Saying City projects can “lead the way by becoming examples of green buildings that are build to last,” BNIM planner Steve Hardy took the lead at last week’s Greensburg City Council Work Session in detailing the advantages and details of the City requiring the structures it erects in the coming months being of the highest possible energy efficiency level recognized.
   LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) buildings can be finished at one of four levels of energy/environmental criteria, ranging from certified (the lowest), to silver, to gold, to platinum (the highest).  Points are accrued toward one of the four levels in terms of both water and energy management, materials usage, indoor environmental (air) quality, site planning and innovation in design.
   City Administrator Steve Hewitt restated his goal last Wednesday of Greensburg being the first municipality of the nation having all its structures—including City Hall and the business incubator—built at the platinum level.
   “When you’re talking about people wanting to visit a city, they’ll want to come to the only one in the country that has LEED Platinum buildings all the way around,” Hewitt said.
    Greensburg GreenTown’s Daniel Wallach followed Hewitt’s remark by stating, “A lot of potential investors are sitting back to see how seriously we follow up on our stated intention of building this town green.  If the City follows through on this and goes Platinum, that money will start to flow in here.”
   Hardy said he thought USD 422’s new school being built at a Platinum level is “doable,” after pointing to data suggesting students in LEED school facilities enjoy test scores 20 percent higher than other students in less efficient structures.  That same data indicated higher rates of productivity by employees working in LEED structures, as well as 2.5 fewer days hospitalized on average for patients treated in LEED facilities.
   As for the increased upfront costs of building to LEED levels, Hardy unveiled what he called “the very latest information,” which showed an up tick of only .66 percent in construction costs at the certified level.  For silver, gold and platinum levels, the additional expense was listed at levels of 1.9, 2.2 and 6.8 percent respectively.
   “Of course,” he said, “some Platinum projects come in at no increased construction costs, while others are as high as 10 to 15 percent.  It depends on the efficiency of your design/building team.
   “But the longer you’re going to hold your buildings the farther you want to go up the sustainability ladder.  And I see no reason for the City to not be putting up buildings meant to last 100 years.”
   As requested previously, Hardy left the council a model ordinance requiring municipal structures to be built at the Platinum level.  The sample exempted structures under 5,000 square feet in size, and leaves to the council the ability to decide any and all exemptions.
   Part of that sample ordinance reads in part, “It is the policy of the City that the design, construction and operation of new facilities and renovations…shall conform to the Platinum rating of the most recent version of the USBGC LEED Green Building Rating System.”
   Section C of the model ordinance, covering contracts, refers to “each contract for the design, construction, remodeling or renovation of a City owned or operated facility…” being required to meet the LEED Platinum criteria.
   While any such ordinance would require LEED level construction for only municipal facilities, Hardy pointed out the hope that the City taking such a lead role of building “at Platinum” would encourage entrepreneurs to follow suit and perhaps build their structure “at least to the certified level.”
   “The City has to take the lead in this and we can do it by doing it at the top level (Platinum),” Council Gary Goodheart concluded.  “We need to do this.”