LAWRENCE: Energy audit could cut township costs

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Township Council has awarded a $5,000 contract to Concord Engineering Group Inc., based in Voorhees, to conduct an energy audit of five township-owned buildings.
    The council awarded the contract at its Feb. 3 meeting. The company was chosen from a list of pre-selected energy auditing firms presented to the township by the state Board of Public Utilities.
    The contract calls for the company to examine the three firehouses, the Lawrence Senior Center and the Department of Public Works for energy efficiency, according to Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun.
    The energy audit will help the township identify ways to save money on energy consumption at those buildings, Mr. Krawczun said. The township also is planning to make some improvements and a minor expansion at the Lawrence Senior Center, and the recommendations could be worked into the plan, he said.
    The Municipal Building and the Municipal Court and Police Department building are exempt from the study, Mr. Krawczun said. The Municipal Building was recently remodeled and the Municipal Court and Police Department building was built in 2001 — all with energy efficiency in mind, he said.
    Mr. Krawczun said the report and its recommendations would be forwarded to the BPU, which would reimburse the township for 75 percent of the cost of the energy audit. If the recommendations are implemented and the work exceeds 25 percent of the remaining cost of the audit, the township would be reimbursed for that 25 percent.
    The project should be completed later this year, Mr. Krawczun said.