Morehead-Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, Inc.

April 16, 2010

                 L. to R.  Troy Perkins-Magistrate, Ray White--Magistrate, State Rep                     Rocky  Adkins, State Rep John Will Stacy, Tony Wilder--Commissioner DLG, Judge Executive Jim Nickell, Nick Caudill--Magistrate, and Jerry Flannery--Magistrate

County awarded $125,000 energy efficiency grant

By Vanessa Overholser - Staff Writer CNHI

April 16, 2010 —     The county has been awarded a $125,000 energy efficiency grant for the new Rowan County courthouse.

    The courthouse is being built across from the new Rowan County Justice Center at Norman Wells Lane. Local and state officials gathered April 5 to break ground for the new courthouse.

    Commissioner of the Department for Local Government (DLG) Tony Wilder announced the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) for the courthouse during the ground breaking ceremony. The grant will cover the cost of upgrading from a conventional heating and cooling system to a geothermal one.

    “With this upfront investment, taxpayers will realize years of savings on energy costs for this new building,” said Wilder.

    Under EECBG program guidelines, grants may be awarded for the incremental costs to increase efficiency in new construction. Engineering estimates show a cost differential of approximately $125,000 between a conventional heating/cooling system and a geothermal system, according to the Commissioner of the Department for Local Government officials.

     “We are real excited about it,” said Rowan County Judge-executive Jim Nickell. “The building we have now is outdated and the utility bills are too high. We have outgrown the building and there is no storage. It will be a better building to serve the citizens of Rowan County.”

    All of the offices on the second floor will be in the new building. Offices that are on the first floor will be in the judicial building, Nickell said.

    The cost of the courthouse project is $3.6 million and the cost of the geothermal system is $636,000. Construction of the courthouse began immediately after the ground breaking. The courthouse and the judicial center are expected to be completed by February or March 2011.

    The EECBG program was first passed by congress in 2007. It was funded by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), with funds coming from the U.S. Department of Energy through the Kentucky Department for Energy Development and Independence and administered by the Department for Local Government.

    “The Kentucky EECBG program provides $6.25 million to assist local governments in implementing strategies to reduce fossil fuel emissions; reduce total energy use; and improve energy efficiency in the transportation, building, and other appropriate sectors,“ government officials said. “Additional purposes of the EECBG program include spurring economic growth and the creation and/or retention of jobs under ARRA.”