Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas led a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the new Waukesha County Health and Human Services Center on Oct. 1.
County Board Chair Paul Decker, Director of Health and Human Services, Antwayne Robertson and Director of Public Works Allison Bussler also spoke at the event.
"This beautiful, highly efficient new building is truly a gem in Waukesha County. The work that will be done here is extremely important to the vitality of our great community," said Vrakas. "On the steps of the Waukesha County Department of Health and Human Services people from all walks of life when faced with disability, age or income related issues go to get the help they need to improve their lives. Last year alone, Waukesha County Department of Health and Human Services saw over 112,000 clients."
Vrakas noted the building is aesthetically pleasing but also designed to efficiently meet the needs of the Health and Human Services Department.
"The previous Health and Human Services Building, built over 100 years ago, was originally the Moor Downs Mud Baths and not built to serve as an office building ... The building served us well for decades; it was clearly time that we construct a new building to better meet the needs of the Health and Human Services Department and our community," said Vrakas.
All of the Health and Human Services Divisions are brought together in this building to help increase employee efficiency and communication. Divisions, conference rooms and employee offices were specifically placed in the building to increase employee efficiency.
The new building has much more usable space than the previous building yet has only 1/3 the utility bill of the previous building, county officials noted.
Since 2011, when this project design began, Waukesha County has saved a total of $1.5 million from what was originally budgeted.
"We were able to save these dollars due to favorable bids for the Health and Human Services Building and by procuring materials for the building in advance allowing for an early and strong construction start," the county executive shared.
Building stats
·The building length extends the length of a football field, including the endzones. The width is nearly identical to the width of a football field.
·Lighting design beats the industry standard by 20 percent. The primary methods of this are to use daylight, light wall and ceiling colors and low partitions.
·The water used to heat the building is cooler than traditional water which increases efficiency of the boiler by 25 percent.
·There is direct outdoor supply air provided to the zones of the building when occupied.