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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEnergy Board - Minutes - 01/10/2019ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING January 10, 2019 – 5:30 pm 222 Laporte Ave.; Colorado Room 01/10/2019 – MINUTES Page 1 ROLL CALL Board Members Present: Chairperson Nick Michell, Vice Chairperson Amanda Shores, John Fassler, Jeremy Giovando, Alan Braslau, Bill Becker, Dan Gould, Stacey Baumgarn Board Members Absent: Krishna Karnamadakala OTHERS PRESENT Staff Members Present: John Phelan, Christie Fredrickson, Brian Hergott, Jarrod Kinsman, Stu Reeve, Brian Dunbar (CSU), Tracy Ochsner, Cyril Vidergar Platte River Power Authority: Paul Davis Members of the Public: Sue McFadden MEETING CALLED TO ORDER Chairperson Michell called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm CITIZEN PARTICIPATION Sue McFadden, a green developer in Fort Collins, expressed concern over the reported price per square foot to build the Police Regional Training Center as a LEED Gold building. She hopes staff will consider breaking out the individual economics and costs they are projecting because it would better help the public understand the true costs of the project. APPROVAL OF MINUTES In preparation for the meeting, board members submitted amendments via email for the December 13, 2018 minutes. The minutes were approved as amended. ANNOUNCEMENTS & AGENDA CHANGES None POLICE REGIONALTRAINING CENTER (PRTC) Brian Hergott, Senior Facilities Project Manager, Operation Services Jerrod Kinsman, Police Lieutenant, Fort Collins Police Services Stu Reeve, Senior Project Manager, Operation Services Brian Dunbar, Colorado State University (attachments available upon request) The Police Regional Training Center (PRTC) is a joint project between the City of Fort Collins and the City of Loveland. The idea was initially developed in 2013 and approved by both City Councils by late 2014. In 2018, staff began working through conceptual and schematic design to meet the needs of both police departments and the project budget of $18.5 million, which will be split equally between the two Cities. The PRTC will include 100-yard, 50-yard, and 25-yard indoor firing ranges, support areas, such as offices, restrooms, and classrooms for instructions, as well as an outdoor driving track and skills pad. The ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING 01/10/2019 – MINUTES Page 2 facility will be located on the property of the Northern Colorado Regional Airport, which both cities own, but is under Loveland jurisdiction, so their planning, zoning and building standards apply. Mr. Hergott reviewed the Phase 1 minimums to meet the scope of the PRTC project, which includes the following: a 21-lane, 50 YD Firing Range with tactical vehicle access; range support (armor, storage, etc.); two 900-square-foot classrooms that are expandable to one large room; an administration area for a receptionist and a site manager; a 1.4 mile-long driving track; a 400 x 400 Skills Pad; a parking lot, and restrooms. There are a few challenges at this site that affect the budget. The utility connections are across Boyd Lake Road, which will require four borings (two under railroad, two under Boyd Lake Road), and the soil will need to be removed, conditioned, and replaced at specific depths, such as 10 feet, over- excavation depending on the location (buildings, driving track/skills pad, and paving areas). Mr. Hergott also displayed schematic floor plans and cross-sections of the building, which highlighted the square footages of each of the designated spaces, as well as usages and features of the respective areas within the facility. On an additional slide, Mr. Hergott listed and reviewed the estimated hard and soft costs for the Phase I Site Plan, totaling $18.5 million. The list included $600,000 specific for elements related to achieving LEED Gold certification, including design, modeling, equipment, solar, etc. The project team removed portions of the driving track and the skills pad to meet the current Phase I scope funding. The City of Loveland is applying for a $1 million DOLA (Department of Local Affairs) grant which could fund the portions that were removed, depending how much (if any) of the grant is awarded. The grant application will be submitted in April. There is only one LEED Gold Certified Firing Range in the country, in San Mateo, California. That 60,000 square-foot building was completed in 2009 under LEED version 2, the facility is more like a Police Station with a Firing Range on site (as opposed to a training-specific center). It has a 112-stall parking garage, an indoor firing range, a detention holding facility , a 24-Hour 911 Dispatch Center, and ballistic windows to protect viewers. The cost to build this facility was $58.5 million. The San Mateo facility was built in a densely populated area, as opposed to the proposed PRTC, which will be in a rural area without many amenities (like bike trails or closely located public transit). There are several challenges with certifying a firing range under LEED. Stand-alone firing ranges do not typically meet the LEED FTE (Full Time Equivalent) requirement. Firing ranges also: require up to 15 times the air exchanges of a typical office building, are higher energy use with MERV (minimum efficiency reporting value) filtering to capture particles, require a higher percentage of fresh outside make-up air, allow temperatures ranges from 50 to 80 degrees (this does not meet the thermal comfort LEED credit), are not conducive to Demand Response energy use reduction, require specific materials which may not have necessary recyclable content, require specific materials which may not meet the low VOC (volatile organic compounds) requirement, exclude daylight due to bullet resistant enclosure requirement and need for light control, and windows for views come a very high cost and counter range requirements. Mr. Hergott added that the project will likely lose 13 or more LEED points if the firing range is included within the LEED boundary. Currently, the Admin & Classroom portion of the project are predicted to earn 55 out of 110 LEED points. The project would need 60 points to achieve LEED Gold, and Mr. Hergott said it may be possible to accrue the remaining five points, though it won’t be easy. The site earns very few points based on location, and they would likely need to achieve several innovation credits for the project to earn LEED Gold. However, as an entire facility (including the firing range), it may be difficult to even achieve LEED Silver (50 points), because the project loses many credit area points for materials, thermal comfort, daylighting, and views. ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING 01/10/2019 – MINUTES Page 3 Even if the building doesn’t achieve LEED certification, there are several efficiency items staff has planned for the project. A tight building envelope will keep energy loss low, and staff is planning to commission the envelope to the 2015 International Building Code standards. The building will have an efficient mechanical system that meets the shooting range requirements, which are: complete air exchange every two to three minutes, 100% laminar air flow downrange from the shooter to the target, air flow between 50-100 feet per minute, and extensive filtering to ensure all particles are captured for safe training. The building will also have an efficient electrical system with LED lighting and lighting controls to minimize energy use (note: solar tubes are not allowed per FTA safety standards within the firing range area). Additionally, there are plans to incorporate a solar PV system on the roof, the size of which will be determined by the forthcoming energy modeling. Mr. Hergott presented two points staff would like a recommendation and/or feedback from the Energy Board: With the site location and other constraints, does the Energy Board support excluding the firing range and the majority of the site from our LEED Boundary? Does the Energy Board support us prioritizing our project dollars on energy efficiencies and some level of LEED Certification, but not necessary Gold? Mr. Hergott added that the original budget for design costs to get LEED Gold was $255,360, but after some additional consulting staff was able to reduce the design cost to $199,925, but now may not achieve LEED Gold certification. Chairperson Michell asked if the City of Loveland looks at Energy Modeling to determine a return on investment, or if they are only looking at the current building codes. Mr. Hergott advised it is not their standard practice to look at Energy Modeling. Board member Giovando asked what the anticipated useful life is for the facility, Mr. Hergott said roughly 75 or more years. Mr. Giovando asked how the capital costs compare to the life cycle costs, with and without the energy efficiency upgrades, it would take to achieve LEED Gold certification. Mr. Hergott said staff doesn’t have a lot of those answers yet, but once the energy modeling is complete, they should have a better idea of the comparison analysis. Mr. Reeve said they will complete a life cycle cost analysis, but the whole concept is to build a better building that’s going to lower the energy costs, and not just earn the title of LEED certified. Chairperson Michell said that regardless of LEED certifications, the Energy Board is happy if the building uses less energy, but if the building uses more energy, the board is unhappy. Once the building is built, it isn’t possible to rebuild it later; however, it’s always possible to budget for future improvements. Board member Braslau stated that if the energy modeling and commissioning isn’t completed, it’s impossible to know how the building might perform. He said the L in LEED stands for Leadership, and the City should be showing leadership in the community. Mr. Braslau also presented a City resolution from 2006 (Resolution 2006-096), which says the City should “establish a goal to meet at least LEED Gold certification for all new city-owned buildings of 5,000 square feet or more”. Mr. Braslau noted that in resolution 2018-124 there is a clause stating, “by Resolution 2006-096, the City Council adopted a requirement that all new City construction of 5,000 square feet or more must achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (“LEED”) Gold standards, except in certain circumstances,” but that resolution 2006-096 doesn’t actually require LEED Gold certification, only that the City should establish a goal to meet that certification. Mr. Hergott said staff did ask City Legal staff for help drafting this resolution, and it was their interpretation that it was a requirement to achieve LEED Gold Certification. Board member Braslau also believes some of the LEED certification costs outlined in Resolution 2018- 124 are exaggerated. Mr. Hergott said part of the reason why it’s a challenge to meet LEED Gold is because they