Subject
title
Authorization for the City Manager to Execute a Grant Agreement with the Maryland Energy Administration for the FY 2024 Streetlight and Outdoor Lighting Efficiency Program Grant.
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Department
PW - Traffic & Transportation
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Mayor and Council authorize the City Manager to execute the Streetlight and Outdoor Lighting Efficiency Program grant agreement (Attachment 1) between the Mayor and Council of Rockville and the State of Maryland, to support phase 3 of the City’s LED Streetlight Conversion capital improvements program.
Discussion
City staff received notice from the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) of a grant award of up to $130,600 supporting light emitting diode (LED) streetlight conversions for city owned streetlights. The grant was awarded from the State of Maryland’s Streetlight and Outdoor Lighting Efficiency (SOLE) Program, a program designed to support local governments’ energy projects as they strive to meet energy efficiency goals. The grant funding is conditional upon a signed and executed grant agreement between MEA and Rockville (Attachment 1). This is the third year in a row that the city has been selected for a grant award from MEA’s SOLE program for LED streetlight conversions.
Authorizing the grant agreement with MEA would allow the city to offset general fund capital costs to implement phase 3 of the City’s LED Streetlight Conversion (TA22) CIP (Attachment 2). Phase 3 of the plan seeks to convert over 600 decorative high-pressure sodium (HPS) streetlight fixtures to LED.
City staff believes these streetlight conversions are also eligible for Pepco rebates through the EmPowerMD rebate program and will work with Pepco’s representatives to seek pre-approval for those additional incentives for the project.
The Streetlight Conversion CIP supports Rockville’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, described in Rockville’s Climate Action Plan adopted by the Mayor and Council on January 10, 2022. This project helps the City address Action M-02, Convert City-owned streetlights to energy efficient LED (light emitting diode).
The project is expected to help the City improve streetlighting, reduce its energy costs, and reduce greenhouse gases, while demonstrating City environmental leadership. The State award comes in the form of reimbursement after the funds have been used to the complete the streetlight conversions.
Mayor and Council History
This is the first time this item has been brought before the Mayor and Council.
Fiscal Impact
The grant will be added to the LED Streetlight Conversion CIP (TA22) budget. The 15% required match under this MEA grant will be met with the paygo funding currently within the CIP.
Next Steps
If approved by the Mayor and Council, the City Manager will execute the attached agreement.