LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 4, 2018) — Former Lexington councilman George Myers has been tapped to serve as director of PACE financing for Energize Kentucky, the non-profit organization that helps commercial, office, industrial, agricultural, and multi-family building owners and developers secure financing to make energy-efficiency improvements to their buildings and projects.
In April, the council approved legislation creating a countywide Energy Project Assessment District (EPAD) that allows commercial property owners in Lexington to obtain Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing to pay for energy-efficiency improvements. In May, after an RFP process, the council selected Energize Kentucky as its EPAD Program Administrator.
Myers’ role with Energize Kentucky is to assist commercial property owners in the Lexington area to take advantage of this financial tool, which covers 100 percent of all hard and soft costs associated with energy upgrades and helps mitigate the often-costly initial investment in these new and emerging technologies.
“PACE financing can be used for all types of energy upgrades – high efficiency air conditioning and heating systems, LED lighting, roofing, geothermal systems, solar panels, elevators, and water conservation projects,” Myers said. “These improvements are accomplished through fixed-rate, long-term loans that require no down payment or personal or business guarantees. The loan is repaid annually through a voluntary special assessment on the property owner’s tax bill.”
In addition to Lexington, about a dozen local governments in Kentucky — including Jefferson and Campbell counties and the cities of Covington, Newport, Bellevue, Bowling Green, Owensboro, and Frankfort — have passed legislation creating EPADs.
Myers, who served as 8th District Council Member on Urban County Council from 2005 to 2015, is working closely with the city-county government to promote PACE financing.
“I am excited to work with the current administration and Urban County Council members, many of whom I served with for years, to ensure the success of this program,” he said.
Myers also will work with other municipal governments in Central Kentucky to establish EPADs in those jurisdictions for PACE financing.
“PACE financing is a proven driver of economic development and a job creator in the cities and counties where it is being utilized,” he said. “We want to work with commercial property owners and related industry partners to bring the same results Central Kentucky.”
“These projects make good business sense and are good for the environment,” he said. “Once property owners understand the advantages of PACE financing, they often increase their investments and install the ‘best’ energy-efficient solutions over the ‘good or better’ technologies — maximizing their internal rate of return.”
Myers is a 1998 graduate of the University of Kentucky and 2000 graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, where he obtained a master of social work from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work.
Prior to joining Energize Kentucky, Myers worked for four years at Big Ass Fans, the industry leader in energy-efficient high-volume, low-speed air-solution products and industrial LED lighting, the latter two years as director of tax services. While there, Myers worked with numerous businesses to provide them with innovative funding strategies to offset the upfront costs of their energy-efficient solutions.
In 2005, Gov. Ernie Fletcher appointed Myers to serve as executive director of the Office of the Ombudsman, a non-partisan office that ensures those seeking public services from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services are treated fairly. He owned a Shelter Insurance agency in Lexington in the early 2010s.
Myers said his experience as a small business owner to working in the private sector providing funding solutions for energy-efficiency projects and public-sector service prepared him for his current position.
“I understand the barriers building owners face and how to get energy projects done,” Myers said.
Myers said that interest in PACE financing has been strong. “We are in talks with several potential applicants, really the question is who will get to be the first PACE-financed project in Lexington.”
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