are losing many LEED site credits for not being within an area with bike routes or public transit, so the project team is chasing every dollar. Board member Braslau said he doesn’t think anyone on the Energy Board will think it’s required to achieve LEED Gold, or even LEED Silver certification, and ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING 01/10/2019 – MINUTES Page 4 it’s not even required per the 2006 resolution, but to work to achieve this goal. More importantly, it’s a process to follow and the PRTC project team should be using that process to look at where they are at and do the best they can. Chairperson Michell said it sounded like Board member Braslau is forcefully agreeing with City Staff and their end goal, and Mr. Braslau said he absolutely does agree with staff and ultimately doesn’t believe the project team even needs to be asking for an exemption, because the 2006 resolution did not make LEED Gold a requirement. Board member Baumgarn asked Board member Braslau to clarify his position, should the project team pursue LEED Gold, or not. Mr. Braslau said the PRTC project should follow Resolution 2006-096 because it outlines a modeling process to see if LEED certification makes sense for a project; the goal is to build the most efficient building as possible which costs the City very little to maintain in the future. Board member Baumgarn said although LEED is a helpful benchmarking tool, in his mind LEED is about the intent of energy efficiency and building better buildings. He said staff should communicate the PRTC’s LEED intent, such as providing a healthy and efficient workplace and optimizing energy efficiency, given the building type, use, and function. He thinks that is an effective way the City can communicate the message of energy efficiency, even if it ends up being a building type that is not eligible to receive LEED certification. Board member Fassler said foregoing LEED in lieu of the phrase “doing the best we can,” is a frightening place to be because there is no other measurable standard to apply to the PRTC project. He added that he hopes the project team is not limiting the scope of options for energy efficient appliance manufacturers, especially heat recover air ventilators. Chairperson Michell said it sounded to him that the Board agrees that LEED might not apply to the entire project and they hope to encourage staff to “do the best they can,” but they also hope they identify a measurable standard to benchmark against. Mr. Reeve mentioned ENERGY STAR should help give them benchmarks against a sample of buildings across the nation, and staff is working on pulling the modeling together. Lieutenant Kinsman said the project team is stuck between a rock and a hard place, because there isn’t an unlimited budget to build and design to all the energy efficiency standards they would like while also still meeting the needs of the facility. Both cities have a like-minded goal to keep the annual operations maintenance costs as low as possible because that leaves more funding to hire additional police officers in both communities. He said their intent is not to just build a building regardless of how it effects the environment; they are also conscious that the building performance is not just an environmental concern, it’s a fiscal responsibility they have to the police department to provide more public safety to the community. Mr. Phelan said, though the project team is early in their schematic design, but said as modeling is initiated, they should be able to set a target very quickly. He said energy modeling was extraordinarily important in the design and building of the Utilities Administration Building, and he believes that the target should be able to provide some assurance beyond the idea of “doing the best we can.” Board member Baumgarn said the Energy Board spends a considerable amount of time discussing renewable electricity, the Climate Action Plan, and zero-carbon goals. He wondered if there had been any discussion making the PRTC an all-electric building, because it could be another way to send a message to the community about how the City is planning for the future and our environmental impacts. Mr. Reeve said every project the City is working on right now always asks the question, “how do we electrify,” but the LEED cost model actually has credit penalties with all-electric. Board member Baumgarn said given what has recently transpired within our community and at Platte River Power Authority (with regards to renewable electricity goals), for this project, we may have to break the rules of the 2006 resolution, in order to lay the groundwork for the next ordinance that helps us think further into the future (and all electric buildings). Board member Giovando said he feels challenged to make an educated recommendation, because the board has only seen one-time costs and not the life of the entire project. A million dollars seems like a lot ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING 01/10/2019 – MINUTES Page 5 today, but if it saves $20 million over the lifespan of the building, there is a clearer connection within the cost-benefit analysis. Lieutenant Kinsman reiterated that the building should also be an adequate training facility now and some of the budget cuts to accommodate LEED goals may impact its effectiveness now, additionally they need to consider how training procedures might be different 30 years from now. Board members Becker and Baumgarn echoed