Apr. 28, 2010 - Alliance for Economic Success Has Received Proposals to Perform Energy Audits for Government Owned Facilities in Manistee County
Contact: Cyndy Fuller, AES Executive Director
or Jim Draze, Consultant to AES
231-723-4325
For Immediate Release
Manistee Michigan – The Alliance for Economic Success (AES) announced today that it has received proposals to perform energy audits for government owned facilities in Manistee County. A leadership team of six community representatives, working with the AES, will select a consultant to conduct energy audits on selected facilities in Manistee County. Leadership Team members are, Rick Schrock, citizen representative, Frank Beaver, environmental planner for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Ramona DeGeorgio-Venegas, outdoor recreation planner and technician for USFS, Jeanette Somsel, vice president of retail operations for West Shore Bank, Sean Adams, owner of Bear Lake Ace Hardware, and, Jaclyn Miel-Uken, regional planner with the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments. Jim Draze, consultant to AES will administer the grant project. The AES is administering an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), awarded to Manistee County by the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth (DeLEG).
Manistee County, using $55,000 from the EECBG will administer energy audits for selected facilities. Local units of government will receive a Request for Proposals (RFP) to perform an audit in one or more of their facilities. Facility managers interested in an energy audit will be asked to submit proposals to the AES. All local government owned/operated facilities in Manistee County will be eligible for an audit. Eligible government-owned facilities include school buildings, health care facilities, Manistee County local-government-owned facilities, and county and city facilities. The RFP will be sent to local government near the end of May 2010. Responses will be returned to the AES before the end of June 2010. Audits will be performed during July, August, and September 2010.
Energy audits will be awarded on a competitive basis. To be eligible for an audit, facility managers will be asked to show/demonstrate,
- A history of energy costs for heat, lighting, etc.,
- The percentage of annual budget spent on energy costs,
- The square footage of heated space in a facility being considered for an audit,
- Description of any present or past energy conservation efforts,
- Pending plans for future energy conservation work,
- Capacity to implement recommendations from a comprehensive energy audit (a line item in a budget for energy conservation, for example).
The RFP being sent to local government will ask for this type of information. A goal of the county’s EECBG Energy Audit Grant project is to provide free, comprehensive audits for government-owned facilities that can realize the greatest savings from energy conservation, and that are best prepared to implement recommendations from the free audits.
“This grant is a perfect fit with the priority of our County Board of Commissioners and their Green Team to promote county-wide energy efficiency and conservation,” said Tom Kaminski, Manistee County Administrator. “The future of our County depends in no small measure on how well we lead in improving efficiency and reducing waste. This grant will be a catalyst to achieve important energy savings and waste reduction throughout Manistee County.”