Facilities update: natural gas hedging, chiller savings and UWMC dorm demolition options discussed
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Summary
Facilities staff reported on energy-hedging steps, chiller balancing with short payback, declines in natural gas use, carrying costs for vacant county properties, and early estimates that dorm demolition could exceed available dorm maintenance funds.
Facilities staff gave a quarterly update covering energy procurement, equipment commissioning and campus projects. The county locked approximately 75% of its natural gas volume at about $3.94 per therm to provide budget predictability; the presenter said that helped mitigate price risk when market strips dipped toward the lower end of the forecast ($3.90$4.50) (00:43:18). The facilities presenter described a vendor balancing contract for HVAC/chiller systems with an estimated payback of about 13 months once Focus on Energy support is included, and said the initial chiller work reduced electricity use by roughly 200,000 kilowatt-hours to date (00:45:59; 00:58:53).
On the library project, facilities reported water-cost savings: the previous meter showed about $115,000 in water costs in 2024 that will be materially reduced after the chiller replacement; staff will present a net-year analysis of increased electric use versus water savings when final figures are available (00:47:59; 00:48:31).
Facilities presented carrying-cost estimates for vacant properties (River Drive and Thomas Street). Utility extrapolations suggest River Drive utility costs near $22,000$23,000 per year, with an approximate county-wide carrying utility cost of about $50,000 per year for the vacant buildings. Vacant-property insurance coverage was estimated at roughly $13,500 per year and the county's deductible is $15,000 (00:50:18; 00:50:49; 00:51:23).
Staff and supervisors discussed the UW-Stevens Point at Wausau (UWMC) campus transition to North Central Technical College and the dormitory maintenance fund. Administration cited a recent UW letter indicating the dorm maintenance fund could be used for demolition under recommendations of the Westside Master Plan and reported the fund balance at about $171,000. Facilities gave a high-level demolition cost estimate near $15 per square foot and said a full demolition could approach $750,000 to $1,000,000 depending on staging, rail access and material handling; cold-storage demolition elsewhere cost roughly $400,000 for comparison (01:03:05; 01:03:34; 01:04:19). The committee scheduled a joint meeting with the Extension Education/Economic Development Committee on Nov. 6 to review UWMC campus options and potential funding sources including WEDC redevelopment funds.
