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Solar panels proposed for muni court building

Marietta City Council’s Lands, Buildings and Parks Committee heard a proposal Wednesday to install solar panels on the roof of the city’s municipal court building this summer.

The proposal from Pickering Energy Solutions and the city’s engineering department outlines a renewable energy power purchasing agreement that would allow for approximately 260 solar panels to be installed on the roof of the city building at no installation cost to the city. If council approves the agreement, the city would then purchase electricity for that building first from Pickering at a 10 percent discount rate from the current power rate of 5.75 cents per kilowatt hour through First Energy. It would then purchase any needed remaining power through the current supplier.

The estimated savings per year for utilizing the proposed purchasing agreement is at least $760 with projected increases in savings as traditional power rates rise.

“I’m very excited that we’re looking at this for the city,” said Councilwoman Kathy Downer, D-at large.

Likewise Councilmen Mike McCauley, D-2nd ward, and Steve Thomas, D-3rd ward, said they approved of utilizing a local business to support local labor on a city partnership project.

“There’s an advantage to utilizing a local company to do this work also in the future if repairs are ever needed,” said McCauley. “I’m all for it.”

City Engineer Joe Tucker added that few companies have interest in areas like Ohio where energy costs are so low in comparison to New England towns or in the west with rates triple that of Marietta. Leading the local renewable energy movement in Southeast Ohio would follow in the footsteps of both state and national renewable energy initiatives, he said.

Council members Tom Vukovic, D-4th ward, and Cindy Oxender, R-at large, said they are in support of the agreement but asked that Tucker reach out to other renewable energy companies to see if any would be willing to submit more favorable proposals to the city.

If none come forward council will proceed with legislation to authorize the purchase agreement and installation to be completed this summer.

Other business

Council’s Employee Relations Committee also met Wednesday to discuss an additional $1 per hour raise to the city’s engineering office manager paycheck through the remainder of the year. The increase would occur as Tina Lones trains Engineering Project Manager Dave Hendrickson in processing permitting requests.

“It is a long-standing practice by the city to compensate persons engaged in long-term and complex training within the city,” said Safety-Service Director Jonathan Hupp. “This additional dollar follows that procedure.”

Legislation currently headed for its second reading next week outlines a new contract between the city and Washington County which would reassign certain permitting duties back to the city beginning March 1.

Currently the city handles access, driveway, right-of-way, sewer and water tap and land development permits through Lones. If the contract is approved by council, new duties would include the issuance of zoning, use, occupancy and demolition permits.

The county would continue to issue residential building permits, commercial building permits and flood development permits within its Southeast Ohio Building Department. For building permits, a resident or business will be referred first to the city to ascertain if zoning would conflict with the intended build.

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