Item 3A - Minutes Approval - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

lessened by the presence of ambient light and workers' performance had been enhanced. Mr. Sutton said the City had some similar energy studies on its existing buildings. He noted that Ms. Eichner Kelley was the City's resident expertise and liaison to EWEB and the Northwest Energy Council. The City had taken advantage of EWEB incentives for both energy studies and reimbursements based on the energy saved. Mr. Sutton said the City had done about as much as it could in terms of energy efficiency and big projects, and now was trying to fine-tune its efforts. Responding to a question from Ms. Bettman, Ms. Eichner Kelley overviewed contributions to the library from EWEB, saying the agency had been as generous in its assistance and incentives as she believed the Energy Trust would have been. EWEB helped the City make some informed choices about the building. Ms. Eichner Kelley noted that the Oregon Department of Energy also operated programs such as the Business Energy Tax Credit that nonprofits and government agencies such as Eugene could take advantage of with a pass-through partner. Mr. Svendsen said that the City had an opportunity for a Business Energy Tax Credit in the amount of about $15,000 available now for interested businesses. He invited interested businesses to call him. Mr. Kelly complimented staff on its specific accomplishments and its dedication to the City's sustainabil- ity goals. He asked for more information about Retrocommissioning and its resource implications. Ms. Eichner Kelley characterized Retrocommissioning as a detailed energy study of an existing building with the point of returning the building to its original design intent and finding opportunities for improvement. She said that frequently, equipment changes are involved, and those can be expensive. Mr. Sutton said the City would have to identify funding to meet that prerequisite. Mr. Kelly believed the LEED-EB approach made good environmental sense as well as good economic sense in terms of the life cycle costs of maintaining City buildings. Mr. Kelly did not think the City did a good job of celebrating its own successes, and recommended that it in this case staff go to various local business organizations such as the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce to share the presentation. He suggested the potential of the City providing a train- ing/consulting service on LEED-EB to the private sector. Mr. Sutton indicated staff was more than happy to share the information with others. Mr. Pap6 also congratulated staff for its progress. He thought the approach showed leadership through example. Mr. Pap6 asked if staff would be assisted by the council taking a position on the standards that it hoped the City would strive for. Mr. Svendsen said yes, noting that staff had tentatively recommended designing to a silver standard. Mr. Pap6 wanted to have a work session on the standards that the City would pursue. Mr. Sutton added that would be useful from both a Facilities Management Division and organizational standpoint. Mr. Meisner also commended staff for its effort. He asked to what degree other local public entities were involved in LEED, such as School District 4J. Mr. Sutton was unsure. He said Eugene was happy to share the information it had developed with the school districts. Mr. Meisner thought it critical for consultation, assistance, and education. Mr. Meisner referred to the City's "Working City" cable program and suggested that the information presented by staff could be shared with the public via that route more quickly and more comprehensively that it could be shared through one-on-one presentations. He agreed that the City did not do a good job of MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 8, 2004 Page 5 Work Session