Project Overview

Tribe/Awardee
Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, Central Council of the

Location
Juneau, AK

Project Title
CCTHITA Tribal Energy Retrofit Project

Type of Application
Deployment

DOE Grant Number
DE-EE0005169

Project Amounts
DOE: $285,866
Awardee: $286,131
Total: $571,997

Project Status
See project status »

Project Period of Performance
Start: September 2011
End: December 2014

Summary

The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA or Central Council), headquartered in Juneau, Alaska, authorized a Level II energy audit of its Juneau facilities. The Level II audit was completed in August 2010. Through this audit, each tribal building's energy consumption systems were inventoried and evaluated for optimal operation. Data collected included equipment nameplate information, building occupancy schedules, equipment-operating times, and utility bills gathered through on-site visits. From this analysis, a list of potential energy efficiency measures (EEMs) was developed to evaluate each of these measures for cost effectiveness and impact on building operations.

Based on the audit findings, the Central Council will retrofit four of these seven audited tribal buildings over a three-year period. In the first year, the Andrew Hope Building retrofits will be performed; in the second year, the Vocational Training and Resource Center retrofits will be completed; and in the third year, the Edward K. Thomas and the Douglass Buildings will be retrofitted.

Project Description

Background

The Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA) are a federally recognized tribe representing more than 27,000 Tlingits and Haidas worldwide. The Central Council's beginnings stem from the Jurisdictional Act of 1935 through which it sought recognition for the purpose of pursuing tribal land claims in federal court. Those efforts brought about a settlement and the tribal organization. It is a sovereign entity that has a government-to-government relationship with the United States.

The Central Council is a regional government with more than 125 delegates elected by tribal citizens in 21 communities.

In April 2008, the Central Council General Assembly declared a tribal crisis and emergency in the southeast region due to the high cost of electrical energy and fuels and the devastating impact on tribal citizens, their communities, their cultural way of life, and their tribal organizations and businesses.

In 2010, the Central Council prioritized the energy audit of its buildings and directed the expeditious implementation of an energy retrofit program to expedite the achievement of energy efficiencies. In this way, the tribe could reduce the costs of energy for buildings housing tribal programs, which would have an immediate benefit, with needed program dollars going further to meet the needs of its constituency.

A Level II energy audit of the Central Council's five tribal buildings was completed in August 2010. However, there is only enough money left from that federally funded project to partially address retrofits in one building. As retrofitting tribal buildings to achieve energy efficiencies continues to be a priority of the tribe, the Central Council will now complete these retrofits under this project.

Project Objectives

This retrofit project will contribute to the Central Council mission by enhancing the tribe's economic and cultural resources, and it will help achieve the tribal mandate for facilitating energy efficiency in the Native community. Under this project, the Central Council will carry out a three-year program for the installation of energy efficiency improvements or retrofits to four tribal buildings located in Juneau, Alaska.

The four tribal buildings to be retrofitted are those supporting critical socioeconomic programs for tribal citizens and communities:

  • The Andrew Hope Building, a 40,873-square-foot office building built in 1983, is located at 320 W. Willoughby Avenue. The building and the land on which it sits are owned in fee simple by the tribe.
  • The Vocational Training and Resource Center, a 9,860-square-foot educational facility built in 1998, is located at 3239 Hospital Way. The building and the land on which it sits are owned in fee simple by the tribe.
  • The Edward K. Thomas Building, an 11,400-square-foot office building built in 1982, is located at 9097 Glacier Highway. The building and the land on which it sits are owned in fee simple by the tribe.
  • The Douglass Headstart, a 3,646-square-foot daycare center built in 1962, is located at 201 Cordova Street. The building and the land on which it sits are owned in fee simple by the tribe.

Project Scope

This retrofit project will operate out of the Office of Tribal Operations (OTO) under the oversight the Chief Operating Officer. Tribal Operations oversees the implementation of tribal policies, the financial well-being of the tribe, and relations with outside organizations. As facilities management and maintenance is a responsibility of Tribal Operations, Building Management Dept., the project will be operated by the Tribal Operations Office and be coordinated by the Property Manager in the Building Management Section.

The retrofit/upgrade activities on all four buildings will be contracted to one contractor. The responsibility for internal coordination of the retrofit activities will be assigned to building management.

  • Task 1 - Solicitation/Award of Contract Bids:  Upon notice of grant award, the retrofit project manager will develop a request for bids to complete the planned upgrades. Bids will be solicited from no less than three contractors with experience in conducting energy retrofit projects. Securing permitting requirements may be listed as one of the contract responsibilities.  
  • Task 2 - Permitting:  Upon notice of grant award, the retrofit project manager will begin the process of obtaining/securing all building and environmental permits necessary from the City and Borough of Juneau and from the State of Alaska. Once the contractor is selected, the responsibility for this will become the contractor's.
  • Task 3 - Identification/Purchase of Materials/Equipment:  While the contractor will have key responsibility for this, to reduce "down time," the Central Council's property manager will begin to identify potential sources for the materials/equipment specified in the Level II Energy Audit.
  • Task 4 - Retrofit Installation Activities:  Retrofit activities are scheduled for the following:
    • Andrew Hope Building 
    • Vocational Training and Resource Center
    • Edward K. Thomas Building
    • The Douglass Headstart
  • Task 5 - Reporting:  The contractor will work with the Central Council's property manager to meet all federal reporting requirements.
  • Task 6 - Project Closeout: The Central Council Property Manager will develop a checklist of deliverables and inspect to make sure all contract requirements have been met. The contractor will use the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP) to measure and verify energy savings.

Project Location

The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, headquartered in Juneau Alaska, is a federally recognized tribe representing more than 27,000 Tlingit and Haida citizens, who live primarily in southeast Alaskan communities. The four buildings to be retrofitted (Andrew Hope Building, Vocational Training and Resource Center, Edward K. Thomas Building, and Douglass Headstart) are also located in Juneau, Alaska.

Project Status

The project is complete. For more information, see the final report.

The project was competitively selected under the Tribal Energy Program's fiscal year 2010 funding opportunity announcement "Energy Efficiency Development and Deployment in Indian Country" (DE-FOA-0000423), and started 09/30/11.

The November 2011 project status report provides more information.