Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Tuesday, May 06, 2008

County: How much ‘green’ is jail worth?

By REID MAGNEY / La Crosse Tribune

La Crosse County supervisors voted Monday to wait until next week to decide how green to make the $29.5 million jail addition.

The board is debating whether to seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification through the U.S. Green Building Council, at an estimated additional cost of about $1 million, or whether to go with some green features for about an additional $630,000.

The problem is, no one knows exactly how much many of the extra green features would cost until bids come in.

The county’s construction manager, Don Carlson of Market & Johnson, told supervisors he’s “very nervous” about what rising energy costs will do to the budget, noting the cost of gas has gone up 20 percent since last September, when the board set the $29.5 million budget.

Last fall, when the board unanimously approved the project with a $29.5 million budget, energy and environmental impact wasn’t the board’s top priority. But energy prices have risen steadily since then, and green got more important.

Supervisor Maureen Freedland said a LEED-certified building will be good for the environment and good for the county’s budget.

Supervisor John Medinger argued that having some extra energy-efficiency features is better than none, and the board shouldn’t forget the goal is to build an addition that’s better for inmates and the people who work there.

Supervisor Sharon Hampson said the difference between LEED and LEED-like is $377,000. Compliance paperwork alone for LEED certification would cost the county $187,000.

Supervisor Tom Rauk moved to send the issue back to committee, which will meet before the May 15 county board meeting, when architects may have better cost estimates.

One option to pay for the energy-efficiency features is to delay the build-out of space that has been planned for the state Probation and Parole office, as the state has yet to commit to a lease. That would save between $300,000 and $500,000.

The county is pushing to get project bids by August. If the board wants to make changes in the project based on the bids, that would require a two-thirds vote.

Reid Magney can be reached at (608) 791-8211 or rmagney@lacrossetribune.com.