It’s been an especially hot summer. Soon the dog days of summer will run the Flathead. Kids are returning to school and locals will be thinking of autumn hikes, last swims and fall recreation.
Many welcome cooler days when the constellation Orion again shines in the night sky. Some are gathering firewood and thinking about the prospects of hunting. On our farm, the garlic is in and hung in hanks to cure. The berries are ripe and fall crops are quickly maturing.
Kids are headed back to school next month. Soon thereafter the new Whitefish High School opens.
It will be thrilling to see how the new high school building functions from both the perspective of a learning atmosphere and an energy efficient building. Many like me think that students will prosper in the new public building. Whitefish has some great teachers.
Hopefully the district’s heating and cooling bills will reduce. It cost a lot to heat and cool a big public building. Prior to construction, there was some discussion about efficiency.
The Helena area’s first public building to be certified energy efficient was the U.S. Veterans Benefit Administration Building at Fort Harrison. In Kalispell, the state DNRC and DEQ public building meets energy efficiency standards.
The building was a first for the state of Montana to meeting higher energy efficiency standards. The public buildings’ lighting expenses, water usage and storm water run-off are all much below traditional usage.
It’s the reduction in heating and cooling needs of public buildings that save taxpayers’ money and reduce the demand for power. Over a 50 year life of a building, that’s a lot of both.
Both The Apgar Transit Center in West Glacier and Xanterra Parks and Resort NPS Concessioner in Gardiner reduced energy usage considerably. In Gardiner the employee housing building used both a 2.3 kW photovoltaic system to provide additional power and passive solar for some heating.
These old-fashioned concepts add insulation, lower air infiltration, and make walls thicker. There’s better venting but you don’t have to get complicated to save a lot of long-term taxpayer money, especially considering which way energy costs are likely to go.
Recent efficiency studies of big buildings found that the energy use of a well-insulated structure is 25 percent lower than traditional construction. Over the fifty year life of a public building that translates to big saving for city taxpayers who fund ongoing maintenance, heating and cooling.
Two years ago, the White House Council on Environmental Quality indicated that “investments in energy efficiency over the last four years alone are expected to save as much as $18 billion in energy cost of the life of the projects.”
The City of Whitefish has begun the process of soliciting public input on a new City Hall. City Hall construction is overdue and many locals want a public building at the heart of town that simply functions well and looks good.
Whitefish is a great town. Over time, the town’s leadership has done well. The town thrives on tourism but old timers built a livable place with public places and an attractive entrance into town. Some complain about regulations but they keep amenities like our waterways clean and public lands open.
Whitefish’s streets are in good repair, the parks open, and the sidewalks and bike paths are plentiful. Business is good. Whitefish remains a local’s town where people actually want to live.
As city leaders design another public building, it’s frugal to consider the 50-year implications of skyrocketing energy costs. We live further up north than the tip of Maine, our summers are hot and winters long. If Whitefish must build, it may want to consider some old-fashioned conservative ideas that save energy and taxpayer money.