Lehighton Area School District is proposing to move forward with an energy services agreement it hopes will position the district to land a significant state facilities grant. The grant could cover the cost of a long-needed roof replacement at the high school.

The school board’s workshop meeting Monday included discussion of a recommendation to approve an ESCO agreement with SitelogIQ, the firm that completed the district’s facilities study last year. An ESCO, or energy services company project, surveys a district’s buildings and proposes capital improvement projects, typically financed through projected energy savings.

“An ESCO agreement is not a commitment to spend any money,” Superintendent Jason Moser said. “The ESCO provider contractor might look at our facilities and say, ‘This is a project you might want to consider. Here is what your savings would be over X number of years.’ We can either choose to explore that or say we’re not interested at this time.”

The board had tabled the matter a couple of months ago. In the interim, the district put out a request for qualifications seeking other ESCO providers. No competitors responded.

“We did our due diligence in putting this ESCO agreement RFQ out,” Moser said. “We had a couple of companies inquire, and they never volunteered and provided us anything.”

The choice of SitelogIQ carries a specific financial advantage tied to work the firm has already done for the district. SitelogIQ already completed a district facilities study at a cost of $20,000; a bill the district has already paid. Under the terms of a prior agreement, that $20,000 would be applied toward the first project undertaken if the district proceeds with SitelogIQ as its ESCO contractor.

The larger financial consideration, however, involves a state grant.

The district has applied for what Moser described as a public school facilities improvement grant, and the application requested $2.2 million.

“Do I believe we’ll get $2.2 million? No, I do not,” Moser said. “Do I believe we’re going to get a substantial grant? I am actually hopeful.”

Moser said he hopes the district receives enough to cover the high school roof project, a repair he described as necessary, with the district covering a 25% match.

“If we were to get $400,000 or $900,000, let’s just say theoretically, 4% of that we would have to pay SitelogIQ,” Moser said. “If we sign this agreement, anything we get does not have to be paid out.”

That 4% figure is the fee SitelogIQ would normally collect for its grant-writing work. Under the existing agreement with the firm, if the district is awarded a grant and SitelogIQ is the approved ESCO contractor, the fee is waived entirely. On a $900,000 award, that waiver would represent $36,000 in savings to the district.

Moser added that the district also retains flexibility under the ESCO arrangement and faces no long-term obligation to any particular contractor.

“We can also change our ESCO agreement anytime, meaning we can go with somebody else,” Moser said. “We’re under no obligation to complete a project with whomever we would enter an ESCO agreement.”

The board did not vote on the ESCO agreement during Monday’s workshop session, which is not a voting meeting. The matter is expected to come before the board for formal action at a future regular meeting.