Grant could save schools, municipalities on lighting costs

More than 100 school and municipal office buildings, mostly in Cape Girardeau County, will receive energy-efficient light fixtures that could save those entities a significant amount of money.

Cape Girardeau County and Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission officials recently learned that a $318,724 grant they had applied for in January was approved by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. A total of 111 buildings in Cape Girardeau County and school districts in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Leopold, Meadow Heights, Nell Holcomb and Oak Ridge will have new lights installed. Officials believe the fixtures will save up to 50 percent on those energy costs.

"This goes directly to the bottom line," said David Grimes, director of research and special projects for the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission. "The calculated payback for doing these improvements are typically very short, in the two year or less range.

"Savings can be substantial," he said. "Besides that, by reducing the load on the grid electricity generation requirements are reduced at the margins with concomitant improvements, or anyway potential improvements, in air quality."

Grimes, Cape Girardeau County District 1 Commissioner Paul Koeper and officials from interested schools and government bodies met in December to discuss the grant. By Jan. 15 Grimes and Koeper finalized the application and sent it to the state Department of Natural Resources.

On Wednesday Koeper -- who discussed the matter during the county commission's meeting Thursday -- learned that 41 of the 111 buildings were missing a photograph and address required to accompany the application form. Grimes said he inadvertently omitted the forms from the application package and all that is needed to make those buildings eligible to receive the updated lighting using the grant money is to submit photographs and addresses of the 41 buildings.

"The problem was simply that in the rush to meet deadlines I overlooked some forms," Grimes said. "Just that simple. The buildings involved were included in the budget spreadsheets and within the amount of the grant offer. I had just inadvertently omitted the forms from the package."

Koeper said the work should be complete before August 2012.

"The importance of this whole thing, especially with funding cut, is that people are finding ways to save money," Koeper said. "And energy is one way of saving money. This grant is saying, hey, you can save money through your lighting and we will help you out purchasing material that will save energy costs."

Other business

Later in the meeting the commissioners approved two recommendations from a committee regarding salaries of county employees.

Koeper said that during the March 2 meeting he attended, a salary committee discussed gathering salary information from other counties. The committee also recommended all office holders and department heads update job descriptions for each employee.

During a Feb. 2 meeting the county commission unanimously approved placing Koep­er on the committee and posting of salaries for all county employees on its website. A day earlier 2nd District Commissioner Jay Purcell had raised questions about salary increases for three employees that ranged from 10 to 15 percent, compared to the average salary increase of 3 percent for county employees.

Koeper said he would continue attending the salary committee meetings as they develop additional recommendations.

Purcell said the procedures are a good first step.

"Although I feel that common sense should dictate that any time a public official requests raises either for themselves or their staff that it would be done in the most open and transparent way possible, I welcome a county process that dictates it must be done this way," Purcell said.

bblackwell@semissourian.com

243-6635

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