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Council accepts $416,800 AWC grant, authorizes consultant contract for city building energy audits
Summary
The city accepted a $416,800 Association of Washington Cities grant to conduct ASHRAE level‑2 energy audits of several municipal facilities and authorized a professional services agreement with Cezanne Group Incorporated to perform the work required to meet Washington’s Clean Buildings Act audit deadline.
The Kent City Council on April 1 authorized the mayor to accept grant funds from the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) totaling $416,800 to conduct energy audits of selected city facilities and approved a professional services agreement with Cezanne Group Incorporated to perform the audits and produce final reports.
Facility Superintendent Tona Kao told the council the grant was awarded to the City of Kent on March 6, 2025, and requires that the audits be completed by May 31, 2025. The funding will support ASHRAE Level 2 energy audits for city-owned buildings identified as at risk under Washington’s Clean Buildings performance standard, including the Showare Center; Kent Commons; the Administrative Services Building; and the City Hall campus (Centennial Center, City Hall and Police Headquarters), which is metered as a single campus.
Why it matters: Washington’s Clean Buildings Act (House Bill 1257, signed in 2019) sets energy-use intensity targets and requires audits and compliance reporting for covered buildings. Kao told council the audits will produce Energy Star analysis, site assessments and recommendations; significant work identified later may return to council for funding or inclusion in construction projects already planned (for example, upgrades to Centennial Center and the Administrative Services Building may be folded into other projects).
Kao described the project schedule as compressed because of the grant timeline: kickoff and data review in early April, site visits mid‑April, analysis through late May and final audit reports by May 26, 2025. The consultant will collect and analyze utility and as‑built data, perform on-site assessments of HVAC, lighting and plug loads, and deliver final audit reports.
Council members asked whether the audit requirement is the same as compliance (Kao clarified the grant covers audits only; compliance deadlines vary by building) and whether audits will be required for renovated or new buildings such as KeyHawk (Kao said KeyHawk is under construction and lacks data now). Council also asked about measuring energy use at buildings the city plans to vacate before compliance deadlines; Kao said systems remain active and can be assessed while equipment and meters are in operation.
Council approved both motions—accepting grant funds, amending the budget, and authorizing the mayor to sign subgrant documents, and authorizing the mayor to sign the professional services agreement subject to final terms acceptable to the parks director and city attorney—by voice vote. The transcript shows no roll-call tallies.
Next steps: city staff will finalize the subgrant agreement with AWC, execute the consultant contract with Cezanne Group Inc., and begin the expedited data collection and site assessments so final audit reports can be completed by late May.
