An energy improvement project is in full swing in the Town Hall auditorium. Aged and mismatched ceiling panels are being replaced with more effective “R-value” materials and fluorescent lights are being replaced with contemporary energy-efficient fixtures. This effort will bring the auditorium up to modern standards and result in savings to our taxpayers. Work will be finished on or around December 10. The Town replaced 1960s-era windows in the auditorium in August. The auditorium energy improvements are part of the Town’s $145,500 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

About EECBG

EECBG funding can be used for energy efficiency and conservation programs, renewable energy installations on government buildings, development of energy efficiency and conservation strategies, building energy audits, retrofits and weatherization. Grants also support transportation programs to conserve energy, building code development, implementation and inspections, as well as installation of renewable energy technologies on government buildings.

To learn more about the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act go to
http://www.eecbg.energy.gov/about/Allocation.html

The Town of Penfield’s Energy & Environmental Advisory Committee and Town Board hosted a pubic information meeting entitled “Making Sense of Leaf Management” on August 26, 2010 to connect residents with information and resources on the topic of leaf removal in advance of the fall season. The program covered subjects including composting, mulching, commercial pick-up options, and more. If you missed the meeting or rebroadcasts on PCTV Channel 12, view the video online at www.penfieldTV.org (see information meetings).

The Town and EEAC thank representatives from the following organizations for participating in this informational evening:

• Cornell Cooperative Extension of Monroe County
Website: www.mycce.org/monroe/
Telephone: 461.1000

• Monroe County Dept. of Environmental Services
Website: www.monroecounty.gov/des-index.php
Telephone: 753.7600

• Waste Management
Website: www.wm.com
Telephone: 254.3500

• Town of Penfield Highway Dept.
Website: www.penfield.org
Telephone: 340.8710

The following landscapers and retailers were also present to show products, provide education , and share literature on their offerings:

• Beyond Hardware (2155 Penfield Road, Wegmans Plaza, Routes 250/441)
Website: www.beyondhardware.net
Telephone: 377.5540

• Home Depot, Panorama Plaza
Website: www.homedepot.com
Telephone: 385.4040 (Penfield)

• Starr Property Management
Website: www.penfieldleaves.com
Telephone: 414.5958

• Highland Lawn Care
Telephone: 233.9599

The Town of Penfield does not endorse any commercial provider or products. The Town is solely interested in providing a platform for residents to learn more about the many alternatives for leaf management from mulching and composting to commercial removal. To suggest a resource for this list email ely@penfield.org.

Do you know our Highway Department is recognized for its quality work and is a revenue source for the Town? This year, through mutual agreements, the Highway Department is working on pavement maintenance projects for the Penfield School District and Monroe Community College.

We provide a high quality job at a competitive price, saving taxpayers on many fronts. The department balances schedules to earn revenue to help offset costs to Penfield residents while making sure our own roadway, drainage, sidewalks and other projects are completed.

The Town of Penfield Highway Dept. is currently wrapping up work on a paving project at Penfield High School. The project is being done using “cold in-place recycling” to minimize use of energy and materials, lower costs and speed results.

This innovative process mills and recycles pavement right on the spot! As old pavement is scraped from the existing surface, it is immediately mixed with new materials, and then reapplied in a single-pass operation.

Cold in-place recycling is beneficial because it improves the paved surface without the energy consumption, expense and time typically required to haul materials to and from a job site. Additionally, the construction period is shortened which further lowers costs and minimizes disruptions.

The Town of Penfield replaced 32 original 1960s-era Town Hall windows with current energy efficient windows the week of August 9. This project was completed under the town’s $145,500 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Other EECBG Projects

The Town of Penfield has used its EECBG funds to conduct New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) audits of the Highway Department and Don Mack buildings, installation of energy efficient lighting in the Penfield Community Center gymnasium, and community-wide CFL giveaways. Energy efficient lights will also be installed in the Town Hall auditorium following the Town Hall window replacement.

About EECBG

EECBG funding can be used for energy efficiency and conservation programs, renewable energy installations on government buildings, development of energy efficiency and conservation strategies, building energy audits, retrofits and weatherization. Grants also support transportation programs to conserve energy, building code development, implementation and inspections, as well as installation of renewable energy technologies on government buildings.

To learn more about the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act go to
http://www.eecbg.energy.gov/about/Allocation.html

The Town of Penfield began renovating the lodge at Harris Whalen Park in mid-December 2009. The project updates the 1970s cinder-block structure with more useful space, better handicap access, and a more energy-efficient and earth-friendly presence. The building is now fully insulated and heated by a radiant floor system, bathrooms and interior spaces are re-designed to optimize handicap mobility, and appliances, lighting and windows meet current energy standards.

