This year, the Town continued its “Green” work using state grant funds. This year’s $200k investment resulted in energy saving projects forecast to save the town $23,887 in annual operating costs.
The projects also should reduce CO2 emissions caused by Southborough’s municipal energy/fuel use.
The news comes out of a congratulations notice shared by resident Carl Guyer. Guyer is seeking to spotlight the work done by the Town’s Facility Management Team. He worked with Director of Facilities John Parent to put together the details to share on the project.
The two biggest projects this year were at Neary School and the Southborough Library. The Town has been working to reduce its energy burden under the Green Communities initiative since at least 2012. The Town received its first grant in 2017. As of this month, Southborough has been awarded $842,865 for Green Communities projects.
Expect the Facilities Team to continue pursuing grants for more work in the coming year.
Guyer shared:
Well 2020 has been a difficult year to get anything done. With COVOD-19 occupying the majority of everyone’s attention, good news addressing other pressing issues is appreciated.
For the fourth year in a row the Town of Southborough’s Facility Management Team were able to again complete all Southborough’s Green Communities Projects on schedule. Completing these projects in a timely manner is an important milestone for continued Green Community funding. The Green Communities Grant program requires completion of projects by an established deadline as a threshold for continued participation in this competitive grant process in the coming year.
This year Southborough received another $200,000 in Green Communities funding. This money was used to complete energy saving equipment upgrades and lighting projects at Town of Southborough facilities. As in the past, the Green Community grant money was applied to projects qualifying for utility-based incentive programs thereby amplifying the overall benefits received by the town.
The investments made in 2020 are anticipated to save the town $23,887 in annual operating costs in addition to the expected reductions in CO2 emission as a result of lower fossil fuel consumption. When you consider that these capital projects do not add to the tax burden of residents, ensuring Southborough continues to qualify for Green Communities funding is important for the town.
As of 2020, Southborough’s four years of Green Communities grant funding has reached a total of $842,865.
Even with the repeated success the Facility Team has achieved over the past four years, we should never consider success like this a routine matter. This type of “nose to the grindstone” determination is appreciated. Completing the 2020 projects on schedule puts Southborough in position to again receive funding in 2021, hopefully a better year for all.
Postscript: For those interested in the details of this year’s projects, attached is a narrative describing the projects in detail.
If all the truck bay lights at the fire station were shut off at night that would save energy. Other towns have a system that automatically turns on the truck bay lights when a call comes in.