By K. Michelle Moran
C & G Staff Writer

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — Mayor James Farquhar was put in the rare position of having to cast a deciding vote to break a tie as council members debated participation in a regional energy office.

Farquhar’s “yes” vote Aug. 3 means that the city can pursue funding opportunities through the Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office, formed by the Michigan Suburbs Alliance, of which the Farms is a member.

In a July 27 memo to the council, Assistant City Manager Matthew Tepper wrote that the Energy Office “is being formed in the short-term as an effort to assist communities in securing funding under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, and in the long-term to establish an organization with a means of funding that can fund future projects and continue to assist communities with their needs.”

Tepper said the city can still write and receive grant applications on its own, provided they have the manpower to do this work. This is true even of grants that the Energy Office may simultaneously be applying for, he said.

“It’s sort of hedging our bets,” Tepper said. “We have two different options instead of one.”

Tepper added that the Energy Office might find funding the city otherwise wouldn’t have known about. The Energy Office also has the staff to meet tight grant application deadlines, and Tepper said the MSA could help cities with populations under 35,000 — like the Farms — to secure funding they ordinarily wouldn’t be entitled to.

“And they won’t be offended if we do it on our own,” he told the council.

The only catch is that grants received by the city through the Energy Office need to be paid back without any interest over a five- to 10-year timeline, with payments based on the amount of annual energy savings received by the city from the projects, Tepper said. The repaid “loan” money will then be put into a revolving loan fund to pay for future projects, he said. City Manager Shane Reeside noted that after the city repays the loan, any energy savings it accrues in the future belong to the city, not the Energy Office.

But it was the payback clause that caused concern for some council members, including Louis Theros, who reasoned that the city would “save nothing” by taking part in the program.

Council member Charles “Terry” Davis worried about having to pay back a loan in the event that the city didn’t realize any energy cost savings from a project. Tepper admitted that “it’s a guessing game” and that was possible, but he also pointed out that some energy savings projects could be predicted quite precisely, so the city could just pursue those through the Energy Office.

In addition, Reeside said the council would have the opportunity to look at the projected payback of various projects and see where they wanted to focus their efforts.

Officials say possible energy efficiency projects that might be funded through grants include replacement of outdoor lighting, replacement of nearly 100-year-old electric service pumps at the water treatment plant, and heating and cooling upgrades at city facilities.

Council members Therese Joseph, Doug Roby and Peter Waldmeir voted in favor of the agreement, while Davis, Joseph Leonard and Theros voted against it. Davis said the Energy Office “creates a permanent government bureaucracy over which we have no control.”

Among his concerns, Theros said the city could hire its own grant writers, an option that he felt would be cheaper and give the Farms room to negotiate. Tepper acknowledged that the city could do this.

You can reach Staff Writer K. Michelle Moran at kmoran@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1047.