District hears $3.7 million ESIP pitch promising $5.3 million in energy savings

Consultants from Colliers Engineering and DCO presented the Glen Rock Public School District board with a proposed $3.7 million Energy Savings Improvement Program (ESIP) designed to fund lighting, rooftop-unit replacements, weatherization and steam-trap repairs through guaranteed energy savings.

The presentation, led by Derek Jordan of Colliers and Greg Burns of DCO, said the package of measures would generate more than $5.3 million in modeled energy savings over the project term and produce about $167,000 in annual operational savings. "We evaluated over $8,000,000 worth of measures and zeroed in on a $3,700,000 project that will generate over $5,300,000 worth of energy savings," Greg Burns said.

Why it matters: consultants said ESIP is a budget-neutral financing mechanism that uses projected utility savings to fund capital improvements without raising taxes. The plan includes core measures that affect student comfort and operations: districtwide LED retrofits, replacement of six high-priority rooftop units, three split-system replacements, building envelope work and steam-trap replacements at buildings served by steam systems.

Key facts: the consultants said utility rebates totaling roughly $88,000 would be applied directly to the business office, the project model assumes a 20-year financing term allowed under current ESIP rules, and the financing model used a 3.75% interest assumption (recent bids were cited near 3.5%). "After the upgrades and the energy savings are achieved, you'll be positive about $4,000 a year," consultant Greg Burns said when explaining the cash-flow model.

Next steps: the presenters said the district has received a third-party engineering review (Johnson & Urban) and must submit the plan to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities for acceptance, introduce a bond ordinance or lease-purchase agreement for financing, approve implementation agreements, and amend the long-range facilities plan. Board discussion focused on schedule and required approvals; the consultants estimated implementation could begin as early as May once financing closes and take roughly 8–18 months for full implementation.

What the board asked: trustees probed the project term, debt-service aid eligibility and contingency for interest-rate changes. Consultants said the ESIP financing does not qualify for state debt-service aid because it reallocates utility budget lines rather than create an eligible debt stream. They also noted that rate improvements could lower modeled financing costs.

The presentation concluded with no formal board vote; consultants said resolutions and ordinance language will come to the board in March and April to close out financing and approve implementation agreements.