The Department of Commerce, with input from Bates staff, wrote this article to educate legislators about the success of the Jobs Act grant.
The Stars Lined Up
For years, Bates wanted to enhance their three campus learning environment and infrastructure, but couldn't. Their limited state funds were always used for failing and non-serviceable equipment, operations and maintenance. There was no money left to perform any other improvements. And then the stars lined up.
Solution
Bates heard about the
Jobs Act grant program at a Washington state community and technical college’s Operations and Facility Council meeting. Bates’ first step was to select an energy services company and have all three campuses audited. Together, they looked at all utility services–electricity, gas, water, sewer, and waste through many lenses. They wanted to learn what changes would make the most improvements in their learning environment and produce the most efficiency at the best price. When the audit was complete, Bates had more than 100 measures to review and select from.
“We had a big matrix,” said
Marty Mattes, director of facilities and operations. “Lighting and plumbing were the top two projects.”
Bates' interior and exterior lighting was a mixture of incandescent bulbs, metal halide and mercury vapor fixtures, and old fluorescent lamps and magnetic ballasts. “The old lighting had a yellow color and made everything appear really dreary and dull. It wasn’t a welcoming feeling,” said Mattes.
With the cost sharing from the Washington State Department of Commerce Jobs Act grant, utility incentives from
Tacoma Power and the college, the old lighting was completely replaced with new energy efficient fluorescent lamps and electronic ballasts.
“No light bulb was left untouched,” said Mattes. The new lighting made a huge change in the classroom learning environment. The brighter lights produced a better contrast on the work surface. And the maintenance staff no longer receives complaints about flickering lights, said Mattes.
In the South Campus parking lot, Bates installed two solar pole fixtures. This off-grid solar system will produce enough electricity to light the parking lot lights for four to nine days, from just one day of sunlight. Bates chose to install the solar poles at the South Campus because their electrical construction program resides there. Future electricians will learn how to wire solar systems.
Like the lighting, Bates’ plumbing needed help. The plumbing, toilets, urinals, and water faucets were all out of date. “We had faucets coming apart, toilets falling off the walls, and water leaking,” said Mattes.
Now, the college has new low-flow toilets, urinals and flushometers. The low-flow toilets use less than one-half the water the old toilets did, and the new urinals use one pint instead of 1.5 gallons. Also, all sinks now have faucets with low-flow aerators. “We estimate that we will save 3 ½ million gallons annually,” said Mattes. “And that’s a low estimate because it doesn’t include the fixed leaks.”
Results
Bates is well on its way to improving its learning environment and infrastructure. “If your infrastructure isn’t good, you can’t create a good learning environment,” said
Bates' President Lyle Quasim. “When the Jobs Act came along, we were able to add value to the college. Without the Jobs Act funds we received, we wouldn’t have had the upfront money to do these projects.”
The new lighting and plumbing are expected to save $112,920 annually. The electricity savings alone are enough to serve all electrical needs for 150 homes annually, said Mattes. “And that’s huge.”
Bates plans to use these savings to continue to improve its infrastructure. “We have lots of buildings that need to be brought into the 21st century,” said Mattes.
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