Emmerson recognizes Redlands business

Staff Writer

REDLANDS - Assemblyman Bill Emmerson recognized Viewpoint Green as the 63rd Assembly District's Green Business
of the Quarter Friday. Viewpoint Green provides financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects "for the purpose
of making improvements to municipal buildings, commercial properties and residential units," according to a news release.

"I applaud Viewpoint Green for their innovation and commitment to addressing the energy needs of the Inland Empire,"
Emmerson said in a news release. "Through these projects, business owners will decrease their energy use, saving
companies money to reinvest in our communities."

 

Viewpoint Green arranges the financing, administers the program, and tracks the financial benefits to the economy.

"By investing in local businesses, Viewpoint Green is helping to strengthen our local economy through the creation of
manufacturing and construction jobs," Emmerson said in the news release. "We must do all we can to give businesses
the tools they need to keep their doors open while providing them with the means to be good stewards of our environment."

A division of Viewpoint Financial, Viewpoint Green is owned and operated Redlands resident by Marvin Hudson.

For more information on Viewpoint Green, visit www.viewpointgreen.com or call Hudson at 909-335-7100.

Marvin Hudson gives time to help others reach their goals while reaching his own

By CHANTAL M. LOVELL, Staff Writer
Posted: 03/08/2010 03:58:29 PM PST

 

Marvin Hudson is the new president of the Redlands Community Music Association s Board of Directors which handles the summer music festival at the Redlands Bowl. (ERIC TOM/Redlands Daily Facts)

As if he is not busy enough volunteering with the Rotary Club of Redlands or directing the board of Redlands Community Hospital, Marvin Hudson has just taken on the role as president of the Redlands Community Music Association.

How did you get involved?

"When I came to Redlands in 1996, a relocation of my business from Running Springs to a place with a larger customer base,
I almost immediately became integrated in the work and congregational life of Trinity Episcopal Church, and was soon invited to attend, and then join, the Rotary Club of Redlands.

"I remember standing in front of this great service club and saying something like: the purpose for Rotary for me is to give back to
the community, to help to bring value to the community. Giving back, helping others is something ingrained in me, and no wonder
the walls of my mother's home in Florida are decorated with plaques, certificates, etc."

What is the mission of your work?

"In striving to become one of, if not the, leading mortgage broker in the city, I also wanted to help forward my belief that, in order to improve society as a whole, we must help our youth toward achieving their full potential. Reading is an important basic to do that. That's why, when previous Rotary Club member Jennifer Guenther suggested our club explore a program called Breakfast and a Book, we together researched it and brought it to our Rotary board of directors at the time. This is a program that continues today,
and it's very much appreciated by both of the elementary schools with whom our club partners to hold it - Franklin and Lugonia.

"And at the college level I have worked with co- Rotarian Professor Jack Osborn at the University of Redlands to help several students receive Ambassadorial Scholarships to further their experiences and education, and for them to share their talents with others in different parts of the world."

"I've now expanded my mission to include becoming one of America's premier providers of energy efficiency and renewable energy financing. There is a huge need for financing in this growing sector of our national economy and based upon my copious research,
I believe in my soul that this will contribute significantly to growth in our local, regional, and national economies - not only is it just some internal belief - we have more than one working example of it."

How is that mission carried out?

"A microcosmic example of this - with the connection of Professor Jack Osborn, we employed two UR students to help research certain aspects for a white paper for this new company division, called Viewpoint Green. These students did an extremely thorough job, by the way - we have about a two inch-thick binder and a sufficiently full flash drive demonstrative of their work."

Is the mission successful?

"I carry out this mission by first attempting to inform the myriad of local governments that don't yet know about a new law - commonly referred to as AB 811 - that can be used as a tool to help grow their local economies, help improve our air quality - and thereby public health, and help them begin to meet certain state mandates. One of my goals is to share as best I can the depth and breadth of these potential benefits with anyone who has an interest."

