City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: FEBRUARY 18, 2015
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, ACTING CITY MANAGER /s/
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Consideration of a Grant to the Arlington and Alexandria Offices of the Virginia Cooperative Extension to Support the Expansion of the Energy Masters Program to Alexandria.
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ISSUE: Consideration of a grant to the Arlington and Alexandria offices of the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) to support the expansion of the Energy Masters Program to Alexandria.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council approve the allocation of $20,000 from the Office of Housing's federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) earned deliverable fees to the Virginia Cooperative Extension to support the organization's expansion of the Energy Masters Program into the City of Alexandra.
BACKGROUND: Energy Masters, modeled after the popular Master Gardeners Program, has been sponsored by VCE and Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (ACE) since 2011. Through this initiative, VCE and ACE have trained 126 volunteers as Energy Masters and have completed energy and water saving improvements in 474 apartments serving lower income residents in Arlington County. VCE and ACE estimate that the work has provided total annual savings of $93,550 on electricity and water bills in the apartments. These savings are the result of a reduction of 186,806 kilowatt hours of energy use and 5,863,130 gallons of reduced water use. On a per unit basis, savings in electric bills are estimated at $49 annually and $183 in savings from water use reductions.
The goals of the proposed project are to 1) reduce energy costs for both residents and property owners of assisted rental communities, 2) improve the energy efficiency of these units, 3) improve the comfort of the homes, and 4) improve the quality of life for...
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