Lake County to measure energy use

Being audited usually isn't good news, but Lake County officials hope to save money with this one.

One item up for a vote today on a lengthy county board agenda is a contract to conduct an audit of energy usage at all county facilities, including the government center in downtown Waukegan.

The contract with Grumman/Butkus Associates of Evanston is for an amount not to exceed $159,400, which includes expenses. The hope is suggestions made as a result will pay dividends in future energy use and savings.

"We have not done anything like this before comprehensively," said board member Brent Paxton of Zion.

As chairman of the board's financial and administrative committee, Paxton in the past has questioned some expenses for so-called green technologies. But he said he is in favor of the audit as a necessary step.

"I'm not opposed to green things as long as they yield results. But if it's a feel-good thing, I'm opposed," Paxton said.

The audit will take about a year to complete and will cover about 1 million square feet of space in various facilities. The intent is to establish a baseline of energy use with recommendations on how to be more efficient.

"Part of the scope is to come up with specific projects, project costs and pay back," said Gary Gordon, the county's director of finance and administration.

The county has budgeted $4.8 million for gas and electric costs at its facilities for the current year ending Nov. 30. The budgeted figure for next year is $5.2 million.

Energy saving measures are currently planned or have been installed for new buildings or those being remodeled.

But for older existing structures, such as the 1970s-era administration building, county officials want to make sure any improvements or upgrades are giving them the most bang for the energy buck.

"We don't want to replace something and say, `Oh, we could have saved $50,000 this year," said County Board Chairman Suzi Schmidt. "We want to make sure we're doing the best we can to save money."