At Monday's city council meeting, council members authorized the mayor to sign a contract with local contractor, Paulson Electric Inc to complete LED lighting upgrade project in Missoula's City Hall. The project is being paid for by a grant from the Department of Energy given to the city as part of the Clean Air Act.

It means the company will now install almost $150,000 in new LED lighting and lighting controls in the basements, stairwells, and hallways of City Hall.

The current lights work just fine, but city officials said they use more than twice the energy that the new ones would. City Council members said the project would reduce energy costs for the city by using more efficient lighting.

Project Director Jack Stucky said it would have a huge impact on local tax payers. He said, "Tax payers pay for the energy we use up there now, and it's significant."

Stucky said, "We're saving energy, we're putting money into the local economy and it's going to reduce the costs of our utilities."

Stucky predicts the project will pay for itself in energy savings in about eight years. The contract shows the project is expected to be completed by November 20, 2012.