How green will officials make Albemarle County?

By Brandon Shulleeta

Published: July 20, 2008

From hybrid vehicles to motion sensor fluorescent lights, Albemarle County government is going green.

Though it’s not cheap, county officials hope to save money in the long-term and reduce the county’s carbon footprint.

“My guess is that there is an initial investment and that ultimately it will save the county money,” Supervisor Dennis S. Rooker said of the county’s environmental investments. “We’re not going overboard, investing tens of millions of dollars … but we’re astutely taking steps.”

One decision by the Board of Supervisors is currently coming into play: a resolution for all new county buildings to meet stricter energy standards.

The new Crozet Library is the county’s first project planned to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s standards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

To get LEED certification, buildings have to garner points in a rating system for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

LEED standards could up the cost of the Crozet Library by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The library is a $6 million, 20,000-square-foot project expected to open in 2011. It’s replacing a 1,900-square-foot facility.

Bill Letteri, the county’s director of facilities development, is heading the project and said the exact additional costs haven’t been determined but it’s hoped they will be no more than 3 percent to 4 percent more than conventional building costs.

In general, even if LEED increases initial costs by “as much as 10 percent, if you can recover it in five or six years,” it might be worth it, Letteri said.

Supervisor David Slutzky said it’s important to consider how credits are earned: LEED gives credits for installing bike racks, for example. However, Letteri said he’d seek measures that reduce carbon footprints and save money in energy costs, as opposed to just garnering enough LEED credits to get certified.

Low-flow faucets, fluorescent lights and reflective roofs are examples of things that could earn LEED credits and also reduce energy bills.

In February 2007, the board unanimously agreed to pursue LEED certification for new construction projects.

The county has a recent history of green initiatives.

Since 2003, the county has bought new hybrid vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius.

Sarah Temple, the county’s environmental manager, said the Prius gets 45 mpg on the highway and 48 in the city.

Temple said she’s currently doing an inventory to figure out how many gas-electric hybrid vehicles the county owns, but she said there are at least eight.

The county also purchased several flex-fuel vehicles. However, there currently isn’t a local source for ethanol, Temple said.

Albemarle County hired Temple in September 2006 to oversee the county’s environmental management system. The full salary range for the position for fiscal year 2008-09 is $48,877 to $78,203.

Three months after Temple was hired, the county set a goal of reducing internal energy use by 30 percent by 2012. And last year, the board pledged to reduce greenhouse gases emitted by the community and government by 80 percent by 2050.

Supervisor Kenneth C. Boyd said he thinks the county is moving in the right direction, pushing for green initiatives. However, the board chairman said he would strongly oppose stricter regulations on the private sector, including requirements for residents or developers to meet LEED standards.

Both Boyd and Temple said that it would be more logical for the county to give incentives to residents and developers to be environmentally friendly.

Officials say a green roof on the Albemarle County Office Building on McIntire Road reduces energy bills by helping to stabilize indoor temperatures. And a county lighting ordinance restricts light pole heights and requires lights to point down, instead of pointing into open space and creating so-called light pollution.

There are 130 sensor lights in the County Office Building on McIntire, according to Temple. And the county is weeding-out toxic cleaning disinfectants for more environmentally friendly products, a measure being considered by the school division. It will cost the county between $24,572 and $49,398 for fiscal year 2009, and it would cost the school division between $72,669 and $100,430.