School board discusses terminating ESG contract

Energy Savings Group defended the $2.9 million Jamestown Public Schools spent on renovations to school buildings and facilities at the Jamestown Public School Board’s Building and Grounds Committee meeting Tuesday.

Some school board members had concerns about the partnership and questioned if the district should terminate its contract. The partnership, which the district officially began this year, would last for 15 years. Plans for the partnership began in 2001. ESG began construction of its improvements in 2006.

The partnership, which with interest cost JPS more than $4 million, made the district more energy efficient as well as improved working and learning conditions, said Mark Bucholz, senior account executive for ESG. The $4 million would be paid for with the money the district saved on energy costs. If the district didn’t see the savings guaranteed by ESG, ESG would pay the difference.

“Essentially, what it means is, if there’s a shortfall, we will write a check for the difference,” Bucholz said.

After the 15th year, ESG estimated the district would see at least $6,500 in savings.

The district pays ESG a consulting fee each year, which covers ESG’s cost of ensuring the district is being as efficient as it can by studying its energy use, maintaining its control system and training district personnel. Last school year, the fee was $35,000 and would be about $15,000 in upcoming years.

School board members Tanya Ostlie and Ann Hoggarth had questioned at previous meetings if the district was getting its money’s worth from the consulting fee and if JPS personnel could provide the same services without help from ESG.

The consulting fee is like an oil change, Bucholz said. It is preventative maintenance that repairs items before they become a crisis.

“We wanted to be proactive instead of reactive,” said Rosemary McDougall, member.

The district is also required to prove to the state that it’s making the estimated energy savings for all 15 years of the partnership. For the first three years, ESG has to provide that the energy savings performance. After the third year, the district can hire a separate energy services partner.

Previous to its partnership with ESG, the district had a similar performance contract with another organization that cost between $25,000 and $30,000 each year, said Jerome Wegner, maintenance supervisor. He said the partnership with ESG is more valuable than the previous.

ESG has similar partnerships across the state as well as Minnesota. None of them have terminated services before, Bucholz said.

“We don’t have anybody that has fired us or terminated that agreement,” he said.

Two of those partnerships include the North Dakota State Hospital and the James River Correctional Center. Both Alex Schweitzer, NDSH superintendent, and Don Redmann, JRCC warden, said the partnership with ESG is good for their organizations.

In other business, the committee voted to move forward with an irrigation system, long-jump pit and concrete slab for a storage building at the Jamestown Middle School activity space. The additions would cost about $17,000 and are within the original $625,000 budget the board set for the project.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Jamestown Public School Board is at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 20.

Sun reporter Katie Ryan can be reached at 701-952-8454 or by e-mail at kryan@jamestownsun.com

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