HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-20-14 Bozeman Climate Partners Communications Working Group Minutes
Bozeman Climate Partners Communications Working Group
Meeting Minutes
August 20, 2014, 9:00am, 121 N. Rouse Ave., Bozeman City Hall, Madison Room
Members Attending:
Jay Sinnott, Kathy Powell, Heather Higinbotham, Paula Beswick, Kristen Walser, Natalie Meyer (Staff
Liaison)
Guests Attending:
Chris Kukulski, Judge Carl Seel, Deputy Chief Rich McLane, Lain Leoniak, Kristin Blackler, Commissioner
Chris Mehl, Susan Bilo
1) Call to Order -9:00am
2) Introductions
3) Special Presentation a) Rouse Justice Center Information Session (McLane, Seel, Kukulski) i) City Manager Chris Kukulski outlined that voters will have an opportunity to vote on November 4th on a bond issue that will fund a new city justice center. He is meeting with community groups to explain the need, the solution, and the cost. ii) The Rouse Justice Center is planned as more than a police station. It will house police patrol, investigation, support services, evidence and records, courtrooms, clerks, chambers, mediation areas, city attorney offices, prosecution staff, victim services, and community rooms. iii) The guiding design principles are safety, partnership, efficiency, and future growth. iv) In 1994, the city had 26,800 people, 26, police calls per year, 29 officers, and 4,500 court cases. In 2014, the city has 39,800 people, 52,000 police calls per year, 65 officers and 8,052 court cases. The police department has leased the same space from the County over this period. Staff has more than doubled, but the space has not increased. In 2034, we estimate a population of 60,000, 75, 000 police calls per year, and 91 officers. v) Deputy Chief McLane has been with the department through all this growth. He stated that they began needing additional space in 1995. He noted that the current facility potentially allows victims and criminals to cross paths because of the space limitations. He shared pictures of the building space showing a crowded office space, very limited storage space, and the limitations of a private conversation with a victim. He also showed images of the insufficient evidence storage. He showed a conference room that is shared by the city and county that is used for community groups, as well as for sorting evidence. Frequently there are potential biohazards on the conference room table.
vi) Judge Seel described that on the courts side there are two courtrooms that hold only 12 people each. There is no privacy, no opportunity for counsel, and victims must sit near the perpetrator. It lacks security. In terms of storage, they are required to keep records for 75 years. They have records stored in hallways, in the jury deliberation room and off site. The juror deliberation room is uncomfortably tight is not within the security corridor. vii) Kukulski explained the site selection on North Rouse citing that the lot configuration and size allow for optimal layout of building and parking and room to expand. It was acquired through a land exchange with the County. There are a total of 8 acres with only 5 acres included in the current project boundary. The site provides direct access to major transportation routes with the facility located equidistance from the two hot zones for service calls. The location puts the police and courts in proximity to other city services. It also makes the police and courts building visible whereas it is currently not visible to the general public. viii) McLain explained that the current location is County property and will eventually be used to expand to county courts. ix) Walser asked about security and safety in relation to proximity to the railroad tracks. Kukulski explained that the N-S portion of the building will be built to the International Emergency Standard and will withstand an explosion. This would be the first of its kind in Bozeman. The current justice center is actually a 1960s high school. x) Kukulski and Meyer described the planned environmental attributes of the building. It will be highly energy efficient with decisions driven by a 15 year cost benefit analysis. They have been focused on the Energy Use Intensity of the building (kBTU/sf/yr). The national average for a police facility is 82 kBTU/sf/yr. The average for police facilities in our climate zone is 105, according to a survey completed by our commissioning agent. The goal we established for the Rouse Justice Center was 55. We are waiting for the energy modeling to indicate how close we are to this goal based on current design. They city is planning for PV and is still considering other renewable energy systems. xi) Meyer shared the preliminary LEED Scorecard. The design team is shooting for LEED Silver or Gold. It will be a water efficient building and the site will be xeriscaped to minimize water use. xii) The building will incorporate recycled content and regionally sources building materials. It is also a redevelopment. b) Kukulski discussed cost. It is a 23.8 Million construction bond with the median cost to homeowners of $6/month. Over time, as the tax base grows, the cost per household is likely to go down. The city has already spent $1.8M of General Fund cash on design and purchase of land.
c) Bilo asked questions about building orientation and energy modeling process, as well as solar PV capacity. She expressed concerns that we cannot reach our energy goal with the existing building orientation. She also suggested that the city talk about long-term costs and how the energy efficient design will keep operational costs down. d) Powell suggested that we add the powerpoint pictures of the existing facility to the website e) Bilo discussed the benefits of design-build procurement and suggested that we consider this for the proposed aquatics facility. More can be done to integrate the CAP into the city’s thinking. f) Leoniak mentioned that justice facilities tend to have high water use so she wondered how we would achieve the goals described in the LEED spreadsheet.
4) Approval of Minutes- Meeting minutes from June 18th approved. July 22 minutes approved after changing the description of the Mehren’s storm water presentation silver level funding to more thoroughly described that the silver funding level was recommended by staff but not ultimately approved by the Commission. Powell was concerned this would cause confusion with HOAs.
5) Non-Action Items a) Hydro Resolution- Added to the agenda for Commission consideration on September 8th. b) Bozeman Business Energy Program / Energy Smackdown i) Higinbotham explained why the Business Energy Program name was modified to become Bozeman Energy Project. The previous version was a bit long and using the word project would allow us to potentially dovetail with the public works’ Better Bozeman Project in the future. We felt it was important to use the words “Bozeman” and “Energy” to describe the program, but believe that the word business does not need to be included. The logo will help people understand it is a business program. ii) Classic Ink provided us with seven logo alternatives. The group reviewed these logos and following a discussion selected their favorite option. There was a request to consider including a water droplet in the logo to reflect the connection between energy and water. iii) For the Energy Smackdown, Higinbotham is discussing a proposal with a private firm called WattzOn to help us manage the Smackdown using a different web platform. The primary appeal is that WattzOn should be able to help us with automated downloads from NorthWestern Energy. This should dramatically improve participation. c) McKinstry Investment Grade Audit/Performance Contract i) The contract is under review in the Legal Department and the State is reviewing our loan application for the LED Streetlights. d) FYI/Discussion i) Odyssey Day, Alternative Fuel/Vehicle events planned for October 16th/17th at MSU
(1) Usually held in Jackson, but will be held on the MSU campus this year. There will be a film and panel discussion as well as a electric car show. ii) Next Regular Meeting is Wednesday, September 17, 2014.
6) Adjourned-11:00am