CORNER BROOK — While opinions were fiercely divided about the new city hall building, Mayor Neville Greeley says once open, the facility has plenty of environmentally friendly features all residents should be pleased with.
The mayor outlined a number of the city’s initiatives towards long-term sustainability during a presentation as part of ACAP Humber Arm’s Coastal Matters series of lectures at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University Tuesday.
In his presentation, Greeley told those in attendance about the way such initiatives as the bicycle trail network and district energy system are helping the city reduce its carbon footprint.
At an estimated cost of $16 million, the new city hall building is expected to provide more of the same once open this spring. Greeley said the facility will be a state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly building which should meet silver certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green rating criteria.
He said the building’s green roof, which will have vegetation and a picnic area, will use a water recycling system which will regulate heading and cooling and in turn, put less strain on the city’s water system.
“The water is then pumped back up into the roof in the summer and drier times to water the plants,” Greeley said Tuesday. “That’s water that’s not going into our storm system and eventually have to be treated by our waste water system.”
A geothermal heating and cooling system will also have the capability of reducing the greenhouse gasses emitted from the building by some 500 tonnes per year.
In addition to these features, Greeley said the building didn’t disturb any green space and as many materials as possible were recycled from the old Co-Op building, each key components of Leed certification. The city also recently awarded a tender to purchase a second hybrid vehicle.
He said these initiatives all should pay off in the long run and make the building the first of its kind in the province.
“All these things are small initiatives towards a bigger picture of being Leed certified,” he said. “If we get the Leed status we’re hoping to get, we’ll be the first such building in Newfoundland and Labrador and we’re very pleased with that.”
Greeley also spoke of the need for improved water conservation in the community and the ongoing plan for a sewage treatment plant in the area. He said plans remain on hold until the federal government finds a way to share costs of upgrading current systems instead of leaving communities themselves entirely on the hook.
Since 2002, the city put a levy in place to pay its share of capital costs for the project and over $2.4 million has been collected to date, a number which may rise if the federal government doesn’t budge from its current stance.
“That levy that’s $60 now is probably going to be in the neighbourhood of $200 per year,” he said. “That’s just to get the money in place and we’ll be collecting that for eight to 10 years before we’re able to move forward.”
