By Ron Leir
KEARNY –
So it’s a brisk fall day. Not too chilly. But now the old boiler kicks in, the heat begins to rise and suddenly it’s so uncomfortably toasty, employees have to throw open windows to get relief.
That’s the kind of predicament faced by workers in its municipal buildings that Kearny officials are hoping to circumvent in the near future.
They took the first step to achieving that goal Dec. 6 by designating Honeywell Building Solutions of Morristown to devise an “energy savings project” for the town.
Mayor Alberto Santos said the plan is for Honeywell “to help us reduce energy consumption in our buildings – where a lot of energy is now wasted – and thereby reduce our utility bills.”
Santos said the town is following the example set by the Board of Education, which has an energy plan in process. “They’re ahead of us on this,” the mayor said.
Last year, a municipal committee solicited, from various energy firms, what Santos characterized as “preliminary proposals” on general strategies for solving Kearny’s energy dilemma and rated them.
Honeywell’s submission “got the highest point total” from the committee, Santos said.
Honeywell representative Paul Pilsbury outlined the company’s conceptual pitch and gave out explanatory handouts at last week’s mayor/Town Council meeting.
The chief advantage of its business plan is that Kearny could expect “no capital outlay” to implement the plan’s recommendations; the project would be funded “with energy and operational savings,” the handout says.
Asked to elaborate, Santos said that any purchases of new equipment or physical plant improvements would be financed either through a state energy investment vehicle or by “market-generated tax credits.”
Any debt incurred would be paid off over time through energy savings, the mayor said.
The company handout says that “Honeywell guarantees savings,” meaning, according to Santos, that the company incurs the risk of having to make up any gap in the debt payments if the predicted energy savings fails to materialize.
Based on an “energy audit” that the company performed in June 2010 of Kearny’s 12 municipal buildings, including a “detailed review” of Town Hall and the Laurel Ave. property that is occupied by the Police Department and the Water Department, Honeywell’s town-wide plan calls for:
* New boilers in the Public Library’s main and branch buildings, Town Hall, Fire Station 1, the Health Department and the Senior Center.
* Rooftop units and chiller at the Police/Water building and at Town Hall.
* Lighting and motion sensors in all 12 buildings.
* Building management controls in all 12 buildings.
Total project cost is estimated at $1.7 million and total energy savings is projected at $111,000.
Santos said he expects Honeywell to submit a “final plan” in two to three months for review by the mayor and council who, he added, would decide which elements of the plan to actually implement.
Honeywell is recommending a 15-year municipal lease or refunding bond arrangement as the contractual vehicle.
