Howard County Quorum Court February Meeting

Much of Tuesday’s Howard County Quorum Court meeting was devoted to a proposal designed to make the courthouse & other county property more energy efficient. A representative of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality said the agency has money available for counties to obtain through low interest loans. Engineers would research the county’s past electrical usage over a 3 year period..along with doing an on-site examination of what changes would be recommended. The company says its possible for the county to see enough savings over a several year period to have the energy efficient updates pay for themselves. Most of the savings would come from installing L.E.D. lights in the county owned property. County Judge Kevin Smith is also planning to complete an HVAC project at the courthouse. New heating and cooling units have previously been installed in most first floor offices…but the remainder of the courthouse continues to use the boiler system…which dates back to the early 1970’s. More information will be sought on the proposal prior to next month’s quorum court meeting.