Saturday, January 27, 2007

LEED Charette for Sustainability Review

Presented by Renee Azerbegi and Jen Burnianek, Ambient Energy, LEED consultants for the Mancos Public Library Building Project.
The purpose of the meeting was to develop sustainable design strategies and set project goals. After reviewing the LEED scorecard, the project will meet the minimum requirement of equivalent to LEED Certified and will likely be eligible for a rating equivalent to LEED Silver or Gold.
Sustainable Design Goals:
The Mancos Public Library Board wants the building to meet a LEED Certified Level
30 to 40% savings in annual energy costs compared to a code compliant building (compliant to the ASHRAE 90.1-2004 energy code)
2.5% or more on-site energy will be renewable energy
Lighting Levels 2-3% better than ASHRAE 90.1-2004/IESNA
To be rated Energy Star based on utility bills
30% - 40% savings in annual water usage from plumbing fixtures
50% reduction in annual water usage from irrigation
20% or more local/regional materials
10% ormore recycled content materials
50% or mre construction waste recycling
90% of occupants will have views
The project will incorporate the following sustainability rating systems and guidelines:
LEED-NC version 2.2 for New Commercial Construction and Major Renovation, a rating system developed by the US Green Building Council
Renee and Jen presented the potential LEED points for the new Mancos Public Library. Attendees discussed which points were likely, which ones are to be investigated, or which are not likely.
Ambient Engergy: http://www.ambient-e.com/
US Green Building Council: http://www.usgbc.org/

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Library Issues Building Report

On January 11, Library Director Patsy Smith issued a report on the status of the new library project. She reported that the new library building project is steadily moving forward in the new year. During the current pre-construction phase of the project, there are two primary objectives: design development and securing funds.

Design Development:

A committee is preparing a Request for Proposal for the general contractor for the project. Advertising, review of applications and hiring of the construction company will follow in the next couple of months.

Library representatives met with the Mancos Town Board on January 10 concerning the undeveloped secion of Mesa Street that adjoins the library building site. The library is interested in improving the street and using a portion of it for parking for the new library.
The board of trustees and the project building team will meet with the architect and LEED consultant on January 26-27 to discuss outcomes of the public workshops, site issues, and conceptual layouts. A sustainability charrette will be presented by Ambient Energy, the library's LEED consultant.

Funding:

The current library building was sold in December and will be leased back to the library until we are ready to move into our new building. The cash sale of the building will provide additional funds for the building project. Pat Janz of Coldwell Banker Realty provided excellent service - thank you Pat for a job well done.

Grants were submitted to three Colorado Foundations in January for financial support of the building project.