Brewed Fresh Daily

The following is an excerpt from the  linked documents (see below) that were completed this morning and represent comprehensive alternative provisions and strategies for the LED Lighting Ordinance Cleveland City Council is deliberating on today.

There is a potential that Council will try to move for a vote on the ordinance this evening as an “emergency measure” as it is only in its 2nd reading.  Proponents will need 13 of 19 member’s votes to allow it to be heard under an emergency measure.  We have had difficulty over the past month with trying to pin-down meeting dates and times and as a result any guest speakers that could provide an independent perspective on this important piece of legislation.

We  were able to have some informative speakers once last week and again this past Monday.  The amendments provided here are the results of working with Dept. of Energy officials, other industry experts and more recently individuals with professional experience in supply chain management and regional economic development and jobs creation strategy.

It is my hope that we’ll not move to vote on this tonight, but wait until at least August 18th – the next scheduled Committee of Whole meeting, as we’re technically in legislative recess and we’re not on our regular Monday evening, weekly meeting schedule.

If you can take the time, particularly  if you have any skills in this topic area, please read the ordinance and review the amendments and provide your feedback.  The opportunities that LED lighting technology  provides are enormous.  All of our lighting products will be migrating to this IT driven technology.  There is every reason we should be seriously considering how to leverage and involve our local and regional lighting companies.

An example of focusing on industry clusters is our very own Cleveland+/Team Neo/Advance NorthEast Ohio’s 12 initiatives.  LED lighting would fit well as a 13th initiative as there are many overlaps with the current Advanced Energy initiative – see Nortech’s Advance Energy Enterprise and Cluster.  The administration appears to have relied primarily on the advice of Peter Tien, who introduced the City to the Japanese waste-to-energy technology for which we’ve contracted with him for design work ($1.5 million), and the team we have at Cleveland Public Power, and yes, officials at China based Sunpu-Opto.

To enter the market in the way the Administration is proposing is extremely risky and unfortunately short-sighted and restrictive in the ordinance’s terms, which inhibits the competitive nature of the bidding process and ultimately the potential for long-term, sustainable, quality products and jobs.

Summary and narrative regarding major provisions of amendments:
829-10_Amend_Summary_Brief_7-13-10.doc

Ordinance 829-10 with draft amendments:
http://realneo.us/system/files/829-10_CLE_LED_Amend_7-13-10v2.doc

829-10 CLE LED Amend 7-13-10v2

Excerpt:

AMENDMENTS TO ORD. 829-10         7-13-2010

Ordinance 829-10 has been proposed by Mayor Jackson with the hope of leveraging the City’s purchasing power to attract jobs.  The ordinance proposes that the City, after completing a competitive bid process, enter into an exclusive contract for up to 10-years in exchange for creating 350 jobs.

After several hearings and testimony by experts and specialist in the fields of LED lighting technology, and business development strategies, and the Chair of Economics of Case Western Reserve University several issues have been identified that would improve the stated goals. These issues have been drafted into the form of amendments which make the process more competitive, eliminate some of the most restrictive provisions that would hinder competition and strengthen the jobs creation component, technical requirements for products and brings the scope of the legislation into line with innovative business practices that have been utilized in the creation of industry clusters.

These proposed amendments are summarized below. A more detailed summary is provided on the backside of this page.  Attached to this brief summary is a revised version of the ordinance with the amendments included.

Amendments Summary

1. Remove LED linear tube fluorescent replacement lamps from the contract and allow for other proven lighting product replacements.
2. Increase the Cleveland resident employment percentage from 20% to 30%.
3. Require Energy Star ratings (when available) and other U. S. LED lighting industry accepted minimum standards for products and testing prior to procurement of products.
4. Increase the competitiveness of the bid process by expanding the criteria for job creation, eliminating restrictive conditions and allowing for regional jobs to be counted.
5. Require on no less than an annual basis the evaluation of pricing and quality of products available and provide an annual report on the program to Cleveland City Council.
   

Brian Cummins
Cleveland City Council, Ward 14
bcummins[at]clevelandcitycouncil[.]org

Last 5 posts by Brian Cummins

• HOT AIR - Gasification, risk of $180 - $300 million, future of Cleveland Public Power - January 18th, 2012
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