Thurston County to lead regional heat-pump group-purchase campaign under new interlocal agreement

Thurston County is serving as lead jurisdiction for a regional heat-pump and heat-pump water-heater group-purchase campaign under an interlocal agreement presented Jan. 21 to the Board of County Commissioners.

Doctor Rebecca Harvey, climate mitigation senior program manager, told commissioners the interlocal agreement (ILA) defines partner roles among Thurston County and the cities of Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater and Tenino. The county will handle contracting with selected installers for the overall program and will oversee administrative functions. The ILA includes a not-to-exceed administrative budget of $47,000, allocated across four partner jurisdictions at a per-partner cost not to exceed $11,007.50; the money will come from the county’s existing climate mitigation budget.

Harvey said the county closed an RFP for installers on Jan. 10 and received 10 submittals. Staff had shortlisted six finalists and planned interviews to select a set of installers; she estimated final capacity would likely land in the range of three to five installers to support local businesses while meeting anticipated installation demand. Harvey also said a future contract with Habitat for Humanity is expected to administer low- and moderate-income subsidies funded by grant dollars.

Commissioners asked about installer capacity and selection; Harvey said she would return in February with a contract recommendation for the low-income administrator and continued staff work on installer contracts. The ILA’s administrative cost will be split among participating jurisdictions and is within current budget authorization for climate mitigation.

Ending: Commissioners approved placing the interlocal agreement on the consent agenda for the afternoon meeting; staff will return with the installer contract and the Habitat for Humanity agreement for subsidized installations.