HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-25-15, Bilo, LawJustLtr_ClimatePartners_City_
Bozeman City Commission
121 N Rouse Avenue
Bozeman, MT 59715
September 25, 2015
Honorable Mayor and Commission:
As you continue collaborating on the Law & Justice Center project, we would like you to
consider the benefits and importance of designing a resource efficient building with a
focus on providing significantly reduced operation and maintenance costs to city and
county taxpayers for the life of the building.
New buildings provide unique opportunities for the cost-effective integration of energy
and water efficiency and other sustainable elements early in the design. As utility costs
continue to rise, energy and water efficiency will save money over the life of the
building, while also achieving our community’s resource conservation goals.
Furthermore, a tight building envelope combined with solar PV and battery back-up for
Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) will help achieve public safety goals related to
emergency preparedness and disaster resilience.
Please consider these key design strategies:
Set an ambitious Energy Use Intensity (EUI)1 goal based on case studies of
similar building types and national building energy use data.
Use energy and water modeling programs throughout the design process for a
building-as-a-system approach and to help calculate life-cycle costs for long-term
savings.
Bring a commissioning agent on board early in the design process to verify
building systems are properly specified and operate as intended once the project
is completed.
Orient the building to optimize the benefits of natural heating, cooling and light
and any renewable energy systems which may be included now or in the future.
Make the facility solar-ready to ensure future renewable energy installations are
more cost-effective.2
1 kBtus/ft^2/year
2 Renewable Energy-Ready specifications, checklists, and a guide are available at
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=rerh.rerh_index
One project to consider is the Alfred A. Arraj U.S. Courthouse in Denver, Colorado:
“The courthouse incorporates the latest proven technologies for environmentally
sensitive design, construction, and operation. Photovoltaics, daylighting, and underfloor
displacement ventilation systems contribute to a 40% reduction in projected energy
usage compared to a conventional courthouse.”3
Salt Lake City’s Public Safety Building “houses the city’s police, fire and emergency
management departments. The 172,000-sq.-ft project was designed to achieve the
city’s goals of providing an open and inviting public safety facility that will remain
operational after a maximum credible earthquake, provide a high level of security to its
staff and operate as a net-zero energy building and sustainable site. The building is
slated for a LEED Platinum rating and is the first net zero energy public safety building
in the U.S.”4 The design and construction of this facility cost no more than a
conventional, seismically rated public safety building. The design team used a 15-year
payback test and intensive energy modeling to guide design decisions.
As Gallatin County residents, we wish to emphasize that a highly efficient and
sustainable Law & Justice Center will demonstrate fiscal responsibility and the
conservative use of our limited natural resources.
Sincerely,
Susan Bilo
skbilo@gmail.com
On behalf of the City of Bozeman Climate Partners Working Group:
Kathy Powell
Jay Sinnott
Kristen Walser
Joan Montagne
Paula Beswick
Natalie Meyer (Staff Liaison)
Cc: Gallatin County Commissioners
3 http://newbuildings.org/high-performance-buildings#65632
4 http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/mayor-becker-joins-constructiondesign-team-accept-psb-innovation-award.