FINANCE & ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
	TO:	Mayor and Members of Council
	FROM:	Stan Bertoia, P. Eng., General Manager, Construction and Utilities
	PREPARED BY:	Alan Wolfe, Project Management Consultant
	DATE OF MEETING:	December 6, 2004
	SUBJECT:	Centennial Community Centre Expansion - Energy Conservation Enhancements

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the report entitled “Centennial Community Centre Expansion - Energy Conservation Enhancements ” be received;

AND THAT Council approve including the energy conservation enhancements detailed in this report in the Centennial Community Centre Expansion project;

AND THAT Council approve allocating on a temporary basis $285,000 from the Life Cycle Replacement Reserve to finance the energy conservation enhancements;

AND THAT the $285,000 be repaid by depositing the $60,000 CBIP grant to the Life Cycle Replacement Reserve.

AND THAT the balance of $225,000 be repaid by transferring the projected annual energy savings of $76,000 from the annual operating budget of the Centennial Community Centre to the Life Cycle Replacement Reserve for a period of three years.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to respond to a request from the Budget Sub-Committee for a report on the funding request for including energy conservation enhancements in the Centennial Community Centre Expansion project and to obtain Council approval for the energy conservation enhancements.

BACKGROUND:

On June 21, 2004, Council approved the schematic design of the Centennial Community Centre Expansion and authorized the architect to proceed with design development of this project. During the design development, the architect brought to the attention of the Building and Parks Committee (BPCC) that there was a federal government program offered by Natural Resources Canada entitled the Canadian Building Incentive Program (CBIP) to encourage innovation and energy savings in new or substantially renovated buildings. This program offers an incentive of up to $60,000 if a building can be shown to be greater than 25% more efficient than a building that meets all the requirements of the Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB). As Council has expressed interest in increasing the energy efficiency of Town buildings and this program could be financially beneficial to the Town, BPCC authorized the architect to investigate if the Centennial Community Expansion Project would meet the requirements of the CBIP program and to determine what level of enhancements would be the most cost-effective for this project.

DISCUSSION:

The first step in this process was to develop an energy model of the building. The Design Assistance Program (DAP) offered by Enbridge Gas provided funding for the cost of the preparation of this model. On this basis, a qualified modelling company, Enermodal Engineering Limited, was engaged to prepare an energy model of the Centennial Community Centre Expansion. In addition to the modelling consultant, it was necessary to engage the mechanical and cost consultant for approximately $5,500 to provide the required technical and costing information for this exercise.

The model provided the following results. The Town’s current building standards already provide a savings of 9% over the MNECB. The consultants provided a number of additional energy efficiency enhancements that provide energy savings ranging from 38.5% to 70% over the MNECB. The list of the enhancements and the associated energy savings are included as Appendix “A”. They also provided a table demonstrating the costs, annual savings, payback periods, and CBIP credit associated with the various levels of energy enhancements. This table is included as Appendix “B”.

The results of the modelling were presented to the BPCC. Given Council’s goal of maximizing energy savings and the short payback period of 3 years, the committee endorsed the option of providing the 70% improvement over the MNECB requirements.

The results were also reviewed with the Manager, Environmental Leadership. She concurred with the recommendation to proceed with the enhancements.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The total cost of the energy efficiency measures is $285,000 consisting of the following elements.

Capital Costs of Work $262,000

Additional Design Fees $ 13,000

Fee for preparation of CBIP application $ 10,000

(including additional modeling)

Total Cost $285,000

Deduct CBIP Grant $ 60,000

Net Cost $225,000

Estimated Savings $76,000 per year

Estimated Payback $225,000 / $76,000 = 3 years

It is recommended that the energy savings measures in the amount of $285,000 be funded from the Life Cycle Replacement Reserve. Once the $60,000 CBIP grant is received, it will be deposited in the Life Cycle Replacement Reserve. The remaining $225,000 will be paid back from the savings that result from the energy conservation enhancements in the operations budget of the Centennial Community Centre, projected to be $76,000 per year. The annual energy budget amount for the expanded facility will be determined by establishing a square foot cost for energy charges based on prior costs. Once the expansion is complete, the energy budget for the facility will be increased proportionate to the size of the expansion using the square foot cost for energy charges and then reduced by the projected savings of $76,000. An item will also be included in the Centennial Community Centre annual operation budget to transfer $76,000 to the Life Cycle Replacement Reserve for a three-year period.

A funding request form for this energy conservation enhancement program was included in the 2005 Capital Budget, see Appendix “C”.

BUSINESS UNITS AFFECTED:

The Recreation and Cultural Services Department, Strategic Services Department, and the Finance Department have been consulted in the preparation of this report.

ATTACHMENTS

Appendix “A” – Table 1 - Description of the Energy Conservation Enhancements

Appendix “B” – Table 2 – Costs of the Energy Conservation Enhancements

Appendix “C” - Funding Request Form Centennial CC- Expansion- Energy Conservation Enhancements

Stan Bertoia, P. Eng., General Manager, Construction and Utilities	Barb Roth , Director of Recreation and Cultural Services
Peter Loukes, P. Eng., Director of Operations and Asset Management	Jim Sales, Commissioner of Community and Fire Services

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