District hears $4.6 million‑to‑date savings report from CMTA on facilities modernization

The Ohio County Board of Education received a multi‑phase performance report May 11 from CMTA engineers on a guaranteed energy‑savings and facilities modernization project that dovetailed with prior bond work.

John Gasser, a mechanical engineer with CMTA, told trustees the district previously spent about $1.4 million annually on gas, electric and water. CMTA reported that its work — which included LED lighting conversions, geothermal well installations at selected schools, piping upgrades, new high‑efficiency boilers and variable‑speed fan arrays — produced guaranteed savings of $480,000 per year and measured utility reductions that have yielded roughly $4.6 million in cumulative savings across the project phases to date.

The vendor highlighted specific upgrades: approximately 15 miles of new piping, conversion of roughly 10,000 light fixtures to LED, air‑conditioning added in nearly 36,000 square feet at Wheeling Park High School and a suite of mechanical replacements and control improvements. CMTA also reported about $200,000 in rebates and indicated the district realized $276,000 in excess savings this year above the guaranteed amount; CMTA said excess savings are retained 100% by Ohio County Schools after fees and debt service.

CMTA described its measurement & verification (M&V) services — an ongoing monitoring contract that costs roughly $25,000–$30,000 per year over remaining phases — and told the board the district may cancel those services if it chooses, but cancellation would terminate the company’s guarantee. Board members asked about net savings after vendor fees and about next steps, including whether solar or further HVAC renovations make sense; CMTA said low utility rates and demand charges make solar paybacks challenging here and recommended prioritizing future HVAC renovations at buildings with the oldest systems.

The board thanked the presenters and did not take formal action on M&V at this meeting.

Next steps: the district and CMTA will continue M&V reporting under the current arrangement; the board may revisit whether to continue vendor M&V services in future sessions.