Fire station seeks green certification
From an article by LeAnn R. Ralph in The Dunn County News:
When it is completed, the new North Menomonie fire station could be the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified fire station in Wisconsin.
The Menomonie City Council approved proceeding with LEED certification Monday evening during the council’s second regular meeting for the month.
Achieving LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council will cost nearly $30,000. Charlie Schneider, sector manager with Focus on Energy, urged the city council to pursue LEED certification.
He told the council that Focus on Energy will provide a $7,500 grant to the city for the certification process, and other grants may be available for energy efficient design and equipment.
Focus on Energy is a statewide program that typically works on projects with businesses and homeowners that have a payback of between two and five years. The program was the result of negotiations between the state, the Public Service Commission and utilities operating in Wisconsin.
Bob Sworski, the lead architect on the project with the engineering firm Short Elliot Hendrickson out of Chippewa Falls, told the city council that the energy efficient requirements for LEED certification were already included in the design for the fire station.