Outside the lodge, the original asphalt walkways were removed and are being replaced with a permeable paver system that permits “stormwater infiltration” – a process whereby rainwater and snowmelt pass through the pavers directly into the ground, eliminating stormwater run-off into drainage systems.

Stormwater infiltration is critical to the groundwater supply. According to the US Geological Survey, one of the United States’ most important natural resources is groundwater. Half of the drinking water in US comes from groundwater; the rest comes from lakes and rivers. The importance of groundwater goes on and on. In short, soil infiltration is a simple process that replenishes groundwater and ensures future water supplies. With this in mind, Town officials required permeable pavers as part of the lodge renovation.

Penfield Town Supervisor Tony LaFountain said, “Historically, Penfield has been very aggressive in identifying ways to reduce energy and to preserve all environmentally sensitive resources. The Town Board and I are committed to looking at energy and environmental friendly solutions in any and all renovations, new builds, and upgrades to our facilities. It is the right thing to do!”

Since the spring of this year, the Town of Penfield Sewer Department has been applying watertight sealing treatments to known leaking manhole structures to eliminate ground water infiltration into the sanitary sewer system. Leaking manholes add to the burden of waste water treatment facilities and cost the Town and its taxpayers thousands of dollars annually.

As of June 24, six infiltrating manholes have been repaired and are now watertight. This effort will prevent a projected 12.5 million gallons of ground water from entering the sanitary sewer system over a one-year period. At a treatment cost of $1.29/per thousand gallons, this yields an annual savings of $16,127.69. (The data from each repaired man hole was collected by close observation of videos/relative measurements made before and after sealing treatments.) Reducing the volume of waste water that needs to be treated also reduces treatment costs.

The cost to the Town to complete this work was $1,344 in labor and $1,346 in materials, for a total cost of $2,690. That’s a total return on investment of $13,438 the first year, and $16,128 savings each upcoming year!

Those who enjoyed Penfield’s Fourth of July activities at Harris Whalen Park may have seen a new addition to the grounds -- new green and yellow recycling totes. The addition of the totes grew out of the interest of the Energy and Environmental Advisory Committee (E&EAC) after observing the successful Penfield Little League’s recycling program in partnership with Penfield Boy Scouts.

Our new totes were donated by Waste Management as part of their ongoing effort to encourage and support recycling in the town and across the region. The totes will be placed in all Town of Penfield parks and the cans, plastic/glass bottles will be recycled and kept out of landfills.

This is one of many items the E&EAC is working on to promote responsible stewardship of the environment, reduce energy consumption, and provide public education and awareness. Those items include: developing wind/solar policy; reduction in the use of chemicals/fertilizers; proper CFL disposal; energy audit reviews; leaf disposal; and alternate work schedules.

The recent resurfacing of Panorama Trail was done using a process called “cold in-place recycling” to minimize use of energy and materials, lower costs and speed results.

This innovative process mills and recycles pavement right on the spot! As old pavement is scraped from the existing roadway it is immediately mixed with new materials, then reapplied to the road in a single-pass operation. The equipment is essentially a continuous on-site road-making machine.

Cold in-place recycling is beneficial because it improves the road surface without the energy consumption, expense and time typically required to haul materials to and from a job site. Additionally, the construction period is shortened which further lowers costs and minimizes and traffic disruptions. In fact, the Panorama Trail project was completed ahead of schedule.

This same technique was used in 2009 on Liberty Street. The Town of Penfield looks forward to repeating this success with future road rehabilitation projects.

Green Benefits:

Minimizes hauling of excess materials

Old, dry pavement is reused and rejuvenated

Clearances and curb heights remain the same

Process is environmentally friendly

Preserves resources

Energy efficient

Cost effective

The Penfield Town Board passed a resolution to create a new Penfield Energy and Environment Advisory Committee on January 6, 2010. The group held its first meeting February 2010.

The purpose of this new advisory committee is to formally build on the work the town has done to lower its energy consumption and costs to taxpayers, and to promote responsible stewardship of the environment by the Town and its residents. Areas of focus will include public education and awareness, environmental stewardship, energy consumption, use of natural landscapes and gardens, and recycling.

The committee consists of residents who have interest and expertise in these areas, and appropriate town staff. Resident members include Bob Haak (consumer energy), Robyn Miller (environmental advocate, experienced non-profit manager and grant writing specialist), Susan Foor (analytical chemist and founding member of the Penfield Green Initiative), Pietro Furgiuele (landscape designer/horticulturist and representative from the town’s Parks & Recreation Advisory Board), and Bob Kanauer (solar power enthusiast) and Bob Brumbaugh (energy conservationist) from the town’s Conservation Board. Supervisor Tony LaFountain is serves as chair. Member terms are for one year.

