Feb. 23, 2026
VIROQUA, Wis. – Vernon County officials are preparing to interview three consulting firms to conduct a comprehensive energy study of several major county buildings. The initiative aims to identify energy and operational savings that could be used to finance millions of dollars in needed infrastructure upgrades without placing an additional burden on local taxpayers.
The General Government Committee scheduled a special meeting for February 25 to interview the final candidates. Buildings and Facilities Director Phil Hewitt told the committee in January that the county originally received five proposals after sending out a request for an energy audit.
Hewitt explained that the committee would use an interview process to narrow down the exact scope of the project before any firm is selected.
“None of them were in a huge hurry to put a hard number at the original coming in and doing the energy audit, because they don’t know exactly, and we don’t know exactly what we want,” said Hewitt. “We wanted an overview of the existing buildings.”
Hewitt noted that the county decided to narrow the scope of the initial study to four primary structures the Sheriff’s Department, the Erlandson Building, the Courthouse Annex and the historic Courthouse. Supervisors opted not to include Vernon Manor in the initial study due to ongoing evaluations of that facility’s long term management structure and upcoming audits.
Hewitt detailed the types of upgrades the county hopes to identify through the audit.
“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’s a lot more waste than we think, and a lot of inefficiencies in our 30, 40 year old faucets and toilets.”
The push for a countywide energy audit gained momentum during an October presentation to the County Board by Katy Glynn of Opterra Energy Services. Glynn introduced supervisors to the concept of Energy Savings Performance Contracting.
Glynn explained that under this model an energy service company conducts an audit and guarantees a specific amount of energy and operational savings over a set contract period. Local banks then provide loans based on that guarantee with the debt payments covered entirely by the savings rather than the tax levy.
“The good news is, is the cost of the interest is baked into the entire project,” said Glynn. “Everything our engineering, the implementation, our labor, our measurement and verification, all of the costs of the project, according to Wisconsin state law, have to be baked in and have to come in under the cost, under the value of the energy and operational savings that you see.”
The practical application of this funding model became a major point of discussion during the county’s difficult 2026 budget process. During a Finance Committee meeting in Sept. supervisors reviewed a 1.3 million dollar capital improvement request to replace the aging heating and cooling system in the courthouse.
Hewitt urged the committee to start planning for the replacement noting that the current system relies on outdated household style furnaces and older boilers that are becoming difficult to maintain.
“When you, if you’re going to update and upgrade you need to go to the new way to set up the new refrigerants to the heat pumps and chillers,” said Hewitt. “Because we’re setting okay, but eventually, for the system, we have parts availability. It’s a progression and it’s not something we can just pick away at, you’re all in or you’re not. Because it’s you’re gonna have to retro everything.”
However, Supervisor Charles Jacobson suggested the county table the $1.3 million request until an energy assessment company could review the building. He argued that the audit could identify the most efficient technology and potentially fund the entire project through guaranteed savings.
“I just thought it made sense, because they’ll do the work or be the contractor for it,” said Jacobson. “Otherwise you get solar comes in and they’re pushing solar because that’s what they do. Somebody else comes in. You’re not getting a picture of what is the most efficient and what makes the most sense.”
The committee ultimately agreed to hold off on the HVAC borrowing until the energy study is completed.
The energy audit aligns with broader discussions across Vernon County regarding renewable energy and sustainability. The recently drafted Vernon County Comprehensive Plan explicitly encourages the development of renewable energy resources and suggests exploring technologies like solar, wind and geothermal power to offset energy used by county facilities.
The upcoming interviews by the General Government Committee will determine which firm the county partners with to turn these broad energy goals into actionable infrastructure plans. The committee is expected to bring a final recommendation to the full County Board later this spring.
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