The McCleary City Council kicked around the proposed McCleary Solar Project, as well as hearing presentations about the FCS Group’s utility rate review and the Civic Renewal Council about a possible partnership with the city.
The solar project, funded by a $2.7 million grant from the Department of Commerce, would help provide power locally, reducing demand on buying outside power, said Chad Bedlington, the city’s public works director.
The council agreed to hold off a vote on the solar project until the next meeting, with some councilors citing their own unfamiliarity with solar power generation as they asked questions in order to make an informed decision.
“They’ve asked a lot of good questions,” Bedlington said in an interview. “I think it’s a very positive project.”
The project will hopefully lower power costs by reducing demand on the Bonneville Power Authority, the city’s current supplier, as well as providing a source of power in the event of a grid blackout, Bedlington said.
“I think this is a good project. I think it’s a positive project,” Bedlington said. “I think it’s going to generate money in the form of revenue that we won’t have to pay to BPA.”
The project would have a 25-year performance warranty, according to a city document, available at cityofmccleary.com/buildingplanning/page/mccleary-solar-array-project. The next step would be for the city council to approve — or vote down — the city’s investment of a little less than $50,000 for an investment-grade audit, the next step forward.
“We do need to get started,” Bedlington said. “We do need to work on a contract with the department of commerce.”
The city council also listened to the final presentation by the FCS Group on utility rates.
“The goal of this is what is manageable and what is realistic. We have to balance the impact on the community,” Bedlington said. “We don’t have a large commercial base as I’m sure most of you are aware. We don’t have a large industrial base.”
The city’s focus is on single-family homes as utility clients, the largest group, Bedlington said.
“Most of our customers are really efficient,” Bedlington said of water use in particular. “They really don’t use a lot of water. We want to support that continued trend.”
The council okayed the annexation of McCleary into the Grays Harbor Conservation District’s area of operations after a brief presentation by Executive Director David Marcell. The decision will allow the city and homeowners to work with the conservation district to apply for technical assistance doing work such as getting rid of knotweed or other invasive species.
Dog park
The city council also okayed the opening of the city park to dogs. Bedlington said he’s working today to order the signage and infrastructure — dog poop stations — to make the change, costing less than a thousand dollars. The council said they’d revisit the decision in about six months.
“We get a tremendous amount of people passing through. They have dogs,” Bedlington said. “We’re already there. It’s not a large extra step for us.”
Contact Senior Reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or michael.lockett@thedailyworld.com.
