Al French: “Taxpayers get a raw deal”
SPOKANE – The county will have to spend $25-$35 million to meet requirements under the Green Buildings Act.
During a June 17 meeting, commissioners discussed the law established under House Bill 1257.
The discussion followed county Facilities Department employees relaying findings from a recent investment-grade audit.
Facilities Director Gil Haubert outlined the audit and the subsequent plan to align the county’s buildings with the act.
“Keep in mind that this is kind of the first phase, and by the second phase, they’ll be going into the 20,000-50,000 square-foot buildings,” Haubert said, noting that while some buildings do not meet the current targets, proposed changes aim to rectify this.
The audit detailed several issues and potential solutions:
• Geothermal: Requires 800,000 square feet of land, but only 50,000 square feet is available.
• Electric resistance: Utility supplier capacity limitations make upgrades infeasible.
• Heat Pump: Requires backup heating and a suitable heat sink.
• Solar: Insufficient space to generate necessary energy, requiring backup heat.
“These systems require significant space and resources, which we simply don’t have,” Haubert said.
Current energy costs were also presented: natural gas is approximately $7.22/MMBTU, while electricity is $28.97/MMBTU.
The project involves upgrades, including converting the steam plant to a hydronic and domestic hot water plant, optimizing metasys controls, and replacing aging electrical switchgear. These changes aim to improve energy efficiency and reliability, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and save on maintenance costs.
“We have equipment that was put in nearly 50 years ago,” Commission Vice Chairman Josh Kerns said. “What’s the useful life of the new equipment?”
Haubert assured that with proper environmental controls, the new systems could last 40-50 years.
However, compliance cost remains an issue. Commissioner Al French criticized the lack of guaranteed return on investment.
“We are just investing dollars to achieve a philosophical position with regard to energy,” he said. “It is not good spending of taxpayer dollars, and I really feel that our taxpayers are going to get the raw end of this deal.”
Project Manager Ken Mohr emphasized that a campus-wide effort is essential for compliance.
“The way our campus is set up right now, with the 24/7 operations of the jail and the public safety building, nothing can be done individually to make them compliant,” he said.
Jail overcrowding and the design of the public safety building exacerbate these challenges.
Clare is an Eastern Washington University graduate and a reporter at Free Press Publishing.
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