April 25, 2026
VIROQUA Wis. – Vernon County is officially moving forward with a comprehensive energy study and facility assessment of its aging infrastructure. The Vernon County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously during its April 21 meeting to approve an Investment Grade Audit Agreement with Schneider Electric. The decision marks a major step in a long process to address potentially millions of dollars in deferred maintenance and modernize county buildings, many of which are reaching the end of their lifespan.
The push to hire an outside energy and facility consultant began in early 2026 as the county realized it lacked the internal capacity and long term planning to address failing boilers moisture issues and outdated control systems across multiple departments. In February the General Government Committee interviewed three firms including inBYLT Opterra Energy Services and Schneider Electric before ultimately selecting Schneider to develop a scope of work.
During the April 21 county board meeting Administrative Coordinator Cassandra Hanan presented Resolution 2026-24 to formalize the partnership. Hanan explained that the agreement covers a comprehensive audit of five county facilities including the courthouse, the courthouse annex, the Banta building, the Erlandson building, and the sheriff’s department.
“What we are looking at is a study of county buildings for energy savings and then for Capital Improvement Planning,” said Hanan. “Should the county choose not to do any of those capital improvement or energy saving products we owe them the $30,000 that is outlined in the agreement”.
If the county does eventually choose to move forward and hire Schneider to complete the construction and upgrade projects the $30,635 dollar audit fee is simply rolled into the final project price.
Schneider Electric representatives Conner Trepton and Peter Hinkle attended the board meeting to outline their vision for a long term partnership with the county. Trepton noted that their team had already walked the facilities in January with Highway Commissioner and Buildings and Facilities Director Phil Hewitt to identify immediate pressure points. One of the most pressing issues driving the need for an outside partnership is the impending retirement of a key county maintenance worker.
“You guys also mentioned that you are dealing with the retiring of kind of a long-term maintenance person,” said Trepton. “40 years worth of knowledge walking out the door is always something that any organization is going to struggle to kind of bridge that gap”.
To bridge that gap Schneider proposed a multiphase approach that goes beyond simply replacing old equipment. The company plans to deliver a five to ten year capital asset plan and evaluate the implementation of a robust work order management system to help future staff effectively manage the buildings.
The presentation also cleared up speculation regarding a potential solar project. During previous committee meetings throughout March and April, Trepton had pushed the county to consider authorizing early procurement of solar panels to secure a massive 30 to 40 percent federal tax credit before it expired in July. The county had initially explored placing a ground mounted solar array in a lot west of the sheriff department to offset the heavy electrical usage at the jail. However after a deeper engineering review Schneider determined the project did not make financial sense.
“We had decided based on the cost and timeline that we had proposed to the General Government Committee and finance committee that it is probably not in the best interest of the county to continue pursuing solar,” said Trepton.
While solar is off the table the consultants identified several other unique ways to save money and resources especially at the jail facility. Hinkle explained that the water usage at the sheriff department is exceptionally high and could be mitigated by installing automated controls on the plumbing fixtures.
Supervisor Dave Eggen asked the consultants if they would recommend exploring geothermal heating and cooling systems since traditional boilers are typically the norm for public buildings in Wisconsin. Hinkle explained that geothermal systems qualify for the extended federal tax credits and can be a great option but they carry significant risks if they are not engineered perfectly.
Before the board took a final vote to approve the agreement Supervisor Scott Champion raised concerns about the timeline built into the contract. Champion noted that the drafted agreement required the county to execute an exit and pay the break fee within 60 days of receiving the final audit report if they chose not to proceed with construction. Champion worried that two months was not enough time for the slow wheels of county government to review a massive proposal run it through the required committees and secure full board approval.
“Do we as a group feel that is sufficient time if you give us a proposal to run that through probably at least two committees and county board approval and enter an agreement with you within 60 days,” said Champion.
County Board Chair Lorn Goede agreed with Champion that the 60 day window was unrealistic for the board to thoroughly vet a multi million dollar facility plan.
“That might be a little tight,” said Goede. “I mean I think we could it could be done if everything is you know goes along smoothly as it is we can hope, but that might be tight on our end”.
Goede successfully introduced an amendment on the floor to change the 60 day requirement in the contract to 180 days giving the county a full six months to review the final audit results before being forced to make a decision or pay the exit fee. The board unanimously approved the amendment and then unanimously passed the overall resolution to enter into the Investment Grade Audit Agreement. Schneider Electric will now begin the deep dive engineering work to inspect the five county buildings and develop a comprehensive cost and savings proposal to bring back to the board later this year.
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