WELLSBORO - Borough Council here approved authorizing the first of two years of recommendations from an energy audit for the main borough and public works buildings Monday night.
By implementing the recommendations, the borough could save as much as $137,000 over the life cycle of various equipment, plus as much as $7,000 annually, according to figures provided by Envinity Inc. of State College. The firm was hired in February to conduct the audit.
The estimated cost of the first year of recommendations is $39,400.
The project includes weather-stripping and air-sealing windows and doors, fixing controls on boilers in both buildings and installing a new modulating natural gas boiler in the main building.
"We put $60,000 in savings at First Heritage Federal Credit Union at the beginning of the year for the projects," said Susan Keck, borough secretary and treasurer.
Keck said work could begin immediately on most of the projects, with a few that might still need to be put out for bid.
Other recommendations included installing occupancy sensors on light switches, putting computers and printers on standby mode at night, installing programmable thermostats and purchasing aerators for bathroom faucets.
Recommendations for the second year include lighting upgrades for both buildings and an air conditioning unit for the main borough building.
The hope is that the borough would be able to use the money from the savings reaped in the first year for its second-year projects.
In other business, council approved:
Adopting a resolution opposing House Bill 2431, which calls for establishing the county as the basic unit of the local government with jurisdiction over personnel, law enforcement, land use, sanitation, health and safety. In its resolution, council said, it "respects the state-given right of local self-determination and local democracy" and values its "ability to provide localized law enforcement, land use, zoning, sanitation and other services to the citizens" of the borough.
A request from the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce to close streets in the borough for Dickens of a Christmas. Street closures would include Main Street from East to Central avenues, Crafton Street from Pearl Street to the alley behind Citizens and Northern Bank, and Waln Street from Pearl to Water streets.
Removing a parking space in the Pearl Street parking lot for a glass recycling container for the borough's mandatory recycling ordinance.
A public hearing and special meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 9 prior to the next council meeting at 6 p.m. to adopt an amendment to the borough zoning ordinance to include natural gas and oil drilling.
The amendment would require conditional use hearings for any oil and gas drilling exploration within the borough limits.
Keck said the ordinance had not included subsurface mining in the past.
