ORDINANCE approving and authorizing submission of application for Grant Assistance to the TEXAS STATE ENERGY CONSERVATION OFFICE (SECO) for the Municipally Owned Community or Recreation Center LED Lighting Retrofits Grant for the General Services Department; declaring the City’s eligibility for such Grant; authorizing the Director of the General Services Department to act as the City’s representative in the application process, to apply for and accept the Grant and Funds and expend the Grant Funds, as awarded, and to apply for and accept all subsequent awards, if any, pertaining to the Grant

RECOMMENDATION:  Approve an ordinance granting the General Services Department (GSD) authorization to apply for, accept, and expend funding from the Municipally Owned Community or Recreation Center LED Lighting Retrofits grant from the Texas STATE ENERGY CONSERVATION OFFICE (SECO).

SPECIFIC EXPLANATION:  SECO released a Request for Applications (RFA) solicitation for eligible municipalities under a competitive, reimbursable grant program, MUN-G1-2024.  Grants awarded were not to exceed $50,000.00.  GSD submitted an application in September 2023 and received a Notice of Award on November 6, 2023.  The total grant award is $47,960.00.  This grant requires a local match of 20%, or $9,592.00.  The total budget for this project is: $57,552.00.  The grant period ends on August 31, 2024.

The Municipally Owned Community or Recreation Center LED Lighting Retrofits grant provides financial assistance to eligible Texas municipalities through reimbursement to retrofit interior and exterior municipally owned community centers with energy efficiency light-emitting diode (LED) lighting technology. Applications were scored on the following factors: Existing light fixtures, Disadvantaged Community (DAC) boundaries, age of community center, and population of municipality.

GSD’s application to retrofit old and inefficient lighting at the Magnolia Multi-Service Center was accepted.  GSD intends to use the grant to fund LED retrofits to both interior fluorescent fixtures and High Intensity Discharge (HID) exterior fixtures at this facility.

GSD requests that City Council authorize the Director or his designee to act as the City’s representative with the authority to apply for, accept, and expend the grant funds as awarded and to apply for, accept, and expend all subsequent awards, if any, to extend the budget period, and to authorize the Mayor and the Director to execute all related agreements with the approval of the City Attorney in connection with the grant not to exceed five years.

FISCAL NOTE:  Funding for this item is included in the FY2024 Adopted Budget.  Therefore, no Fiscal Note is required as stated in the Financial Policies.

No Fiscal note is required on Grant items.

DIRECTOR’S SIGNATURE/DATE:

____________________________

C. J. Messiah, Jr.

General Services Department

$47,960.00 - State Grants Fund 5010

$  9,592.00 - General Fund 1000

$57,552.00 - Total

Enid M. Howard, Council Liaison                     

General Services Department

Phone:  832.393.8023