2022 was another busy year for the facilities team at Hillcrest keeping the building clean and ready for all the different groups that use the building. Looking at the numbers relating to building usage we had over 1300 events booked in our facility throughout the year. Here is an glimpse of how often some of our rooms are used:
Gym: 379 bookings. 1309 hours of use
Worship Centre: 263 bookings. 708 hours of use
Hub 1: 342 bookings. 893 hours of use
Room 200: 202 bookings. 691 hours of use
One large project in 2022 was the remodeling of two washrooms (Rooms 30 & 32) into single use handicap accessible and family friendly. There was a need for washrooms that allowed good access for caregivers and parents. Special attention was given to access with larger doors, floor space, baby change tables, toddler seat with seat belt so little ones stay safe, door lock with occupied sign so you know if room is available and dead bolt so small children can’t easily open the door. These washroom are located to the right side of the Worship Centre. Thank you to Heritage Crossing Construction for their help on this project.
In addition to the daily vacuuming, cleaning and maintenance some extra attention was given to the property in 2022. Two bike racks were purchased and installed by gym and office entrance. Our neighbor to the south Dietz Construction was cleaning up his property and installing new fencing around his property. The good neighbor thing to do was to clean up our side of the property line which was grow over with brush and trees. Popular Mechanics Tree Service were onsite at the time removing 3 dead standing trees from our property and were agreeable to taking on the bigger job of clearing the brush and low branches. Not only was does the property look better it also removes hiding places for people to get into mischief. Thank you to Garth, Dustin and their crew.
Solar System Review
The solar system was turned on in December of 2021 so we have one full year of results from 2022. Short answer is that it is working as promised and we are saving money over and above the cost of the loan. We produced 378,626 kWh over the year which is 96% of targeted production. Savings are calculated two ways, first way is the savings of consuming our own electricity instead of buying it and the second way is the savings of sending our excess solar production to the City Utilities Department. The City Utilities keep a balance of this surplus electricity and gives it back to us as a kilowatt for kilowatt trade during the months we need the electricity. This “kilowatt for kilowatt trade” is a change in how the City of Medicine Hat was handling solar generation but it is in alignment with Alberta regulations. It is worth noting this change because it was communicated to the congregation that the City of Medicine Hat was purchasing the surplus kilowatts from us and crediting that money against our entire utility bill. This purchase of kilowatts did happen for the fist 8 months and then was changed to the kilowatt for kilowatt trade. In looking at 2022 numbers this change does not look to make a significant impact to the profitability of the solar system. We will continue to monitor this monthly.
In an effort to increase the profitability of the solar system a “consumption meter” was purchased and installed. This ‘consumption meter” in conjunction with the solar system software allows us to monitor in real time how much electricity the building is consuming, how much production the solar is generating and if we are buying or giving electricity to the City Utility Department. This information has proven beneficial already and the goal would be to use this information to make our facility more energy efficient.
It has been my pleasure to serve another year at Hillcrest as the Facility Director. I enjoy my conversations and time working with the staff and volunteers that keep Hillcrest Church going strong. If you have any question, concerns or comments please reach to me at the office or stop me in the hallways.
Sincerely
Grant Boyd
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