Diane Blevins Posted January 8, 2007 Report Share Posted January 8, 2007 Proceedings of the Board of Trustees District No. 2, Yellowstone County High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County Billings, Montana October 11, 2006 Call to Order The Energy Innovation Committee Meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2, Yellowstone County, Montana, and High School District, Yellowstone County, Montana, was duly held at The Lincoln Center, 415 North 30th Street, Billings, Montana, October 11, 2006, at 12:00 p.m. Those present included: Trustees Joel Guthals and Rachel Stagg, Larry Grendal, Ed Gulick, Jeffrey Gruizenga, Rich Whitney, Superintendent Jack Copps, and Nancy Hines. Communication from the Public There were no public comments. Approval of Minutes of September 26, 2006 Corrections were made to the minutes of the Energy Innovation Committee Meeting of September 26th. Jeffrey Gruizenga made the following motion with a second by Ed Gulick: Motion to approve the minutes of September 26th, 2006 as corrected. Those voting in favor were Rich Whitney, Rachel Staff, Ed Gulick, Larry Grendal, Jeffrey Gruizenga, and Joel Guthals. The motion passed unanimously. Discussion of Proposal from Energy Education Inc. and Possible Recommendation to the Board Rich Whitney reported Jeff Weldon, legal counsel for the District, has reviewed the letter and proposal to Jack Copps by Energy Education Inc. The committee discussed the list of legal concerns submitted by Mr. Weldon: 1) bidding process needed to follow District policy; 2) cost avoidance calculations were not clear and could easily lead to litigation; 3) Energy Education would hire the energy manager for the District which is not consistent with Board policy and state statute, MCA 20-3-324.2; 4) collective bargaining agreement issue could arise with the possible change of work rules; 5) the District needs to be careful about what type of confidentiality is agreed upon in the confidentiality agreement as the public has the right to know; 6) Mr. Weldon was not certain the ‘not to compete’ clause would comply with Montana law; 7) termination fee could lead to issues with the cost avoidance calculations and validation items, and the guaranteed language does not favor the District. Trustee Guthals felt Energy Education was not agreeing or promising to do anything in the contract. He stated if the District were to enter into an agreement, there should be an attachment that states the service and describes the program. Jeffrey Gruizenga stated he was having a problem with the $4,200,000 over seven years with a $2,400,000 energy budget. He did not believe the numbers penciled out for what the District would be getting as the consultants would have to spend six weeks in each building over a four year period. Larry Grendal stated it should be a radical approach to reaching 23% savings. Superintendent Copps stated he knew from the beginning that the contract would be an issue and he was not sure if the human behavior side could generate enough savings. He wanted to find some type of process in this District that a savings could be delivered. Mr. Copps stated it would be worthwhile to look outside to see if there is anything available that could aide the District but he was not sure this company would be able to provide us with what this District needs. Trustee Guthals reported he met with Ed Graff after the last meeting and voiced his concerns and questions. There are many items in the contract that are subject to negotiation and Energy Education is willing for some give and take and could revise how the energy manager were hired. Energy Education would also consider a percentage on measurable savings that occur instead of $19,000 a month. Mr. Guthals did not feel the committee should give up on this company yet but felt a report is not ready for the School Board at this time. He suggested the committee members call some of the references to check on this company. Larry Grendal was concerned about the secrecy on how the company would accomplish the projected savings. Trustee Guthals reported the Montana legislature has enacted legislation that allows school districts to enter into energy contracts. Superintendent Copps stated he was not ready to give up on this company yet and felt the committee should consider putting out a Request for Proposal. Jeffrey Gruizenga suggested the schools could have a competition to reduce energy costs for an incentive based program. Rich Whitney recommended a list of questions be comprised and given to Energy Education in order to make a decision. If Energy Education cannot give us answers, the committee might not feel comfortable going with this company. Mr. Copps stated he would be interested in their response. Jeffrey Gruizenga felt an energy manager could be hired for $100,000 and the District would be in control of what the process would be. Mr. Copps felt a person in a District this size could probably pay for his own salary in energy conservation. He also reported Ed Graff will be giving a presentation to the Board at Monday evening’s meeting. It was the consensus of the committee to allow Ed Graff to give his presentation and then tell the Board the committee is not ready to move ahead on the proposal. The committee decided to hold off on putting out a Request for Proposal at this time. The committee will look at the energy audit at the next meeting. The date of the next meeting has not been determined as of this date. As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:20 p.m. Joel Guthals, Chair Diane Blevins, Recorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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