City Recieves Rebate For Energy Efficiency

Representatives from PG&E  presented a ceremonial check worth $33,825 to the City Council of Foster City at its meeting last night as a rebate for the city installing LED street lights.

The city has installed 260 LED street lights, funded by a grant through the federal economic stimulous package worth $157,000, said PG&E representative Kathy Lavezzo.

LED lights produce a brighter, whiter light that improves visibility at night while reducing energy consumption. The city stands to save approximately $17,600 a year in energy cost by installing the new lamps, said Lavezzo.

The rebate check presented last night comes from PG&E as a reward for reducing city enegy consumption.

The new ec0-friendly bulbs also burn longer than standard street lights, which reduces maintenance cost. LED street lights also do not contain any disposable hazards such as Mercury or Led, which are found in some of the old fashioned bulbs.

The city saved $1,900 in avoided maintenance cost by installing the new street lights, according to Lavezzo.

The 260 new street lights reduce the city's energy consumption by 142,000 kilowatt hours last year, which is the equivalent to taking 22 homes, or six cars, off the energy grid, said Lavezzo.

"Those are big numbers, so we are pleased about that," said Lavezzo, who presented the check through a partnership between PG&E and San Mateo County Energy Watch.

San Mateo County Energy Watch is a bi-product of a the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County and PG&E collborative effort to reduce local energy consumption and carbon footprint.

As the oversized check was presented, City Councilwoman Pam Frisella thanked PG&E for the rebate money.

She also joked about the difficulties of depositing it into a standard ATM.

In other business at last night's meeting, Council members gave a second and final confirmation to their vote last meeting to pass an ordinance limiting the amount of dogs allowed off the leash being walked by one person in the city's off-the-leash areas.

Last night members voted 4-0-1, with Councilman Charlie Bronistky abstaining, to pass the ordinance. The vote

The new law allows police officers to excersize their best discretion on how to punish people they see violating the new law. Potential punishment could be sending a letter to the violator, or may be as stiff as writing a fine of less than $100.

The city previously had a rule suggesting people abide by the three loose dogs per person limit, but it was not an official ordinance, and as a result was not enforceable.

Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Miller has said that people elected to violate the rule because they knew the city could not punish them. He said he hoped passing the law would prevent any further violations in the future.

Dogs area allowed off the leash in , , and between the hours of 5 am and 8 am. As well, dogs may run off the leash in from 5 am until 9 am.

There is also at in the corner of Foster City Blvd. and Bounty Drive, where dogs are allowed to run off the leash from 6:30 am until 10 pm.