Baileys Harbor Seeks Help Analyzing Energy Savings

Baileys Harbor Town Hall. Photo by Len Villano.

Baileys Harbor Town Board members tapped the brakes March 8 before entering into an agreement with Trane representatives to conduct an Investment Grade Audit of the town’s energy-savings and update options. Fulfilling a request from a previous meeting, Trane representatives produced a price for the audit of just over $46,000 if the town did not enter into agreements to have Trane complete the projects suggested in the audit.

Thomas Huberty, Trane Comprehensive Solutions account executive, said the audit would show areas where energy costs could be saved. It would also prioritize projects and show which would not pay off in the long run. Huberty said simple bulb or fixture replacements for lighting often resulted in 60% cost savings. He said Trane’s goal is to help clients find their best solutions, with hopes that the client will partner with Trane to complete projects after the audit.

After hearing repeatedly that some of the audit costs would be “rolled into” projects that are chosen by town officials, Supervisor Peter Jacobs asked Trane’s representatives for more exact costs, including reductions if the town chose to have Trane complete projects. Supervisor Barbara Anschutz and Treasurer Lois Pluff asked for a more limited audit, excluding savings at parks such as Anclam Park and the Rec Park, where power use is minimal for very limited hours and a limited number of days per year.

Trane representatives were instructed to return to the town board with a revised proposal. Town officials wanted a cost breakdown of an audit if it were limited in scope, such as including only the cost and benefit of a geothermal system for the town hall/library and the nearby marina building, as well as an estimate if the audit also includes the treatment plant.

Town officials noted that their main reason for seeking energy answers was the poor state of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system at the town hall and library building. Supervisor Jake Erickson said that if, after the audit, the town chose to do a project that cost only $40,000, then the savings realized from the audit would be minimal or nonexistent. 

Town Chair David Eliot, who disclosed that Huberty is his brother-in-law, said the town has been making repairs to the boiler at the large town hall/library building for $7,000, $12,000, or up to $15,000 from year to year, and those repairs merely prolong the life of a system that doesn’t work correctly. Replacement of the HVAC system is likely to cost more than $150,000, so some savings on the audit is indeed likely.

Later in the week, Door County Climate Change Coalition Co-chair Roy Thilly said he was aware of Baileys Harbor seeking Trane’s assistance on cost and project analysis. He said the Village of Egg Harbor used a Focus on Energy Grant for energy analysis before launching into energy improvements for its public-works facilities and the Kress Pavilion building. However, Thilly said Focus on Energy Grants are not designed for solutions to replace oil or propane heating, which is what’s in use at the Baileys Harbor town hall and library.

State statute does not require municipalities to seek bids for engineering proposals, even if the engineering is related to public construction projects, according to analysis from the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. In many cases, statutes require municipalities to seek bids for projects defined as “nonroad municipal construction projects” when they cost more than $50,000.