Council advances plan for guaranteed-energy contract to upgrade police district facilities

Cleveland City Council on July 28 introduced an ordinance authorizing guaranteed energy-saving performance contracts to design, install and construct energy-conservation measures at the city’s police district facilities. The ordinance, filed as Ordinance 7 23 20 25, would allow the director of capital projects to enter into guaranteed maximum price contracts with Lopardo Energy LLC, authorize maintenance agreements for the improvements and permit the director of finance to enter into installment-payment and loan contracts to finance the work. Council President Blaine A. Griffin introduced representatives from the contractor to the chamber, saying, “This is the group that has the unenviable task of trying to repair our police department stations,” and thanking them for staying through the meeting. Eric Betts and Heather Gurey were identified in the meeting as company representatives. The ordinance text describes a guaranteed energy savings performance contract (GESP) that bundles design, installation and construction and pairs that work with financing mechanisms intended to be repaid from the energy or operational savings the project produces. The ordinance also authorizes the director of public works to enter into maintenance agreements for the installed measures. The measure as presented is described in the ordinance as “as amended,” but the transcript does not record a final vote or amendment text specific to this measure during the public portion of the meeting. Council members introduced the legislation during the second-reading section; the council later conducted multiple procedural votes on a package of legislation but the transcript does not clearly tie a final passage roll call to this single ordinance. If approved in subsequent action, the ordinance would allow the city to finance energy upgrades at police facilities through installment or loan contracts and to enter into a guaranteed maximum price contract with Lopardo Energy LLC. Background: Guaranteed energy-savings contracts (GESC/GESP) commonly pair capital upgrades with a contractor guarantee of a level of energy savings and use financing that is repaid from those savings. The ordinance text indicates the city would also be able to authorize related maintenance and financing documents.