Building Committee Report November 2008 Barry Lundin/Mike Reid
UPDATES ON OUR BUILDING ADDITION….more on LEED Certification for “greening” buildings
We have been talking about our selection by the US Green Building Council as their annual Legacy Project. This honor has afforded us the luxury of having a panel of specialized consultants working with us on our designs and plans, helping us choose “green” methods and products that will make our new building energy efficient and environmentally friendly. We are in the process of working toward LEED Certification, the point system used to determine how “green” a building actually is, with rankings from Silver to Platinum. The Silver Certification calls for 33-38 points, Gold is 39-51 points and Platinum is 52 points or higher. We have high confidence that we can achieve 28 points with our current plans and design. Some of the ways we can earn the remaining points are as follows: (most of them are not costly)
Probable points: selection of the right coolant for our HVAC system; buy green energy credits; have individual thermostats or operable windows. Points that may be possible: having a bicycle rack and shower; preferred parking (4 spaces) for energy efficient vehicles; highly reflective roofing; low light spillage from the new building; using a roof water cistern for either irrigation or possible toilet flushing water...this is not a low cost item; optimizing energy performance, making the building more energy efficient (through a/c, lighting, etc.), possible 2 points; using rapidly renewable materials (linoleum flooring); air quality flush out of building before occupancy; use of low emitting materials in composite wood (plywood); daylight views in 75% of spaces; innovation in design, more green power.
We are currently working with the USGBC team on their recommendations for ways to implement our plans/designs in a green manner. This is exciting work! We invite you to ask questions, help us determine what feels like a good fit for this congregation.
October 2008
We have had significant progress on our UUUS building project for the first quarter of FY2009. The accomplishments of the committee include:
1. The necessary county rezoning requirement and subsequent exception process has been successfully completed. Our new site plan was utilized for this process. Our Building Permit application has been extended until November 18th. We have the option to extend the application another ninety (90) days if necessary.
2. Our application for becoming US Green Building Council (USGBC) design support project was accepted by the local council. Thanks to excellent proposal writing efforts of Gary Pryzborski and Rachel Christensen. Our first meeting with the USGBC was held at the end of August and it was very productive. Our preliminary design plans have been submitted for review by the consultants. The next meeting is being scheduled for early October to review the analysis models, our status and recommendations of the USGBC for our building to be Silver Certified by the USGBC.
3. The baseline building design was revised to make the new building stand alone. This decision affected our site plan and building design. Significant work had been done to have the new construction be an addition to our existing building. Thankfully much of the design was transportable to the independent building design. There are still issues with the new building design that are being resolved including the handicap bathroom issue. The new site plan and building design is the design being reviewed by the USGBC. We anticipate the baseline design to be completed in late October and design multi-bid costing to be complete in November for a Quarterly meeting presentation to the congregation.
Since the Building Fund Drive was so successful, it would appear that full funding could be acquired by the end of 2008 or early 2009. Thank you all for your support!!!! If this is the case, we could break ground in the first quarter of 2009. Shish-Boom-Bah!! Gooo Team!!