Park and recreation agencies across the country continue to be challenged with delivering the services and programming that their constituents expect. As budgets continue to shrink, these challenges become more pressing. Agencies with older recreation facilities are encountering operations and maintenance difficulties. The question for facility managers becomes how to obtain capital investments to keep facilities up and running in the current budget climate.

One tool that’s been employed by park agencies from Tacoma, Washington, to Chicago, Illinois, is energy savings performance contracts or ESCOs. Many state legislatures have authorized local governments to use ESCOs and the federal government was authorized to use ESCOs under the Energy Policy Act of 1992. These authorizations provide an alternative funding mechanism for energy efficiency capital investments in the facilities of local governments.

Here’s how it works. A park agency contracts with an ESCO company to conduct an investment grade audit of its facility. Within a recreation facility there are many opportunities for energy efficiency improvements including variable speed motors for pool pumps, energy efficient lighting, better heating and cooling systems, insulation, efficient windows and doors, and systems controls. The audit provides an agency with a list of energy efficient improvements, the expected energy reductions, and the return on investment. Some improvements, such as lighting, may have a short payback period of a few months to a year, while other improvements, such new heating systems, may have a longer payback period of several years. Once a list of improvements is identified, the ESCO company then designs and constructs those improvements while guaranteeing the energy savings as a result of those improvements.

What’s unique about this model is the ESCO company can arrange for the financing of the facility improvements and receive payment for the improvements through the utility savings the agency realizes. Thus there are no upfront costs for an agency. Once the improvements have paid for themselves, the agency will realize the energy savings. Some agencies, though, may be able to get a better interest rate than the ESCO can through its own financing and thus will self-finance.

The Chicago Park District began an ESCO project in 2009, selecting three companies to conduct the work. In 2010, almost 40 facilities received energy efficiency improvements ranging from new heating systems to new lighting. As part of this work, the Chicago Park District installed control systems that can be operated remotely. Previously, building engineers would need to travel from facility to facility to monitor systems performance. Now, building engineers can monitor systems remotely, controlling temperatures, checking system performance, and monitoring energy savings. Remote monitoring not only helps systems perform but makes building engineers’ time more efficient by reducing travel.

In March, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a new program called Retrofit Chicago. This program will aggregate energy efficiency projects across the city and its sister agencies, tapping into private investment which will accelerate retrofit projects that would otherwise not have been possible.

Metro Parks Tacoma (MPT) had an investment grade energy audit completed in 2010, from which it developed a program in collaboration with the Washington State General Administration Agency to utilize a third-party ESCO company to perform energy-related upgrades to the majority of MPT’s existing facilities. This program has been a huge success for the district as a great way to bring existing buildings up to a higher standard, save the Tacoma taxpayers money, and reduce their overall carbon footprint.

ESCOs provide agencies with a roadmap to energy efficiency improvements. The process will give well-defined projects, concrete energy savings, and enhanced facilities. Systems will perform better, lighting and heating will be upgraded, and facilities will be more comfortable for staff and citizens alike. Energy efficiency upgrades ensure agencies reduce their emissions and carbon footprint while becoming more sustainable.