Mr. Giovando’s concern and felt conflicted about making a recommendation about this project without modeling scenarios. Board member Braslau moved the Energy Board reaffirm their support for Resolution 2006-096; the Board believes in the process outlined in Resolution of 2006-0096 and believes the project team already complies with that process and its intent, so an exemption is not required. The motion was not seconded. Mr. Mannon said this is a perfect example of how hard the City of Fort Collins pushes for energy efficiency on every project. He said when the project team goes back to City Council, they need to go beyond reiterating their support for the 2006 resolution and they need to confidently say what’s very important; it’s not the LEED Gold or Silver, but the need for a clear set of standards to follow. Mr. Dunbar asked staff if it’s possible to conduct the energy modeling over the next one or two months and come back to the Energy Board with the data. Mr. Hergott said there is some urgency because the intergovernmental agreement with the City of Loveland is up for renewal, and this item goes back to City Council on February 5. Board members said they should vote on their support of the process. The Board worked with Mr. Vidergar to formulate a motion that encompassed their conditions and recommendation. Mr. Phelan and Mr. Vidergar also reminded the board that much of their support will be encompassed within the minutes, so the motion language should be succinct. Chairperson Michell moved to recommend City Council approve a partial waiver of the requirements of Resolution 2006-096 for the Police Regional Training Center such that only the administration/classroom building shall be designed, constructed, and certified to the highest LEED standard practical, striving for Gold, and to achieve exceptional energy performance with a defined energy performance target. The remainder of the project should follow LEED principles and achieve high energy performance with a defined energy performance target. Board member Braslau seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: It passed, 7-1, with one absent. Board member Baumgarn voted no, he said he would prefer the motion language to contain a little more clarity and context on the on the Board’s expectation of the project. OFFICER ELECTIONS Board member Becker nominated Nick Michell as Chairperson of the Energy Board. Chairperson Michell accepted the nomination. Board member Braslau moved Nick Michell act as Chairperson until the next annual election of officers for the Energy Board. Board member Giovando seconded the motion. Vote on the Motion: It passed unanimously 8-0, with one absent. ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING 01/10/2019 – MINUTES Page 6 Board member Braslau nominated Amanda Shores as Vice Chairperson of the Energy Board. Vice Chairperson Shores accepted the nomination. Chairperson Michell moved Amanda Shores act as Vice Chairperson until the next annual election of officers for the Energy Board. Board member Becker seconded the motion. Vote on the motion, it passed 7-0, with one abstention and one absent. APPROVE 2018 ANNUAL REPORT Chairperson Michell moved to adopt the 2018 Energy Board Annual Report. Board member Becker seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously, 8-0, with one absent. ADOPT 2019 WORK PLAN Chairperson Michell moved to adopt the 2019 Energy Board Work Plan as submitted to City Council. Board member Giovando seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously, 8-0, with one absent. Chairperson Michell said he would like to address some of the important topics upcoming in 2019, such as the Energy Policy, City Plan, Transportation Master Plan, and Transit Master Plan, cost of service and rate structures. 100% renewable electricity, the organic contract update, and many more. Chairperson Michell asked the Board what areas they would like to focus on as a group. Board member Baumgarn said the Energy Policy should be among the most important topics this board discusses, because it is very broad, and its purview encompasses many items the board can influence. Board member Becker said we need to look at how a distribution utility will look in the future in order to plan for today. Board member Gould said the 100% RE is an interesting challenge, he is curious about the land use implications, what the City will do and what will the impact be, how will they choose the right model, and what infrastructure is needed. Board members agreed they should try to focus most of their meeting time on topics they can influence and try to keep topics they are only curious about to a minimum. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS Board member Braslau said there is a film out called, “Greenest Building,” that has to do with building energy use and built environment and said it is very good. He made a request to the City to show the film during a Super Board work session. Board member Baumgarn said City Works applications are open until February 15. ENERGY BOARD REGULAR MEETING 01/10/2019 – MINUTES Page 7 FUTURE AGENDA REVIEW Several Board members are interested in the option to tour Platte River’s Rawhide Station; staff is working toward arranging a tour date and associated details. Board member Becker would like to begin incorporating educational component to the meetings, if the board can work toward better managing their meeting time. ADJOURNMENT The Energy Board adjourned at 8:35 pm