“This advisory committee will further the work of the Town to reduce its use of resources and help residents reduce their own energy consumption and expenses. Our motivated citizens and staff will focus on understanding behaviors, sharing knowledge, and creating opportunities so all of Penfield can benefit from better stewardship of natural resources,” said Supervisor Tony LaFountain.

The Penfield Energy and Environment Advisory Committee will also leverage the town’s work on energy audits, energy stimulus grant funding, and internal efforts to create a resource-savvy culture. The committee meets the fourth Wednesday of each month from 4:00 to 6:00 PM.

New Energy and Environment Advisory Committee Meeting on March 24

The Town of Penfield is renovating its enclosed lodge in Harris Whalen Park to improve energy efficiency, modernize the building, make it more handicap-friendly, and create more functional space.

The existing cinder block structure began as an open shelter and was enclosed in the early 1970s. By today’s standards – and in comparison to the town’s other facilities – the structure is outdated and inefficient.

Plans include a total exterior renovation and new roof. The building will be fully insulated and heated by a radiant floor system. The interior will be dry-walled and more aesthetically pleasing than the original cinder blocks. The ceiling will be updated, and the kitchen will be relocated to provide more interior space and handicap mobility. New appliances will meet current energy standards, and the large stainless steel sink will be re-used, or “up-cycled.” Bathrooms will be rearranged and updated with touch-free sanitary fixtures.

The main entrance will gain a new porch that will add 300 square feet to the lodge’s useable space. Internal and exterior lighting will be more energy efficient, and the asphalt surrounding the building will be removed and replaced with pavers.

Construction will continue into the summer of 2010. This lodge has been removed from the town’s reservation system from mid-December into July 2010. The schedule is variable and weather dependent.

The Penfield Sewer Department is responsible for the operation and maintenance of sanitary sewer facilities serving 10,500 properties within Penfield. These sanitary sewer facilities include 120 miles of main sewers, 18 Sewer Pump Stations and Forcemains, 3,200 manholes and 81 miles of service laterals.

The Penfield Sewer District is classified as a Collection and Transmission agency, relying on the Monroe County Pure Waters agency for Wastewater Treatment Service. Most every gallon of water which passes through your Water Meter is eventually collected and treated at one of two Wastewater Treatment Facilities. Unfortunately what is also collected and unwanted is groundwater!

Groundwater entering the sanitary sewer system via leaking pipes, manholes, service laterals, sump pump discharges results in diminished sewer capacity and dramatically increase everyone's Wastewater Treatment Charges.

Penfield and other communities are continually and aggressively looking for ways to reduce or eliminate groundwater infiltration into the sewer system, thus reducing Wastewater Treatment charges.

One recent example of the Penfield Sewer Department's progressive approach to this problem was to purchase the Seal Guard Manhole Sealing System. This relatively low cost system is being used by the Penfield Sewer Department to target and eliminate leaks within sanitary sewer manholes.

One moderate manhole leak can account for literally thousands of dollars in annual wastewater treatment costs. In one recent example, Sewer Department staff sealed a leaking structure with approximately $250 of material and 2 crew hours, stopping the leak and saving sewer rate payers an estimated $2,000 in annual in wastewater treatment costs. Even greater savings in the tens of thousands of dollars will be realized by sealing more significant leaks.

The Penfield Sewer Department has a list of leaking structures they will be sealing throughout the year. Progress updates will be reported to Penfield Supervisor LaFountain and Monroe County Pure Waters.

The Town of Penfield began working with New York State Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) in 2009 to evaluate and improve the town’s energy efficiency.

To date, NYSERDA energy audits have been conducted on the HVAC and lighting systems in the Town Hall, Penfield Community Center, Parks Department Building, Highway Department, and the Don Mack Building. Audit reports have been returned to the Town of Penfield with energy use analysis and recommendations for improvement with estimated implementation and payback costs.

The town plans to use Federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) funds to implement projects including:

• New Ceiling and Insulation in the Town Hall Building

• Town Hall Windows Upgrade

• Energy Efficient Lighting Upgrade at the Town Hall Auditorium

• Lighting upgrade in Channing Philbrick Park Building

• Energy Management System at the Mack Building

• Energy Savings Lighting Upgrade at the Penfield Community Center Gymnasium

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New Ceiling and Insulation in the Town Hall Building

Town of Penfield is planning to install a grid-system drop ceiling over the existing ceiling at the Town Hall’s main meeting auditorium.

