EL CAJON–At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the Council approved a grant to receive funds to upgrade lighting in various areas of the City. El Cajon received its funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2007 that appropriated $3.2 billion to the program, of which the City was awarded $881,100 for the upgrade of City equipment and facilities. The Department of Energy (DOE) completed its final grant review process and the City received official notification of approval on November 2, 2009. Approximately $403,000 of the total grant amount will be used for the street light retrofit project. The remaining balance will be used for the building retrofit project.
The City will use the grant funds as follows:
· Upgrade lighting equipment to reduce energy use and cost at the following City facilities: Ronald Regan Community Center, Renette Center, Fire Station, Fletcher Hills Center, Hillside Center, Kennedy Center, Bostonia Center and City Hall. This will serve as a government model to promote energy efficiency to the community.
· Replacement of approximately 1,000 existing high-pressure sodium (HPS) street lights with energy efficient induction street lights. All of the intersection safety lights at the 112 signalized intersections will be installed and replaced as well as the City-owned street lights along Broadway, El Cajon Boulevard, Fletcher Parkway, Magnolia Avenue, and Main Street. The service life of an induction street light (100,000 hours) lasts approximately four times longer than a high-pressure sodium street light (24,000 hours) which, in turn, reduces maintenance and energy costs and CO2 emissions. Replacement work will take place during July and August.
This project is funded in the adopted 2009-10 budget and the City will be 100% reimbursed from the grant funds. The project, upon completion, will result in a substantial decrease for the City in energy costs as well as maintenance costs that are currently being paid out of the general fund.
