Efforts to reduce energy costs by about $200,000 a year at Carroll College took a major step forward Thursday as Lewis and Clark County commissioners agreed to issue $2.9 million in revenue bonds.

The funding will be used to replace old boilers, upgrade lighting and plumbing fixtures and controls and install a backup fuel system to give the college access to reduced-cost natural gas.

College President Thomas Trebon said the work will both address global sustainability concerns and help

control tuition costs at the private college.

“The collaboration with the county allows us to move forward,” he said. The college and its students have made efforts in recent years to address environmental issues, Trebon added.

“This is another piece of that, and it’s a piece that’s going to have an immediate impact on the future of the college,” he said.

“Your sponsorship will qualify the college for a lower interest rate, which in turn allows us to lower our cost to students and make us a better partner with the Helena community,” Lynn Etchart, the college’s vice president of finance and administration, told county commissioners before their vote.

The bonds will be paid off over 15 years with money saved by reduced energy costs. If the estimates from Johnson Controls, which Carroll College hired to spearhead the project, don’t play out in real savings, the firm will make up the difference.

New boilers will be installed in Gaudalupe, O’Connell and Borromeo halls, replacing units that are from 35 to 50 years old.

Utility controls and lighting and bathroom fixtures will be upgraded, and a new propane backup system will qualify the college for a lower natural gas rate from NorthWestern Energy.

The work should be completed by the end of the year.

Independent Record reporter John Harrington contributed to this story.

Reporter Larry Kline: 447-4075 or larry.kline@helenair.com