County investment in going green should save some green in the future
10:24 p.m. Wednesday, September 26, 2007
After years of flushing money down the drain, the Shawnee County Commission hopes by investing millions of dollars, the return will pay off.
Everyday at the Shawnee County Courthouse, when the lights go up, the energy bill goes down.
By replacing every light in the building with energy efficient flourescent light bulbs, the county is taking one more step to make Shawnee County green.
With help from a state program, the county pays for upgrades on their energy equipment that will help lower their utility usage.
"It's going to save the county in the neighborhood of a quarter of a million dollars a year in utility usage."
Rich Davis is the director of facilities management for Shawnee County and hopes the idea catches on with everyone.
"This is a program through the state energy office that's allowed us to participate in a large way," Davis said. "But homeowners can do it in smaller ways and they'll add up over time."
The county is replacing plumbing fixtures in the bathrooms and installing water controls, also new heaters and air condition units, and, of course, every single light in the building.
And it's not just the Courthouse. Upgrades will also go in at the North Annex and the Corrections facility.
The program is set up to pay for itself in 20 years, but the Commission plans to spend some out-of-pocket funds to complete the project sooner.
"We're also looking at other types of energy saving and better construction programs-methods on all new buildings we're putting in," Davis said.
As for other places the County plans to transform? Well the jury is still out, but they plan to think green from here on out, setting a trend in Topeka.
The entire project is slated to be complete by next fall.
And Thursday the Sierra Club will honor Shawnee county as a Cool County for it's effort to make its community more energy efficient.
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