REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 09/20/2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Public Works Department
SUBJECT:
Title
APPROVE ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION OF $10,000 TO THE CITY HALL WHOLE BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECT FOR TITLE 24 COMPLIANCE
End
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve a $10,000 appropriation to the City Hall Whole Building Energy Efficiency Project to complete mandated requirements for Title 24 Compliance. This will enable the City to obtain approximately $66,000 in rebates from Southern California Edison for the project.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council approve a $10,000 appropriation in the General Fund 110 to the City Hall Whole Building Energy Efficiency Operating and Maintenance Project No. 73790.
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BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The City of Corona previously approved a project to perform certain energy efficiency measures at City Hall. The measures included replacing interior T8 lamps and Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps, implementing a lighting control system, and replacing 900-watt interior lighting in the City Council Chambers with LED lighting. On July 21, 2021, City Council approved Resolution No. 2021-089, which made findings regarding energy savings for the project under California Government Code Section 4217.10 et seq. and at the same time approved a contract with Facilities Solutions Group (FSG) in the amount of $158,564 to perform the work. In addition to completing the lighting retrofit, the project included obtaining a rebate from Southern California Edison (SCE) in the amount of $65,955, which would bring the net project cost to $92,609. The project was anticipated to save approximately $44,000 in annual energy savings and have a payback period of 1.8 years.
ANALYSIS:
During the project, some additional work was performed, including expanding the scope to include the 2-foot lamps not originally included in the project scope. These changes, along with staff time charged to the project, brought the total project cost to $198,817. The original capital improvement project budget included $215,000, leaving a balance of $16,183.
Upon completion of the project, the City worked with SCE to obtain the anticipated rebate for the energy efficiency measures. After an inspection by SCE and providing various information such as energy records, invoices, and proof of payment, SCE then requested a copy of the approved Title 24 Compliance Report for the project. Staff had not been aware of this requirement prior to completing the project and had, therefore, not included funding in the project budget. Title 24 is part of the California Building Code and sets levels for Energy Efficiency Standards with the goal to promote energy efficiency in homes and commercial buildings. The total cost to complete a Title 24 Compliance Report is $26,000. Therefore, in order to obtain the rebate and ensure compliance with all applicable laws, staff is requesting an additional $10,000 in order to complete the appropriate electrical drawings and calculations necessary to fulfill Title 24 Compliance.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The actual project costs to date are $198,817 and the cost for a Title 24 Compliance Report will be $26,000. The recommended action adds $10,000 to the initial budgeted cost of $215,000, bringing the new budget to $225,000. The new net cost after the $65,955 in rebates would be $159,045 with a payback period of 3.6 years.
Approval of the recommended action will result in an appropriation in the amount of $10,000 in the General Fund 110 to the City Hall Whole Building Energy Efficiency Operating and Maintenance Project No. 73790. There is sufficient fund balance available in the General Fund 110 for approval of the recommended action.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is categorically exempt pursuant to Section §15301 of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of an existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the CEQA determination and is therefore exempt from CEQA. This action involves an appropriation of funding for a project that retrofitted the lights in an existing building and installing lighting control sensors. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: TRACY MARTIN, SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: SAVAT KHAMPHOU, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Staff Report from July 21, 2021