Vernon County officials discussed pursuing Department of Energy technical assistance under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program, a no‑cost study that could identify energy upgrades for county buildings, the committee heard.

Toby Grama of the Vernon County Energy District (a retired electrical engineer) and Al Buss, representing the Clean Energy Districts of Iowa, explained that technical‑assistance funding could pay for a full building energy audit to identify the highest‑value energy‑saving projects and point to potential funding sources to implement them.

Al Buss said the Clean Energy Districts of Iowa is the applicant for this funding and that Vernon County is eligible because the county’s energy district is a member of that regional consortium. “This funding is technical assistance,” Buss said; “they can come in and do a complete energy audit of the building and look for where are the biggest losses, where is gonna be the biggest bang for the buck.”

The committee discussed county facilities that could benefit from a study — the courthouse annex was mentioned, and staff noted the building is roughly 20 years old and will require future capital work on windows and heating systems. County staff also reported existing efficiency steps already taken, such as LED lighting retrofits and solar pre‑heating for domestic hot water.

Committee members asked about cost and commitment. Buss said the technical assistance itself would impose “no cost to the account” and that subsequent capital projects would be separate decisions. A committee member recommended referring the matter to the General Government committee because that committee oversees buildings and facilities. No formal action to accept the assistance or to obligate funds for follow‑on projects was recorded; the item remained a discussion and staff were asked to consult facilities management and, if appropriate, bring a concrete recommendation back to committee.

Ending: staff and committee members said a low‑risk technical audit could help the county prioritize repairs and future capital requests. The committee left the discussion open for follow up with buildings and facilities and possible formal referral to General Government.