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

Published - Sunday, May 11, 2008

Questions, answers about the ‘green’ jail controversy

By REID MAGNEY | La Crosse Tribune

La Crosse County is preparing to build a $29.5 million jail addition to the Courthouse and Law Enforcement Center.

It will provide additional jail space, including room for female inmates and improvements designed to correct shortcomings in the original building, which opened in 1997. And it can be expanded in several phases as needed.

The county board unanimously approved the jail addition last fall but has become divided over how “green” to make the new building.

What does “green” mean and how much does it cost?

In this case, green means doing additional work to make the jail more energy efficient and environmentally healthy. The cost depends on how green the county wants to get — anywhere from a few thousand to $1 million.

Why would the county build a green jail for criminals?

Criminals may live in the jail, but taxpayers foot the bill to keep the building lighted and heated, and advocates say green building will save money in the long run. A healthier building also will benefit jail workers, they said.

So what’s the argument?

Pragmatists on the board say that because of tight budgets and soaring energy prices, taxpayers can’t afford them getting too fancy with green features. Idealists argue energy prices and tight budgets are exactly why the county needs LEED certification to ensure taxpayers get the most efficient building possible over its lifetime.

What is LEED certification?

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification is a program of the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit group. GBC is not the only group doing certification, but it is the largest and most widely accepted.

How does LEED work?

Building owners get points for recycling construction waste, improving energy efficiency with more insulation and better controls, and using local, recycled and less-toxic building materials, among other things. Owners must hire independent third parties who certify compliance.

How much does LEED cost?

It depends on the level of certification. The county’s is shooting for the lowest level of LEED certification, which architects estimate it would add about $1 million to the cost of the jail addition. Compliance would cost $187,000. “Commissioning” the building, another requirement for LEED, would cost $280,000.

What is commissioning?

An independent expert would come in and make sure all the building’s electrical and mechanical (heating and cooling) systems are working optimally together. This process takes several weeks.

Isn’t commissioning included in the architects and contractor’s fees?

No, much to the chagrin of many county board members who assumed they’d be buying a building in tip-top operating condition. County officials say that if they don’t hire somebody else to do it, county employees will have to spend months fine-tuning the building.

Would the county see any return on its money if it gets LEED certification?

Supporters say yes, though some of the payback will be stretched out over the 50-year life of the building. Some items such as high-efficiency fan motors, will pay for themselves in four years, while a solar hot water heater would take nearly 20 years to pay for itself. “LEED will get us a better building,” said Supervisor Maureen Freedland.

Others, including Supervisor John Medinger, say the county can do many of the same things for less money without LEED certification, about $630,000. Supervisor Ray Ebert has argued against including some items with a longer payback.

What assumptions are included in those payback calculations?

Architects assume that the price of energy will increase 5 percent each year.

Assuming there is a payback, where does the county get the money now?

The county has some options. One is to use savings from the general fund, where the county has a surplus. While that would increase the building’s cost, it would not increase property taxes. Another option is not finishing office space that has been set aside for the state Community Corrections Division, which now rents two offices elsewhere in La Crosse. That could save between $300,000 and $500,000, depending on how much space the state wants. So far, the state has not agreed to a lease, but is negotiating with county leaders. Ebert has argued this approach just pushes the cost back to a future budget, calling it a “bait-and-switch” to the taxpayers.

Why should the county lease office space to Community Corrections?

A lot of people sitting in jail are there because they violated terms of their probation and parole. They’re either going to be shipped back to prison, or probation officers are just trying to get their attention. In any case, criminal justice leaders believe having Community Corrections under the same roof will speed up disposition of those cases and reduce the jail population. They hope it will delay the need to build future jail additions.

Why didn’t county officials figure this green building stuff out earlier?

Last summer and fall, they were trying to figure out how to build the project in phases, so the initial work could be done for less than $30 million. That way, the county could use its existing bonding authority without raising the tax rate for bond repayment.

At the time, some county supervisors said they wanted a “green” building, but that issue was left to the design phase. In the meantime, officials are realizing what it means to be an “eco-municipality,” a designation the county board adopted in 2007.

When will they decide?

The Law Enforcement Center Construction Committee will meet at 3 p.m. Thursday in Room 3220 of the Administrative Center, 400 N. Fourth St. The full board meets at 6 p.m. in the basement. They need to decide what specifications the architects will put in the building bid documents. The course they’re on now is to include many of the green building features as bid options. That way if the bids come in low, they can include the green options. If bids come in high, they can build more conventionally. But the final decision won’t be made until the bid opening in August. Exceeding the $29.5 million budget would take a two-thirds vote of the 35-member board.

What’s the bidding environment like?

There are several factors at work. The good news is that the economy’s poor condition could mean contractors will be hungry for work, which could work in the county’s favor. However, several other large government building projects are also going out for bid before the jail addition, including the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse athletic stadium, school projects in the Holmen and Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau districts, and a LEED-certified academic building at Western Technical College. The county’s construction manager, Don Carlson, worries that those will be bid before the county takes bids in August, meaning contractors won’t be as hungry for work. The bad news is energy prices are causing big increases in steel prices, which also worries Carlson. A clue may come Thursday, when the county opens bids for the first part of the project, which involves jail housing renovation so women can be in the existing men’s jail, plus a new garage and “utility island” on the site.