The Douglas County commission meets in the historic courtroom on the second floor of the old county courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

Douglas County commissioners will consider on Wednesday three items related to energy saving, starting with a cost-sharing arrangement with the city of Lawrence that will make $1.76 million in improvements to the Community Health Building.

In a report to commissioners, Eileen Horn, director of the Lawrence-Douglas Sustainability Department, said the building at 200 Maine St., which houses the Douglas County Health Department, Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center and the Visiting Nurses Association, is in need of a new chiller for its air-conditioning system, a boiler replacement for its heating system and a new roof.

Horn reports that the city plans to make the improvements this year and finance the work through its involvement with a Kansas Corporation Commission Energy Division loan program, which allows the financing of energy-saving projects from the money they save. The Community Health Building’s energy-saving improvements and those at other city-owned facilities were identified by 360 Energy Engineers of Lawrence.

Horn’s report states that 360 Energy recommends a number of other energy-saving upgrades at the Community Health Building be bundled with the three replacement needs. The city and county will share equally in the $1.76 million cost of all improvements. Horn proposes the county pay the city back its share of that total through three equal payments from 2017 through 2018. The Lawrence City Commission will consider bonding for the project as its Feb. 7 meeting.

The other energy-saving proposals for the County Commission’s consideration are:

• An energy management policy for all county buildings and facilities. It establishes a 70 degree or cooler set point for heating and 74 degree or warmer point for cooling. The use of personal space heaters would be banned, but high-efficiency radiant panel heaters that use no more than 200 watts will be allowed. The policy also recommends power management features be used on computers, printers and other equipment and that such equipment be turned off at the end of the workday.

• Consider Horn’s proposal to reinvest the $30,629 saved from projects financed with the county’s Sustainability and Energy Savings Reinvestment Fund back into the fund.

The County Commission started the program in 2011 with $300,000 in seed money. The investment created a revolving loan program, which allows county department heads to fund energy and other sustainability projects without dipping into their own annual capital budgets. Cost savings from the improvements are plowed back into the sustainability fund to replenish it.

The Douglas County Commission meets at 4 p.m. Wednesdays at the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. A full agenda can be viewed at douglascountyks.org