March 4, 2026
VIROQUA, Wis. – Vernon County is restructuring its government to strip buildings and facilities duties away from the Highway Commissioner while simultaneously looking to partner with an outside engineering firm to do long term facility assessments and major maintenance projects.
The restructuring plan was discussed and approved during the early February General Government Committee meeting. For years Highway Commissioner Phil Hewitt has managed both the highway department and the county buildings taking on the dual role through attrition.
Administrative Coordinator Cassandra Hanan explained the dual role is too much for one person and often leaves the buildings department neglected.
“I feel like and sorry gonna throw Phil under the bus a little bit here not entirely his fault but being the highway commissioner and being in charge of buildings and facilities is a lot,” said Hanan. “The buildings and facilities stuff sometimes gets put on the back burner.”
Hanan admitted that the immediate push for the restructuring stems from an administrative error where the county accidentally violated its own reporting policies by hiring Hewitt’s son to work in the maintenance department.
“There is also another component here and I am just going to own up to it Tricia and I screwed up a little bit interpreting some policy and not referencing the correct policy,” said Hanan. “We did hire Phil’s son in buildings and facilities as a maintenance technician so this will help with some issues as far as policy goes reporting.”
Human Resources Director Trisha Lepke explained that staff originally thought the hire was acceptable because a middle manager stood between Hewitt and his son. However that manager recently retired exposing the direct report conflict.
“We interpreted that since that person was in the middle that it wasn’t a direct report that was interpreted differently,” said Lepke. “So we are now dealing with that situation.”
Lepke added that the restructuring also serves as vital succession planning because future highway commissioners will likely not want the added burden of managing county buildings.
“Unfortunately Phil is not going to stay with us forever and the intent of the next highway commissioner may not want to be over buildings and facilities,” said Lepke. “Since we have this opportunity to make this change now this would be a great opportunity to reevaluate now.”
Under the new structure a Lead Facilities Maintenance Specialist will report directly to Hanan. Supervisor Wayde Lawler questioned whether it was wise to add an entire department to the administrator’s already heavy workload.
“Does it make sense for the next Cassie right who also has a large workload to essentially be a department head for buildings and facilities,” asked Lawler. “I mean the elephant in the room is like nobody wants to create another department.”
Hanan noted that as the administrator she already makes the major decisions for the department anyway and the new setup avoids creating an entirely new high priced department head position.
“Frankly if you put it on another department head those big decisions are still going to have to come to me,” said Hanan. “Regardless it is the capacity issue.”
Supervisor Mary Henry suggested the county might be better served by hiring a highly paid department head of buildings who has advanced plumbing and electrical skills to save the county from constantly hiring outside contractors.
“I think if you got a department head of buildings and facility and got that salary which would make it competitive I don’t think you are going to get what I am envisioning,” said Henry. “But I think it would be a long way ahead to hire people that have those skills instead of having to hire out all the time.”
The committee ultimately agreed to the cost effective approach allowing Hanan and Lepke to post the newly structured position.
“This seems like an attempt to fill a need at the most cost effective rate we can,” said Lawler. “And if that doesn’t work then maybe back to the drawing board.”
Outside Firms Pitch Facility Partnerships
The county decision to maintain a leaner internal maintenance staff rather than hiring a high priced engineer is heavily influenced by a parallel effort to contract with an outside energy service company. The county recently interviewed major national firms to conduct a comprehensive energy study and implement long term capital improvements.
Partnering with an outside firm would shift the burden of evaluating designing and installing complex heating plumbing and electrical systems away from the county maintenance staff.
Hewitt told the committee that the county sent out a request for proposals and received five distinct plans from outside companies. Hewitt recommended the committee invite three of those firms for in person interviews including Opterra Energy Services, Schneider Electric and Inbylt. Hewitt noted he passed on interviewing two other firms from California and Colorado because they did not attend the mandatory in person building tours.
The initial scope of the facility assessments will include four key structures the Sheriff Department the Erlandson Building the Courthouse Annex and the historic Courthouse.
During a late February special meeting the committee interviewed Inbylt and Schneider Electric. Inbylt proposed a flat thirty four thousand five hundred dollar fee for the initial comprehensive audit. Schneider Electric opted to leave their audit costs open to negotiation based on the final scope of the project the county chooses to pursue.
Hewitt detailed the types of major infrastructure improvements the chosen firm would eventually manage.
“We focus more on HVAC and the building shell itself as far as potential insulation heat loss and then our plumbing water supplies,” said Hewitt. “There is a lot more waste than we think and a lot of inefficiencies in our 30 and 40 year old faucets and toilets.”
During previous presentations to the board energy service companies explained how the financial model works if the county signs a long term contract. Under an Energy Savings Performance Contract the chosen firm conducts the initial assessment and then guarantees a specific amount of energy and operational savings over a multi year period.
The Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) and specialized engineering consultants would assist the county with long-term maintenance by identifying facility needs, managing construction projects, providing long-term asset support, and utilizing innovative financing models.
County staff is still scoping out the exact nature of the relationship but some of the items discussed include:
Facility Assessments and Strategic Planning
- Comprehensive Audits: Firms such as Inbylt, Schneider Electric, and Opterra Energy Services conduct “investment grade audits” to evaluate the condition of county buildings. They perform a deep dive into existing infrastructure to identify deferred maintenance and operational inefficiencies, particularly focusing on HVAC, plumbing, water supplies, and the building shell.
- Facility Condition Indexing: These firms help the county visualize its maintenance backlog by comparing the cost of deferred maintenance against the total replacement value of a building. This data helps officials determine whether it is more cost-effective to repair an aging facility or build a new one.
- Creating Long-Term Roadmaps: Instead of relying on reactive, short-term fixes, these firms help the county draft actionable 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year capital improvement plans. They provide optional Capital Asset Planning (CAP) software that tracks work orders, predicts when aging equipment will fail, and automatically helps build future maintenance budgets.
Financing and “No Cost” Projects
- Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC): To tackle massive maintenance backlogs without straining the county’s property tax levy, these firms utilize state-backed ESPC models. The firm guarantees that the energy and operational savings generated by the new, efficient equipment will completely cover the cost of the project over a set contract period (typically 15 to 20 years).
- Securing Grants and Incentives: Outside firms have dedicated teams to help the county stack various funding sources. They assist in applying for federal grants, state utility rebates, and tax incentives, such as the 40% federal tax credit available for geothermal or solar installations.
Construction Management and Post-Project Support
- Turnkey Implementation: These firms act as the primary construction manager, handling the engineering and design in-house while giving the county the flexibility to hire local, preferred subcontractors (like local plumbers or electricians) for the actual installation.
- Ongoing Monitoring and Troubleshooting: The partnership does not end when construction finishes. Firms provide teams that continuously monitor the county’s utility data and building automation systems to ensure the guaranteed financial savings are actually being met. If a system fails or a building is too cold, their remote teams can log in to troubleshoot the issue alongside county maintenance staff.
- Staff Training: Firms engage directly with the county’s maintenance staff throughout the design and installation process, providing hands-on training so that local employees have ownership and a deep understanding of the new systems
The General Government Committee concluded their February interviews by officially selecting Schneider Electric as their preferred firm. The committee directed staff to begin scoping out the project parameters and costs with Schneider before bringing a final proposal to the Finance Committee and ultimately the full Vernon County Board for approval.
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