From the BCCT
School getting $12.7M green renovation
The work will be done according to environmental standards set up by the U.S. Green Building Council.
By CHRIS ENGLISH
A “green” makeover is coming to Makefield Elementary School after the Lower Makefield supervisors granted final land development approval for a $12.7 million renovation-expansion at the Pennsbury school on Makefield Road.
Supervisors Pete Stainthorpe, Ron Smith, Steve Santarsiero and Matt Maloney voted 4-0 for approval at Wednesday night’s meeting. Board Chairman Greg Caiola was absent.
Construction is scheduled to include many green, or environmentally friendly, elements, Pennsbury officials have said. Among them are solar panels that will provide about 12 percent of the school’s power, lowflow features in bathrooms that will reduce water use by 20 percent and some permeable pavement in the parking lots that will allow rainwater to soak through.
“I appreciate the fact the school district decided to go in that direction,” said Santarsiero. “I was impressed with the design of the building.”
Santarsiero said he had some concern there wasn’t enough space being added to accommodate future enrollment increases at the 74-year-old school.
“The school district acknowledged that anywhere between three and five years from now, even the expanded space might be inadequate,” he said. “I don’t want to see Makefield kids get redistricted to other schools because I think neighborhood schools are important. I would have preferred they increase the space even more, but that ultimately is not our decision as a board of supervisors. I asked Dr. [Paul] Long [Pennsbury’s chief executive officer] to consider anything possible to avoid redistricting at any of the Lower Makefield schools.”
Long said the amount of added space, about 7,000 square feet to a school now 68,000 square feet, was decided on after much deliberation among school board members and administrators and with input from residents.
“I believe it will be sufficient for at least five years,” he said. “People ask why not add more space than that, but you’re limited by the size of the tract. You can’t overbuild the property.”
The township planning commission had expressed concerns with some parts of the project’s storm water management plan and took a neutral position on the project rather than recommending to approve or reject it. The supervisors didn’t think those concerns were serious enough to warrant voting against the project.
“The positives far outweighed the negatives in my mind,” said Stainthorpe. “There are some pretty progressive pieces to this project and the building is definitely in need of an update.”
The project includes a new and larger cafeteria and kitchen. Some empty space will be renovated to create a new library and music room, and there will be lots of other work throughout the entire building, including overhauls to the heating, ventilation and other mechanical systems. Also, the entire building will be air conditioned.
The renovation-expansion is scheduled to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification under a program run by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Pennsbury officials hope to start work sometime late next spring and finish by the end of summer in 2010. The $12.7 million price estimate is only for construction and does not include engineering, architectural and other fees and contingencies, Long said.
He said the project will be funded through a bond issue that hasn’t been approved by the school board yet.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
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1 comment:
Also from today's BCCT. So Pennsbury's going green and saving energy in a systematic way. Hey, we're kinda doin' the same thing - volunteer lightbulb study, maybe some new boilers via a poorly-considered, off-spec bidding process. We're just doin' it "The Morrisville Way"TM - half-baked, on the cheap, and without bigger-picture foresight. Hooray!!!
District looking to become more energy efficient
By MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
Pennsbury is kicking off a long-term plan to become more energy efficient.
Recently, the school board chose to partner with Aramark Education to evaluate the district's energy consumption and energy use and practices.
“They'll try to identify ways to save energy in our schools,” said Gregory Lucidi, the school board president. “They're going to look at all kinds of ways to save — where you set your temperatures, training people to turn lights off in rooms, monitoring daily energy performance, making sure the mechanical systems are optimized, those kinds of things.”
The Philadelphia-based company will develop and implement an energy management program that could save the district 15 percent in energy consumption costs, or around $2.6 million over five years, officials said.
The company guarantees an overall reduction in energy expenditures. Despite program fees of about $1.17 million, the price will be made up in energy savings, Lucidi said.
If for some reason Pennsbury's energy savings are lower than anticipated by Aramark in a particular year, Aramark Education promises to refund the difference between that year's fees and the money lost.
Aramark Education implemented a similar program with the Council Rock School District in 2005.
The district's overall energy reduction of more than 30 percent over the past few years earned it the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's national distinction as 2007 Energy Star Partner of the Year.
After five years of Aramark Education overseeing its enterprise, Pennsbury may continue working with the company to improve energy systems and educate staff and students, said Lucidi.
The renovation of Pennsbury's Makefield Elementary also is energy-conscious, according to the district. One of its new environmentally sustainable features will include solar panel installations on the roof that will provide about 12 percent of the building's power.
The Makefield Elementary project should be finished in about a year and a half, according to the project's architects.
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