FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The Fairhope Environmental Advisory Board is expected to present its recommendations to the City Council on how the city could reduce energy costs in city buildings in the next few months, said Jim Horner, the group’s chairman.

“I understand this building where we’re meeting is a major energy loss for the city,” Horner said Wednesday, referring to the City Hall building connected to the Civic Center where many city administrative offices, including City Council chambers and the mayor’s office are located. “The air-conditioning units on top of this building are not supposed to be used on tops of buildings is what we’ve been told.”

During several meetings that began last summer and continued this week, the environmental advisory group has invited companies and nonprofit groups to provide information on energy audits and analyses that could result in a program to improve energy efficiency in city buildings.

Last summer the group heard a presentation from Johnson Controls, and last month from the nonprofit group, Waste Reduction and Technology (WRATT) Foundation.

On Wednesday, members of Watershed, a green consulting and education business launched recently by Walcott Adams Verneuille Architects of Fairhope, presented what they called their “integrated approach to building analysis” to the group.

“We’re excited about our new company,” said Catherine Hall-Pate, an architect with Watershed. “Buildings have an important impact on the larger community. Every action we take regarding city buildings will have an impact on the city.”

Since FEAB began its work last summer, the city has developed a baseline of information regarding energy usage in all 10 major city buildings.

“I now have statistics for all the energy consumption of all buildings for the past three years,” said Ken Eslava, public works assistant director.

That baseline information would be necessary to develop an overall plan for energy efficiency for city buildings and related analyses, said Mac Walcott of Watershed and his Fairhope architecture firm.

“You must have a baseline to start from,” said Walcott, adding that energy audits and building analyses must consider issues such as existing personnel and infrastructure. “A system that’s more sophisticated than the organization can support might not make sense. Somewhere there’s an answer to how to best handle these 10 buildings. There are some great automated systems but sometimes they’re oversold.”

Walcott said, as did the WRATT representative who spoke last month, that there are many “low-hanging fruit” in city buildings such as simply replacing light bulbs that could have immediate and important cost savings.

“People want to make these kinds of changes because it save money, as well as being good for the environment,” said Rebecca Bryant, an architect with Watershed.

The environmental group decided to have Watershed pick one of the least energy efficient buildings and propose a possible budget for a plan to improve its overall efficiency.

The group discussed that idea as a way of possibly making changes in the city’s buildings incrementally instead of all at once, given the city’s current financial limitations.

“We could then present that information to the City Council and they can judge where to go from there,” said a planning and building department employee.

Walcott said his Watershed firm would develop a budget and plan as requested by FEAB in time for its next meeting.

“We can’t strategically plan our energy savings and costs until we have a list of priorities for city buildings,” Horner said.

The next meeting of the Fairhope Environmental Advisory Board is at 9 a.m., Wednesday, March 11, in City Hall.