Utility rebate will help Latrobe update HVAC units, lighting

Latrobe Council has approved a proposal from Tudi Mechanical Systems to upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment at city hall and lighting at the municipal parking garage and solid waste transfer station.

City manager Terry Carcella said the McKees Rocks contractor will install nine new air handlers at city hall, but the work isn’t expected to take place until next fall.

“At this time of the year, we’ll be using those units for air conditioning purposes,” he said. “We can’t be shutting down part of the building and keep the staff comfortable.”

“Those units are 48 years old,” Carcella said of the air handlers, noting it’s becoming costly to keep them in repair.

He said city officials have been talking about replacing them for a decade, but council had to act at its Monday meeting to meet the deadline for a utility rebate.

Because the project involves installing new, more efficient HVAC equipment and LED lighting, he said, it qualifies for a $142,751 rebate through First Energy’s Building Tune-up Program. That money will be paid directly to the contractor.

The rebate will bring the project’s net cost down to $475,309 – further whittled down to $296,309, with allocation of $48,000 from the city’s federal pandemic recovery funding and a state grant of $131,000 drawn from gaming revenue.

“This is probably the largest amount of money we can garner for this project right now,” Carcella said.

He said it would have cost the city slightly more – almost $302,000 – to complete the HVAC upgrades without also getting the new lighting and therefore qualifying for the rebate.

He said the city should be able to shift money to cover the project cost from one of its budget accounts and then gradually replace the money.

“We could borrow from ourselves, from one of our funds that has excess funds right now,” he said, “or we could earmark additional general fund money at the end of the year once we see where our budget falls this year.”