The existing ceiling is 12x12 spline tiles with little insulating property directly attached to the roof rafters.

The new ceiling tiles will have substantially improved thermal insulation property and is expected to save 3,594 kWh of electricity annually. The saving is equivalent to 2,510 kg of CO2 equivalent emission reduced.

In addition, the new ceiling will simplify the upgrading the existing legacy fluorescent fixtures to new, energy efficient lighting fixtures.

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Town Hall Windows Upgrade

Town of Penfield is planning to replace all the windows at the Town Hall building with energy efficient Thermal Aluminum Windows.

The existing windows are legacy style single-pane uncoated windows. The replacement windows will have dual glass panes with low-emissive coating and airspace filled with insulating argon gas.

The windows replacement will be performed in two phases. The first phase will replace all the normal size double-hung windows. The second phase will replace the oversized windows in the main meeting auditorium.

The new windows are expected to save about 45,000 kWh of electricity per year.

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Energy Efficient Lighting Upgrade at the Town Hall Auditorium

Town of Penfield plans to replace existing inefficient T12 fluorescent lighting fixtures at the Town Hall's main meeting room with energy efficient dimming fluorescent fixtures and occupancy sensors.

Presently there are 36 T12 2-lamp 4-foot fluorescent fixtures in the Town Hall's main meeting room. Town of Penfield will replace all the T12 fixtures with dimmable and efficient T5 fixtures that will provide improved illumination and the ability to reduce lighting level through dimming control. The occupancy sensors will automatically shut-off unneeded lighting when the space is unoccupied.

The combination of the new efficient T5 fixtures, dimming control and occupancy sensors will reduce annual electricity consumption by 9,250 kWh and save 6,430 kg of CO2 equivalent emissions.

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Lighting upgrade in Channing Philbrick Park Building

Town of Penfield is planning to upgrade the lighting in the Channing Philbrick Park Building located at Linear Park, off route 441 in Penfield.

Currently, the Linear Park Building has legacy style inefficient T12 fluorescent lighting fixtures with old magnetic ballasts. The project proposes to replace the existing T12 fixtures with T8 energy efficient fixtures and efficiency electronic ballasts. The plan is to install 30 2-lamp fixtures and 12 4-lamp fixtures.

Each new T8 lamp will save about 20 Watts over the existing T12 lamp, including savings from the high efficiency electronic ballast compared to the existing magnetic ballast.

The lighting upgrade at Linear Park is expected to save 11,794 kWh of electricity per year. The saving is equivalent to 8,238 kg of CO2 equivalent emission reduced.

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Energy Management System at the Mack Building

Town of Penfield is planning to install an Energy Management System at the Mack Building and integrate the Mack Building with the control system at the Town Hall.

The new system at the Mack Building will include:

• Control unit for each of the building’s HVAC equipment

• Temperature sensors to monitor the interior temperatures and temperatures in the HVAC ductworks

• Control unit for the fans of the HVAC equipment

• Alarm monitors

The new system at the Mack Building is expected to save 4,688 kWh annually.

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Energy Savings Lighting Upgrade at the Penfield Community Center Gymnasium

Town of Penfield is planning to upgrade the lighting in the Gymnasium located inside the town's Community Center.

Presently, the Community Gymnasium space has 20 250-Watt Highbay Metal Halide light fixtures.

The lighting upgrades is expected to save 2,538 kWh of annual savings

October 29, 2009 - The Town of Penfield has received a $145,500 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The $3.2 billion program empowers local communities to make strategic investments to meet the nation's long-term goals for energy independence and leadership on climate change.

EECBG grants are designed to create jobs, reduce total energy use and reduce fossil fuel emissions. To receive its allotted formula grant, the town of Penfield worked with Blue Springs Energy to prepare and submit the necessary application the U.S. Department of Energy in June, 2009.

The town of Penfield will use its EECBG funds to conduct New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) audits of the Highway Department and Don Mack buildings, for installation of energy efficient lighting in the Penfield Community Center gymnasium and Town Hall auditorium, and to replace original Town Hall windows with contemporary energy efficient materials.

Funds will also be used for a compact fluorescent bulb giveaway to Penfield residents to promote residential adoption of green technology. The Energy Star website claims that if every U.S. home replaced just one incandescent light with a CFL, the energy saved would be enough to light more than 3 million homes for one year – the greenhouse gas equivalent of 800,000 cars. The giveaway will be added to a yet to be determined future energy conservation event.

Read Penfield Press Release

Read an overview of the DOE EECBG Program