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County's Green Building Trims Costs

Posted on: Thursday, 22 September 2005, 21:00 CDT

Sep. 22--OREGON CITY -- More than a year after Clackamas County switched on the lights in its new energy-efficient Public Services Building, the county has saved thousands on utility bills -- but not quite as much as projected.

The savings on electricity and natural gas were almost $58,000 in the building's first year of operation. The county paid about 37 percent less in energy costs than it did in 2003-04 in rented office space the county occupied before moving into the new building.

When the four-story building opened in July 2004, the county projected that it would save about $64,000 annually on its energy bills.

Overall, the 110,000-square-foot building has functioned smoothly and lived up to expectations, said Marc Gonzales, the county's finance director. But sporadic parking shortages, uneven water pressure and a few other kinks have had to be worked out during its first year of use.

This summer, the building won a long-sought "green building" certification from a national building industry group that recognizes the facility for its environmentally friendly features.

Just off Beavercreek Road in the area of Oregon City known as Red Soils, the building brought together many of the county's administrative and human services functions.

The county previously rented office space in more than a dozen older, less-efficient buildings in downtown Oregon City and elsewhere. The county is using the more than $800,000 a year it had been spending on rent to pay off most of the new building's $18 million construction cost.

The debt payments are slightly lower than what rents were projected to be and should be cheaper in the long run.

County officials are now focusing on plans for a complete county office campus at the site. The county is working on a campus master plan that needs approval by Oregon City. Officials hope the next addition will be a new transportation and development building.

The Public Services Building was designed to meet strict environmental and energy-efficiency standards.

It includes features such as lights that automatically shut off after the last person leaves a room and that dim as more sunlight comes in through the windows. It also has drought-resistant landscaping that requires little irrigation, automatic-flush toilets, recycled-content steel, and low-toxin flooring and paint.

Cuts half the energy costs

The building recently received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver award certifying that the building meets environmental benchmarks in several categories, from water conservation to the use of Earth-friendly building materials. The U.S. Green Building Council sets the voluntary standards.

The "silver" certification is one step above the entry-level certification. The private organization, which is led by members of the building industry and works to promote environmentally friendly construction, also offers gold and platinum certifications for buildings that meet even more rigid environmental standards.

Clackamas High School is among other Portland-area buildings that carry the silver certification.

Average annual energy costs for a building that meets only minimum state building code requirements are about $1.72 per square foot. The Public Services Building has averaged about 88 cents per square foot so far, said Lane Miller, the county's purchasing manager.

Gonzales said the county has saved slightly less than expected on energy costs because the building has been open more hours per day than expected for community meetings, extended service hours at the county's Social Services Division and other uses.

He said the county expects the energy savings to increase now that the county has finished adjusting the heat and air conditioning to work with the specific arrangement of employees in the building.

The county has evened out early water pressure fluctuations in the building by adding a water pump. Last week, problems with a pump caused the building's upper floors to lose water pressure for a day or two, but the problem was repaired.

One of the biggest frustrations associated with the new building has been a lack of parking during controversial public hearings and other events that draw a crowd.

The building has about 390 employees and about 395 parking spaces divided between a public lot and an employee lot. The city set the number of allowed parking spaces.

Employees are encouraged to carpool or take the bus.

County facilities workers are sometimes summoned on busy days to help direct traffic when the main public parking lot fills up, sending drivers to a county-owned overflow gravel lot across the street.

"As we've been educating employees about the importance of using the employee lot, the pressure on the public lot has eased," Gonzales said.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.

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Source: The Oregonian

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