LED fixtures under review

LED fixtures under review

Rebate will undergo further research

Monday evening the Charles City School Board heard from Buildings and Grounds Director Jerry Mitchell concerning the conversion of the 8,440 fluorescent T8 lamp fixtures to LED tubes at Washington and Lincoln Elementary schools as well as the Charles City High School. The recommendation was to approve the bid from Sitler’s Supplies for $22 per unit to complete the lighting conversion.

The project would be paid for through a combination of a rebate through Mid American and projected energy savings.

John Nielsen of Perry Novak Electric asked to comment, requesting School Board members to take caution in working with Sitler’s Supplies. Perry Novak’s bid included replacing all of the ballasts and using a lesser wattage, ultimately presenting a more expensive bid than Sitler’s Supplies. According to Nielsen, a lesser wattage would not be noticeable to an untrained eye and would also save the school money. He also estimated that Perry Novak’s bid would have been more comparable to Sitler’s had he been aware he could employ one of Mitchell’s workers instead of using two of his own employees.

Also part of Nielsen’s presentation was a warning to further review Mid American’s rebate offer.

“I have a copy of the rebate,” Nielsen said. “It still only covers 70 percent of the cost.” Nielsen also presented a list of companies that Sitler had performed work for to the School Board.

School Board Vice President Jason Walker asked Mitchell about the list of companies who had hired Sitler’s to do similar conversions.

According to Mitchell, he contacted the majority of the companies on the list and none had any complaints. He also noted the YMCA had their lights converted without complaint and without any trouble utilizing the Mid American rebate.

In order to be eligible for the rebate, the light conversion must be completed by Dec. 31. Because bids have been sealed and the School Board is on a time constraint, it was decided to table the item until 8:15 a.m. Thursday morning.

At this time the School Board will have more information concerning the specifi c details of Mid American’s rebate program.

They will also decide at that time which bid to approve for the fluorescent to LED light conversion.

Also Monday evening, School Board members approved 10 appointed individuals to a Furniture, Fixture and Equipment committee.

The purpose of the FFE committee is to research and gather information for furniture, fixtures and equipment purchases for the middle school addition to the Charles City High School.

Responsibilities of the committee include hearing presentations, asking questions, requesting quotes and receiving and reviewing quotes with the assistance of BLDD architects Jean Underwood and Candace Ferguson. The School Board will still be required to make all final decisions.

The 10 names appointed to the FFE committee include two students, three teachers, two School Board members, Superintendent Dr. Dan Cox, Mitchell and Middle School Principal Rick Gabel.

Also approved was the $25,000 agreement with BLDD to provide furniture design services.

Business Manager Terri O’Brien explained the school does not have to use BLDD’s services to purchase furniture, however, she noted BLDD has a large contact base, information and knowledge concerning educational furnishings.

School Board President Scott Dight furthered her comments by explaining using their services would not increase the budget set for the middle school addition.

“It’s already included in the budget that has been approved, we just didn’t have the agreement yet,” he said.

Other approved agenda items included: — MS addition change order for tree removal, $5,430.13 McKinness Excavating — School Budget Review Committee applications beyond five years — Section 179D Allocation: part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 — Financial report for October 2015 — Contract modification: Toni Smith, MS assistant drama, $1,000 The next School Board meeting will be held at 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12 in Cox’s office. Next week Thursday, School Board members will be at the Iowa Association of School Boards convention in Des Moines.

By Amie Johansen amie@charlescitypress.com