Edmonds accepts $55,808 AWC grant to fund energy audits at three municipal buildings

Tom, staff member, told Committee A on April 1 that Edmonds was awarded a $55,808 Association of Washington Cities (AWC) grant to perform professional energy audits at three municipal buildings — City Hall, the Public Safety complex and Public Works — and recommended forwarding the grant acceptance and audit-service agreement to the council consent agenda.

“Yes. They I have some good news. So, we, applied for a grant last minute, for energy audit funds, with AWC, and we're awarded $55,808 to con perform 3 different energy audits, 1 at city hall, 1 at public safety, and 1 at public works,” Tom said. He said the grant is a zero-match award and that McKinstry has been engaged as the audit contractor and can meet the required timeline.

Tom explained the audits will produce professionally verified energy-usage-intensity (EUI) scores needed for compliance with Washington’s Clean Buildings Act (House Bill 1257 was referenced in the discussion). Staff said the Clean Buildings Act requires verified EUI reporting for larger municipal buildings beginning in 2028, and earlier tracking could qualify the city for as-yet-unspecified incentives for early adopters. The grant requires the audits to be completed within 60 days; staff noted the contract execution and required procurement steps must be completed for McKinstry to begin work and for the city to claim reimbursement.

Committee members raised budget and procurement logistics questions. Tom said the services agreement was set with a not-to-exceed amount slightly above the grant to accommodate reimbursement timing and that the finance director would prepare any necessary budget amendment for council consideration. The committee recommended forwarding the grant acceptance and service agreement to the April 8 consent agenda and noted the grant’s completion deadline of May 31, 2025.