Mike Patello, Facilities & Maintenance Manager Christ the King Parish, is the private school OSPI School Safety & Student Wellbeing representative. He shared some thoughts on the Clean Building Program. He will join the WFIS Zoom to answer questions on October 24.
- The Clean Buildings process is onerous but doable. It could take about 1000 person-hours at the school to manage the requirements.
- Someone on the school team should have Energy Star Certification for entering information about current energy use. Energy Star is a well-developed and user-friendly tool.
- All machinery information- model, serial number, year of installation, etc.- must be entered into the portal and uploaded into the cloud (for future access and reference.) Accountants should hold onto all statements from the energy companies. Information on energy use needs to be entered into the portal regularly.
- Each machine vendor will work with the school to identify the next model of each piece of machinery the school will buy should something break down, even if the machinery is brand new. The new machinery needs to meet or provide lower energy use.
- A certified expert needs to send the report to the government. An expert will need to be hired for this part of the process. There is a nonprofit that may make this step more cost-efficient. If not, a school will need to hire a certified “energy consultant.” This is a new industry.
- If a school does not report, the state can fine the school.
- Prepare now. As the date gets closer to 2025, the rates for reporting will increase, and consultants may be overwhelmed with requests.
Please bring your questions for Mike to our WFIS Members Zoom on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 at 2 pm.
