Charleston City Council voted last night to begin hearing proposals from contractors about possibly making the city more energy efficient.

The resolution, which approved the Guaranteed Energy Savings Contract, deals with proposals for renovating the energy systems in all Charleston government buildings.

City Manager Scott Smith said the motivation is energy cost savings.

“That’s the principle idea behind it,” he said.

Smith said the amount of money saved on energy cost will make up for the cost of renovations and, after those are paid off, go toward helping the city save money.

He said this contract might lead the city to switch from traditional energy sources to alternative forms. He said consultants might investigate the possibility of using geothermal heating, solar and wind power.

“There’s a whole variety of opportunities for the consultants to consider,” Smith said.

He said the idea of the contract came about last year when the city participated in an energy committee with Mattoon and Charleston school districts to discuss bidding on power costs.

“During those discussions, the school district brought in one of their contractors to assist them in that process, and that’s where we began to look more closely at this contract,” he said.

Mayor John Inyart said this resolution only means the city can begin hearing proposals from energy contractors about necessary renovations.

“This is the exploratory part of this process to give us an idea what areas need to be improved upon and how much it will cost to make the improvements,” he said.

Inyart said he supports the resolution because it may help the city save money in the long run.

“Our hope is that we will find some savings there, and we will find ways to utilize them,” He said.

Inyart said Charleston residents would likely support the contract.

“I don’t think people will have any problems as long as we’re trying to save them some money,” he said.

Other business approved at the city council meeting last night included:

– The council approved the application for a $435,000 Community Development Assistance Program grant. This is the second year the city has applied for this grant. It failed to win the grant last year. If won, the grant will be used to replace a 125-year-old water line that has proved problematic for the city in the past year.

– The council voted to annex 2900 Fourth Street to allow the owners of the property, Henry and Nancy Tate, to tap into the city water supply after the property’s well stopped working.

– The council approved an ordinance that would allow “Neighborhood Vehicles” from Eastern to drive on all city streets except for Lincoln Avenue. Ryan Siegel, campus energy coordinator for facilities planning and management, thanked the council for allowing these vehicles to travel throughout the city.

Jordan Crook can be reached at 581-7942 or at jscrook@eiu.edu .

Mayor John Inyart listens as Campus Energy Coordinator Ryan W. Siegel thanks the city council for passing the ordinance allowing “neighborhood vehicles” on most city streets, saving Eastern money. (Mitch Surprenant/The Daily Eastern News)

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