"A recent example of how I go about spreading this word is a symposium that we recently put on at (University of California at Riverside). Through my position as Chair of the Municipalities Committee of the Inland Empire chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, there will be more opportunities to bring information to cities and counties.

"Another example is my participation in the Redlands Sustainable Action Plan Task Force, what was recently referred to as the Climate Action Task Force. I think we realized through the process of the work that, although each member may have their own personal perspective, as a group our focus was more on how we help make Redlands a more sustainable city, not on how we
alter the course of the temperature degree of our local climate."

Hudson also co-chairs the Redlands Community Baccalaureate Committee, and is a member of the Redlands Service Club
Council, the Climate Action Task Force and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

"And lastly, a few examples of how I effect my belief in the investment in our youth are my support of and participation in the Baccalaureate Committee- seven years or more now, I believe-, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, and Breakfast and a Book."

What are the challenges?

"In working toward improving chances of furthering the education of our youth, I see two major factors that need to be improved - getting the word out and being able to fund a broader number of programs."

"With regard to my vocation, a major challenge is to get people nudged out of the `same old way of doing things,' thinking that we should count solely on what has previously led our economy - housing - especially here in California. A favorite quote of mine is from Albert Einstein, who said, more or less, `The significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."

What is in the future?

"I look forward to helping further the growth of our country in the direction(s) earlier stated. And I will be pleased with the long-term impact this direction will have."

If you had a magic wand, what would you make happen?

"One obstacle I didn't mention earlier is that only a few of our traditional banks have begun opening their doors wide to this `new' sector of the economy. With such a magic wand, I would get more banks to do that, and at the consumer level. It appears to me right now that the big boys, like US Bank, Citi, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo are in/on this field, but they are playing at levels that allow them to have very little competition. And our banking sector has a huge impact on what does or doesn't happen, easily, in this great country of ours. So I'd have the big-player banks and brokerage houses, and others, such as insurance companies, begin to allow the smaller consumer banks to have a market for making then selling consumer loans taken out for energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements. This would dramatically change the landscape."

Another voice: Marsha Gebara

"(Hudson) is a person who really holds up the mission of the Bowl and you can see it in everything that he does. Redlands is very fortunate to have him all around. He is very dedicated, very intelligent. He works full time, but is committed to community service.
To do that, while you have a career, you've got to really have a commitment to community service and he really does. He has all the qualities a leader should have and he will be an excellent leader for the Redlands Community Music Association."

E-mail Staff Writer Chantal M. Lovell at clovell@redlandsdailyfacts.com

Consumer loans, rebates and tax credits take some
sting out of energy-efficiency improvement costs

11:47 PM PST on Tuesday, February 23, 2010
By DAVID DANELSKI
The Press-Enterprise

Inland cities and counties expect to spur thousands of energy-efficiency improvements by making more than $225 million available for loans to home and business owners.

Qualifying projects can range from mundane improvements, such as adding insulation to a drafty attic, to costly, as in installing a rooftop solar system.

People who upgrade their properties now, whether through loans or cash outlay, can tap into an array of income tax credits and state and utility rebates that can cut their net costs by as much as half or more.

Never has so much been available to help people upgrade their homes, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and aid the local economy, said Ron Loveridge, mayor of Riverside, which operates its own electric and water utilities and offers several rebates.

"The time to do it is now," he said. "Many of these incentives weren't here five years ago."

Yucaipa and Palm Desert already are offering energy loans, made possible through state legislation called AB 811. Loan payments go to the county tax collector along with regular property taxes. If the property is sold, the loan balance is transferred to the buyer. Riverside and San Bernardino counties and more than a dozen cities plan to make the loans available this year.

David "Robie" Robertson, co-owner of the Yucaipa Hearing Aid Center, said he is taking advantage of AB 811 loans to finance rooftop solar systems for his business and home.

He smiled on a sunny Tuesday morning as he showed off his electricity meter. It spun backward, even thought the business was open, the lights were on and his partner, Stephanie Wood, was working at a computer.

Gone will be a Southern California Edison Co. bill that averaged $125 a month, he said.

