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Board hears detailed presentation on guaranteed energy savings, HVAC and building repairs
Summary
A committee presentation and board discussion covered a proposed guaranteed energy savings program (Constellation and other vendors), legacy HVAC and building-automation limitations, planned RFP next steps, and several facility-level change orders and quotes including chemical disposal and new blinds.
Board members received a lengthy committee update on a guaranteed energy-savings approach and related facilities work across the district.
A committee presentation summarized an energy-efficiency assessment that listed potential projects (chillers, windows, LED retrofits and building-automation upgrades) and described a financing model in which projected energy savings would help repay bonded work. The district said the next step would be to issue a request for proposals (RFP) so multiple firms could submit proposals; the presenters noted Constellation was one of several participating vendors.
Facilities staff and board members discussed the complexity and technical constraints the district faces. Maintenance staff explained that the district's heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment is mixed-brand and aging, causing communication and control problems: "We have different equipment in all of our buildings...we have Trane, Carrier, Lennox... the integrated systems is not communicating as well because we have old equipment, new equipment," a facilities representative said. Staff said modernized building-automation would make diagnosing hot and cold rooms easier by showing valve and fan status remotely.
Board members pressed on cost, vendor fees and measurable savings. One board member said the guaranteed savings approach can be opaque to nontechnical stakeholders and noted the district has not yet signed a vendor contract. Staff said the district has the option to stop after receiving RFP responses if proposals are unsatisfactory.
During facility reports board members also discussed several near-term projects: a maintenance-area chemical disposal quote of $33,750 to remove about 30 drums of hazardous waste; a change order on the Gateway Middle School sanitary-vent work (staff said the change order relates to vents in the older portion of the building); and a quote to install interior/exterior blinds at Gateway Middle School for $23,176. Staff said the district's insurance carrier will pay a $50,000 settlement for a civil action and that the district has approved school medical providers for 2025'26. Maintenance staff said the district intends to run chemical-disposal removals annually going forward to avoid large accumulations.
Board members asked staff to continue pursuing funding sources, including state legislative contacts for capital projects, and to return with RFP language and options at a future meeting. No final procurement decisions were made at the meeting; the board instructed staff to proceed with the next steps (RFP and finance-committee review) and to provide additional cost and savings detail for review.
