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April 6, 2009 Minutes CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES April 6, 2009 After determining that a quorum was present, the City Council convened in a Special Called Work Session on Monday, April 6, 2009 at 11:30 a.m. at North Lakes Recreation Center. PRESENT: Mayor Burroughs; Mayor Pro Tem Kamp; Council Members Heggins, Moreno, Mulroy, Thomson and Watts. ABSENT: None 1. The Council received a report and held a discussion regarding an update on the GreenSense Program and other energy programs. Lisa Lemons, Community Relations Manager, presented information on the GreenSense Program. The current rebate program was being replaced with the Energy Save Program. It added customer incentives for insulation, radiant barriers, programmable thermostats, solar water heaters, windows, HVAC, solar screens and photovoltaic installations. The customer incentives were for residential and commercial customers. The Rebate Program was well received in the community. In January 2009 there were 23 authorized installers, in February 2009 there were 63 and in March 2009 there were 82 authorized installers. The rebates totaled $9,149.60 for January 2009, $7,901.66 for February 2009 and $9,652.15 for March 2009. GreenSense, in the first quarter, had resulted in a total of 47.36 kW savings, which was equivalent to 25,574.40 kWh of electricity that did not need to be generated. The Energy Audit Program was revamped in January/February 2009 to add a thermal imaging camera as a tool for audits. The infrared camera showed customers areas of concern in existing structures. It could detect air infiltration, insulation vacancies, and heat/cold loss. To enhance the Energy Audit Program, an Energy Programs Specialist was added. This individual had already completed training in home energy rating, combined heat and power assessment, Introduction to Industrial Technologies, Emerging Steel Technologies, ITPS Top Low-to-No- Cost Improvements and InfraCAM Basics Certification. The City also offered a CFL bulb exchange program. Since the beginning of this program in 2008, DME and Solid Waste had exchanged more than 10,000 CFLs. According to Energy Star calculations, the CFL bulb exchange program could potentially produce an annual savings of $90,507 to customers, 4,500,000 kWhs of energy over the life of the CFLs, 575.72 cars removed from the road for a year and 714.73 acres of forest not being polluted. Mayor Burroughs asked for a running estimate of the total upgrades versus the amount of rebates. Lemons stated that staff would be attending upcoming community events to get the word out about the energy programs. Council Member Heggins asked if apartments were available for energy audits. Lemons replied yes but that it was harder to change factors in an apartment than in a home. The apartment complex had to be willing to make the necessary improvements. City of Denton City Council Minutes April 6, 2009 Page 2 Mayor Burroughs asked about a grading program. A fee could be charged for a comprehensive energy audit and if the building were brought up to standards, it would receive a set rating from the City. Lemons indicated that they had talked about and were working on specifics of such a program. Mayor Pro Tem Kamp indicated that the First United Methodist Church was working on an energy awareness program. Council Member Thomson stated that some of the area churches had a “carbon fast” program during Lent. Mayor Burroughs asked about federal funds for weatherization projects. Lemons stated that the receipt of such funds would depend on the arrangement by the organization designated to dispense the funds. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:30 p.m. _________________________________ MARK A. BURROUGHS MAYOR CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS _________________________________ JENNIFER WALTERS CITY SECRETARY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS