Solar Panels being discussed for Ypsilanti City Hall

The Ypsilanti City Hall could get some new dressings soon, at least on the south side of the building.

Dave Strenski has proposed lining the south-facing wall of city hall with 12-205 watt solar panels, bringing in nearly 10,000 watts a day. Strenski was responsible for the solar panels on the Yspi food co-op in Depot Town.

The cost, according to Strenski, would be a little less than $20,000, which he estimates that the panels would pay for themselves in less than 30 years.

The issue, however, is that the city hall is a historical building and putting up the panels would require them to not change or damage the building in anyway, and they must be easily removed.

City Planner for Ypsilanti, Richard Murphy, says the next step requires Strenski to propose a way to do this to the commission. Murphy says the Strenski may have found an engineer to work pro-bono to help put together a proposal for the commission.

"We could possibly see this next summer," Murphy says.

Source: Richard Murphy, city planner for Ypsilanti
Writer: Terry Parris, Jr.