McHenry Times

McHenry County has joined a short list of finalists for the 2015 Governor's Sustainability Award.

The county earned its spot in the running after a decade of retrofits and improvements aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs. With over $600,000 of support from state and other agencies, the county has installed a variety of energy saving features in county buildings, including solar panels on the County Administration Building roof, automated lighting controls, set back thermostats and high efficiency boilers and air handlers, LED lighting, high efficiency fluorescent light bulb retrofits and electric hand dryers.

“In just the past 10 years, McHenry County has transformed into a regional sustainability leader,” McHenry County Board Chairman Joe Gottemoller said. "Facilities staff has done a tremendous job of reducing our carbon footprint while annually saving hundreds of thousands of dollars for taxpayers."

The Governor's Sustainability Award would be the second environmental honor for McHenry County in 2015. Earlier this year, the National Association of Counties awarded the county their 2015 Achievement Award for its electronic tracking system that allows county staff to track and assess electric and natural gas usage in county buildings to control overall usage.

The Governor's Sustainability Award will be presented in Chicago on Oct. 27. The award is presented by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center and is the oldest state award for environmental achievement in the U.S.