Valleywide : Council OKs Plan to Upgrade Buildings

Moving to make City Hall more efficient, the Los Angeles City Council on Friday approved a plan by Councilman Joel Wachs to replace deteriorating and inefficient heating and cooling systems in about 900 city-owned buildings.

Wachs, who represents parts of the east San Fernando Valley and heads the council’s committee on government efficiency, said modernizing the antiquated systems may allow the city to reduce its $37-million energy bill by as much as $5 million each year.

Some of the heating and cooling units in Los Angeles City Hall are so antiquated that they require around-the-clock supervision by 17 engineers, who are each paid $46,000 a year to make sure the systems do not overheat and erupt.

“In fact, some of our heating and air-conditioning units were installed back in 1952, and have literally become museum pieces,” Wachs said.

Under the plan, companies will audit the city’s systems and pay the upfront costs to upgrade the units, then wait to be paid for their services from the city’s savings on energy bills.

Wachs also warned that the antiquated heating and cooling systems spew pollutants into the environment because they use Freon-type coolants that emit chemicals considered harmful to the ozone.