By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — The Trussville City Council on Tuesday closed on the qualified energy conservation lighting for the Trussville Sports Complex.
The approval is for the permanent financing for the lighting project.
The Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds program is federally funded and gives assistance for the construction, rehabilitation or installation of energy-efficient buildings or facilities.
A Trussville historical marker
file photo by Ron Burkett
The new lighting will be better lighting and more cost effective than what the city had previously. This is a $2.485 million project. The federal government will give an annual rebate on the interest, and combined with the electricity cost savings over 20 years, the projections are a very low to no cost return on investment.
Lighting at the complex in the past was frequently left on when no one was in the park. Timers proved ineffective through the years as they were often “reset” and storms frequently interfered with the settings, causing them to come on at strange times. The new lighting can be controlled remotely through a computer program.
The improvements are expected to reduce energy consumption by at least 20 percent.
The city council in December approved the new lighting. In November, the city council approved a resolution that planned for the city to be reimbursed if it spent funds up front for the lighting. According to the resolution, the city proposed to issue approximately a $2.5 million aggregate principal amount of its general obligation warrants for the purpose of paying the costs of acquiring and constructing various capital improvements to the lighting system in the sports complex.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
