County director has green ideas

EVERETT – A Safeco Insurance director with an eye toward energy conservation is joining the upper ranks of Snohomish County government.

County Executive Aaron Reardon announced Thursday that he appointed Mark Thunberg to be director of the county facilities management department.

Thunberg starts Monday and will earn $119,000 a year. He will oversee 43 workers and a $21.8 million budget. His department plans, constructs, maintains and manages county buildings.

Thunberg’s appointment requires confirmation by the County Council, which can come after he has taken the post. He joins the county as officials are studying where and how to build a new emergency operations center and a justice center.

“It is an opportunity to contribute to how Snohomish County is going to look in the future,” he said. “We want to become a little bit more green that what we’ve had in the past.”

Thunberg worked for Safeco for six years and managed the company’s 86 facilities across the country.

Thunberg, 52, helped with Safeco’s move toward consolidating to downtown Seattle and helped the company sell its buildings across the country and move into leased space.

Thunberg’s experience will bring professionalism and expertise to the county job, Reardon said in a statement.

“Cost savings through energy efficiency and green building must be part of the next generation of county projects,” Reardon said. “Mark has the right experience to ensure county projects are managed responsibly for the future.”

The county can use innovative ways to save energy and manage buildings, Thunberg said.

“New technologies come out constantly that have quick paybacks,” he said. “With my experience there may be some things I can suggest with lighting and HVAC (heat, ventilation and air conditioning) systems that they haven’t tried in the past that would make the county more energy efficient.”

Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.