County government also feeling green
By Jason Jacks
The Board of Supervisors has no plan to break into the world of fashion. Still, it does have a bit of color advice for the county’s government -- go green.
Besides wanting to slow growth, the board that took office in January also is attempting to leave its mark by curtailing the energy consumption of Loudoun's government.
“This is something I truly care about,” said the greenest of the latest crop of board members, Supervisor Andrea McGimsey (D-Potomac), who is chairing the board's new energy efficiency committee.
One of the simpler changes the county recently made to save in energy costs was to turn off the lights inside the many vending machines found in government buildings.
“These were on 24/7,” McGimsey said. “We don’t need to pay for the advertising of Coke and Pepsi.” The change will save the county $4,100 annually.
Staying with the green theme, the county also has fixed leaky sprinkler heads, replaced many of its light bulbs with longer-lasting ones and installed software on its computer that automatically switches monitors to low-power modes. Bigger savings were made when county officials renegotiated their contracts with utility companies.
All told, county officials said, these changes will save the county about $1 million each year.
For the future, the county would like all its municipal and school buildings constructed with energy efficiency in mind.
“There is a tremendous amount of interest in building green buildings,” McGimsey said.
At an average of three new schools a year, the school system is the largest contractor in the county. And earlier this spring, the board decided to set aside $1 million in the county's Capital Improvement Program to go toward devising design plans for future green schools. The county is also lobbying officials in Washington, D.C., for grant money to make current schools more energy efficient.
“It is about reducing our consumption of energy,” McGimsey said of the county's efforts to go green. “It's saving money and the environment.”
To learn more, the board's energy efficiency committee next meets May 7, at 7 p.m., in the board room of the Loudoun County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street, S.E., Leesburg.
Contact the reporter at jjacks@timespapers.com