The issue of LED street lighting continued to dominate the discussion at the March 27 meeting of the Marion Energy Management Committee. Committee member Rob Fisher provided new details regarding the energy savings and program procedures for the procurement of the energy-saving lights.
The committee intends to convert all the streetlights in Marion to LED lights through a grant from the Massachusetts Rapid LED Streetlight Conversion Program. The grant would provide a 30 percent reimbursement to the town for the purchase of the LED lights.
A program representative told Fisher that the grant funding is available through 2018, but most likely will be used up by the end of this year.
“If Marion doesn’t get in on the grant, we could still get in on the buying power of the program,” Fisher told the committee, since there will be so many municipalities purchasing lights, which will give the purchasers leverage for a lower price.
In order for the town to qualify for the grant, it must first purchase the streetlights from Eversource. Many of the lights to be replaced are greater than 10 years old and have therefore significantly depreciated in value so that Marion is hoping to purchase them all for $1, which other towns have already successfully done.
Committee member Bill Saltonstall sought clarification from Fisher as to the cost savings to the town, to which Fisher replied that, in addition to the energy savings, there would no longer be rental or maintenance costs paid to Eversource.
Fisher noted that, by merely purchasing the lights, there would be an immediate cost savings of 20 percent on the electric bill, simply due to the lack of maintenance, service, and rental from Eversource. However, if Marion owned the lights, it would need to maintain them. Fisher listed a number of ways this could be accomplished.
“Marion could hire a service company, which Wareham does. Or if the town has a bucket truck and an electrician, we could do it ourselves or we could hire another town to do it, like Middleborough,” Fisher said.
The committee seemed intrigued by the idea of piggybacking on another town’s service contract, but questioned whether that town was satisfied with their contractor. Although Marion may own a bucket truck, it was unclear if the town had the expertise to perform the maintenance.
Saltonstall asked if the lights were appropriately spaced, to which Fisher replied, “The lights seem to be doing well with existing spacing.”
The pole lights recently installed on Ryder Lane and South Street apparently have their own meters, and the committee wondered about other pole lights to be replaced in addition to the cobra-style lights.
Committee Chairman David Pierce summarized the committee’s next steps: “Stage 1, we get the lights for as little as possible; Stage 2, figure out whether it makes sense to replace [the lights] all at once or piece meal; and Stage 3, I recommend Rob start discussing the idea with the town officials.”
Committee member Norman Hills felt that Town Administrator Paul Dawson would be the appropriate point of contact for Eversource. Hills suggested, “[We] get him to talk with Eversource to get a ballpark figure for the purchase of lights. It’s the maintenance costs that will need to go to Town Meeting.”
Fisher clarified that if Dawson was to speak with Eversource, the committee must first provide him with the number of lights to be replaced, and that Dawson would need to be careful in his conversation to not start the 60-day clock within which Eversource would quote a price. If Eversource quotes a price greater than the $1 price the committee is hoping for, and the town was unhappy with the price, the issue would go to an arbitrator, which could take a long time to resolve.
The committee asked Fisher to provide Dawson with an itemized before- and after-cost savings of replacing the streetlights prior to his conversation with Eversource.
Saltonstall concluded the discussion by observing that his great hope is to see the nighttime stars again in Marion, remarking, “Dark sky lighting is important, and the LED lighting addresses this issue. I love the idea and I’d love to get it done.”
In other business, Saltonstall provided a brief update on the Future Generation Wind project, noting that December was the first month with all four wind turbines on-line.
“I was very interested to see what the number was,” said Saltonstall. “At approximately $6,700 per month savings, which is what December was, we’d be saving the town the $80,000 annually that we predicted.”
Committee member Eileen Marum reminded the committee of the sustainability talk by Jamie Jacquart to be held Thursday, April 13, at 7:00 pm in the Music Hall. Pierce suggested the committee invite other town committees and departments. Marum remarked pointedly, “They should all be interested!”
The next meeting of the Marion Energy Management Committee is scheduled for Monday, April 24, at 7:00 pm in the Marion Music Hall.
By Sarah French Storer