The solar system from Smart Solar Power of Yucaipa cost $25,571, Robertson said. With a state rebate of $5,319, a federal tax credit of $8,607 and a business expense write-off, he estimates the payments on his 7 percent, 20-year loan will be $30 a month less than what he was paying for electricity.

"I am not taking money out of pocket, and I'm getting a savings," Robertson said. "And it's going to get better as the loan disappears."

ENERGY LOANS EXPAND

The Western Riverside Council of Governments, a planning agency made up of Riverside County and 16 cities, is seeking $220 million from the bond market and another $5 million from federal sources to fund the energy loans, Barbara Spoonhour, a program manager for the agency. She wants the loans to start by June or July so participants can take advantage of federal tax credits for work done this year.

San Bernardino County, Redlands and the city of San Bernardino are working jointly to establish a loan program.

The city of Riverside will start a similar loan effort this year with about $1 million in seed money, said Michael Bacich, customer relations and marketing manager for the city utilities. As part of the loan, city technicians will inspect homes and set priorities for the most cost-effective improvements, he said.

In many cases, installing insulation, replacing old air conditioners or making other conservation improvements is more effective than installing a solar energy system, Bacich said.

Regardless of financing, available subsidies can make for good deals.

For instance, Riverside is offering 45 cents per square foot in rebates for high-grade attic insulation. At a Home Depot store in Riverside, 1,500 square feet of 9½-inch thick pink fiberglass insulation costs about $1,230. The city rebate combined with the federal tax credit would reduce the homeowner's cost to less than $400. Other consumer incentives include:

The Riverside Department of Public Utilities and Southern California Edison Co. offer rebates for new, energy-efficient appliances such as refrigerators and swimming pool pumps.

Riverside also has available rebates for attic and exterior wall insulation, qualifying windows and doors, and whole-house and attic fans.

Edison is expected to expand its incentives later this year, making customers eligible for as much as $3,500 in rebates for completing improvements that result in measurable energy savings, said Richard Genece, the utility's manager of residential energy efficiency programs.

The Obama administration's economic stimulus package includes federal income tax credits that allow homeowners to write off
30 percent of the cost -- after rebates -- of energy-efficiency improvements made in 2010.

Edison customers who install rooftop solar systems can get state rebates ranging from 15 to 20 percent. Riverside offers similar rebates. Rooftop solar energy and hot water systems qualify for a separate 30 percent tax credit available through 2016, an IRS spokesman said.

TAXPAYER CONCERNS

Not everyone believes the loans are a good idea.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association opposed AB 811 because taxpayers, especially in such an uncertain housing market, assume the risks for loan defaults and because such loans can be offered by private-sector lenders, said David Wolfe, the group's legislative director.

"Local government should focus on the delivery of basic services," Wolfe said.

Josephine Han, business development manager for Solar Max, an industry-based rooftop solar installation company, said the
AB 811 loans will help reduce global warming by making more cash available for solar and other energy improvement for homes and businesses. But she urged consumers to consider other financing options. For example, a second mortgage may have lower interest rates, and the payments are a tax deduction, she said.

For Scott Kine, a Palm Desert resident, an AB 811 loan made financial sense -- twice.

Palm Desert was the first Riverside County city to offer AB 811 loans, tapping city reserves as sources of funds.

Kine had a rooftop solar system installed on his home last year. The full price was $50,000, but the investment qualified for a $10,500 rebate from the state. He borrowed the remainder from the city with 7 percent interest and a 20-year term. His debt payments are now on target to be roughly the same as the savings on his electric bill, and he is claiming an $8,850 tax credit.

"I added $50,000 in value to my house," he said. "I am very satisfied with my investment."

He and his wife also installed a solar system on a rental house and was able to increase the rent by $200, since the tenants wouldn't be paying a big electric bill every month.

And he expects the value of his investment to increase, since he lives in a searing desert where an $800 electric bill for a summer month isn't unusual.

"Edison rates aren't going down," he said. "They are only going up."

Reach David Danelski at 951-368-9471 or ddanelski@PE.com