Energy Committee looks at cutting costs
Posted on Tuesday, April 29, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/64636/
The utility bill last year for Washington County’s 12 buildings came to $ 735, 560 — a little more than $ 400, 000 of that cost from the detention center.
“ It occurs to me that we can probably stay within constitutional standards and cut that bill down some, ” said Justice of the Peace Steve Zega, chairman of the Quorum Court’s Energy Committee.
He was referring to making sure jail standards are followed concerning inmates.
The committee had requested the utilities figures at a prior meeting and, given the numbers, committee members on Monday night made a series of recommendations.
One was for the Finance Committee to allocate up to $ 50, 000 to go out for bids on using solar power to heat water in the kitchen, laundry and administra- tion areas of the detention center. This is an effort to save in gas utilities. The county judge will need to go out for bids.
Another was to have the Personnel Committee look at creating a sustainability component for an existing employee, although which employee that will be is not yet clear.
The third recommendation was for the Finance Committee to look at paying off the juvenile detention center bonds at the earliest time, which would be Aug. 1, and using funds from another bond issue for an energy audit of county buildings. To that end, the Energy Committee forwarded to the full Quorum Court a recommendation to request qualifications from firms interested in doing the audit.
Retiring the juvenile detention center bonds early would leave existing dedicated revenues in the court cost and fine fund of $ 538, 500 per year to be used for another bond issue, County Comptroller Boyd Darling said.
The bond issue would not require an election because it would be funded by court costs and fines, not tax dollars.
County Attorney George Butler had raised doubts about the constitutionality of an Arkansas statute passed in 2005 allowing the issuance of revenue bonds for energy audits to be retired via the energy-efficient cost-savings payments.
He has asked Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel if the funds used to pay energy bills are tax money, and tax money is used to pay the revenue bonds, is the act constitutional. Butler still has doubts it will pass constitutional muster, and he has asked McDaniel if having an election to issue the bonds would cure any constitutional or other legal problems. That is why Butler had consulted with Darling about using fines and costs, not tax money, to pay off a new bond issue.
Sustainability John Coleman, sustainability coordinator for the city of Fayetteville, talked with members of the county’s Energy Committee about his position. He must generate enough savings to pay for it, he said. “ One of the most important things I do is just staff education, ” he said. He said the city has realized savings through education; resetting the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems; and changing out lights. Utility costs for the city came in at about $ 180, 000 below the budgeted $ 1. 9 million in 2007 for utilities, he said. Coleman, a civil engineer, said his job duties — other than looking at energy efficiency — include working on other environmental issues for the city. “ I think we need to do what John does for Fayetteville, ” Zega said. “ My question is who needs to do it. ” After hearing some input on the issue, he recommended an existing employee do the job for a six-month to one-year period to see if it works. That will require some changes to be considered in the Personnel Committee.