Lakeville energy committee to pursue school outreach and library lighting rebates

The Town of Lakeville Energy Advisory Committee spent the second half of its Jan. 12 meeting discussing how to work with the regional school district on energy conservation education and grant applications and identifying near‑term municipal projects to pursue with utility rebates.

Committee members agreed there are two distinct audiences to approach — students and school administrators/facilities staff — and recommended separate, tailored outreach for each. Members urged beginning conversations with the district’s operations staff to understand existing contracts and recent performance contracting work and to identify who would complete grant applications.

Practical next steps and assignments

- Outreach to schools and facilities: Members suggested approaching John Higgins (operations) and Greg Goodwin (director of facilities) to review current energy work and determine whether school buildings would be appropriate candidates for Green Communities or MassCEC funding.

- Samples and technical assistance: The committee requested examples of successful grant proposals and Sullivan (DOER) said DOER could provide templates or point to prior applicants; members said sample applications would help them prepare a focused package for the district.

- Library lighting: The committee discussed a lighting retrofit for the library that already appears on the town’s capital list and explored using a Middleborough Gas Electric rebate to reduce costs. John Gregory volunteered to reach out to lighting vendors, obtain quotes and pursue rebate paperwork with the library trustees.

- Data and performance contracting: Members also asked staff to locate prior Trane performance‑contracting reports and other energy audits so the committee can identify buildings with favorable payback timelines for grant applications.

Why it matters: Schools are among the town’s largest energy consumers, and targeted grants or rebates could yield both energy and operating‑cost savings. Committee members emphasized combining education for students with administrator‑level proposals that show clear budgetary benefits.

Next meeting and follow up: The committee set its next meeting for Monday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. and agreed to advance outreach to district operations staff, gather sample grant proposals and move forward on library lighting vendor contacts.