy manager.

 

The proposal, made by SAB Chairman Michael Larson in his board’s annual report to city commissioners on June 3, would create a $45,000 a year position overseeing energy audits of city buildings and other city-owned property. Energy audits typically perform a top to bottom examination of a building to identify leaks, inefficient lighting and other energy-wasting areas that boost municipal water and electric bills. By swapping out old lighting systems for more efficient LED light bulbs, replacing aging insulation or drafty windows, the city can potentially reduce its energy costs.

 

Larson said energy efficiency consultants can do these audits for the city but they typically charge tens of thousands of dollars. By hiring an in-house energy manager, the city could save an estimated $90,000 each year, he said.

 

“We believe an energy manager would save almost twice their salary just by doing these energy audits in-house, identifying savings and putting those programs into effect,” Larson told commissioners.

 

One of the SAB’s previous accepted recommendations to commissioners, hiring a sustainability coordinator, has resulted in the city receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in state and federal grants spent on improving energy efficiency. Those grants – which include $250,000 to replace the bulbs in Duval Street lamp posts with LED bulbs, $20,000 to build a community garden in Bahama Village and another $61,000 to weatherize 150 homes in Bahama Village – were the result of efforts by Sustainability Coordinator Alison Higgins, Larson said.

 

“That’s money not coming out of our budget. That’s money that’s being brought in by city staff and the sustainability coordinator,” he said.

 

Larson gave several examples of budget reductions produced by programs put into place by Higgins, including $8,000 saved by removing unnecessary water meters, an $18,800 reduction in the cost of lighting city ball fields, and $4,500 by composting horse manure locally instead of paying to haul it away. Larson said an energy manager could produce similar savings for the city.

 

In addition to hiring an energy manager, Larson also proposed the city create a new part-time position of bicycle/pedestrian coordinator. The $35,000 a year job would be responsible for educating citizens on the benefits of riding a bike, planning events and proposing new locations for bike racks. But an important part of the position would be finding financing to implement programs.

 

“We need to identify grants because we can make improvements to our bicycle/pedestrian safety with grants and save some money for the city that way by having somebody actively working on that,” Larson said.

 

Larson’s report also included a summary of the progress made in the past year by the SAB in carrying out its mission of educating the public and advising the city on its 2009 Climate Action Plan. City commissioners listened to the report but only Mayor Craig Cates commented on it.

 

“You guys have been very busy. I appreciate it,” he said.

 

 

 

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