At Nov. 8, bond/board meeting of the Floral Park Bellerose UFSD, it was painfully obvious that the individuals elected to represent us, the hardworking taxpayers of this fine village have not been doing their job. It was apparent even to the most casual of observers that the issue of an ESCO/EPC was not researched at all. As the audience heard from the news excerpts I read aloud, Garden City and Roslyn have entered into agreements with ESCOs and the cost savings to the taxpayers has been enormous. Those districts reflect only a very small fraction of the districts on Long Island and throughout the State of New York who have done so. The weak assertion by the board that they spoke to Carle Place School District gave the illusion that Carle Place was perhaps unhappy with their decision to do so; not true. Yes, it is true that Carle Place did not have boiler installations as part of their agreement, however, there can be many reasons for that. Perhaps they did not need new boilers at this time.
Upon research and reading an article about energy performance contracts, how they work and most importantly, a section entitled: Carle Place – A Case Study (http://green.wikia.com/wiki/Renewable_Schools), you will better understand how an ESCO works and why so many districts on Long Island, and throughout the state, have entered into Energy Performance Contracts (EPC). Our school board acts upon the assumption that we, the taxpayers, the ones they are accountable to, will continue to do their bidding, unquestioned. Speaking of questions, a resident’s question about the reasons why the district did not entertain the possibility of entering into an EPC, was never answered. It is still dangling out there like a kite caught on the limb of a tree, just blowing in the breeze. It is my opinion that question could not be answered because the option was never explored. I urge you to vote down this bond referendum and demand that the board go back to the drawing board and do their homework, shame on them.
Patsy Ann Joinnides
Floral Park
