Vancouver City Council on Aug. 4 approved a project to replace fluorescent fixtures with LEDs and to modernize City Hall’s lighting control system, citing failing equipment and a state mandate to meet energy-use standards.

Wyatt Jones, project manager in the city’s facilities department, told council the existing lighting-control system is original to the building, obsolete and unsupported by the manufacturer, causing occupancy sensors and switches to fail in conference rooms. Jones said the project has two main components: LED retrofit kits and a new lighting controls system, and that the control-system replacement is where most costs are concentrated.

Jones said the state’s Clean Buildings Act requires municipal buildings over 50,000 square feet to meet specified energy-use intensity targets by June 2026, and that the project advances compliance. Councilor questions framed the project as primarily a reliability and code-compliance fix rather than an energy-investment-first project; Jones and staff said they evaluated multiple measures and selected the most cost-effective approach.

Councilor Fox asked whether Clark Public Utilities incentives were being pursued. Jones said the energy service contractor engaged Clark PUD and included some incentives in its proposal.

The council approved the interagency agreement for the energy service contractor. Staff said the improvements will also align lighting quality with current IT and cybersecurity standards and improve maintenance reliability.