May 24--CONNEAUT -- Wind and sun could combine to shave thousands of dollars in energy costs from the Conneaut Area City Schools District.

Board of Education members have authorized board president Wallace "Sonny" Heinonen to explore alternative energy as a way to reduce the school system's hefty electric bill.

The board already has endorsed a proposed bill that would help school districts install panels on building to take advantage of solar power, Heinonen said. Also ahead is more research on electricity-generating wind turbines, he said.

New buildings the district erected a few years are powered exclusively by electricity, and the district's utility bill approaches $65,000 each month, Heinonen said. The board is keen on trimming that cost, and alternative energy may be the answer.

"It could mean huge, huge savings," Heinonen said. "It could resolve our dependency on (power companies)."

Refinements in turbine technology have made the power-producing devices smaller and cheaper, but no less effective, Heinonen said. Turbines need not stand hundreds of feet in the air and cost millions of dollars to generate an impressive amount of power, he said.

The district could work alongside city government and the Conneaut Port Authority, two entities considering their own turbine projects.

Heinonen also said the school district is proceeding with plans to demolish the crumbling Municipal Stadium sometime this summer. Officials are awaiting the results of asbestos tests before proceeding with a contract, he said.

Insurance companies will not write a policy for the decades-old stadium, citing too many structural and liability concerns. As a result, the board recently ordered the structure be closed to the public.

The football field still can be used, but people will not be allowed into the stands. The order means the CHS graduation ceremony next Saturday will be held in Garcia Gymnasium.

Board members are planning to rent portable bleachers to salvage the Conneaut High School home football season. For the long term, officials are researching a sports complex that could be built by linking the stadium land to district-owned land immediately to the south (site of the old West Main Elementary School) and several donated acres across the street from the stadium.

A consulting firm has created a handful of scenarios for the complex.

School administrators are researching government grants and private foundations for funds to build the multimillion-dollar complex. Selected school alumni also may be approached for their help, Heinonen said.

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