Pictured (l-r) are Palmetto Bay village manager Ron Williams, communications manager Bill Kress, Mayor Shelley
Stanczyk, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Lynda Bell.
Palmetto Bay celebrated early in 2011 when it first opened its ultra-green Village Hall. On Oct.23, it celebrated once again when it was officially awarded LEED Platinum certification.
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and Platinum means that the facility not only is ultra efficient in its use of resources, but also that the building process and procedures were achieved at the highest standards. Communications manager Bill Kress appropriately said, “We do things big in this little Village and we are now on the world stage as a ‘green’ leader.”
Pictured is part of the solar array and air conditioning system on the Palmetto Bay Municipal Center roof.
Mayor Shelley Stanczyk gave the impressive details: “We are the first and only LEED Platinum government office building in all of Florida and only one of three Platinum City Halls in the entire nation.”
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen proudly recognized Palmetto Bay “for its commitment to build a better future and to serve as a model for our nation by merging development and environmentally sound building strategies.”
Pictured (l-r) are Joey, Jesse and Jake Yngber with
mom, Howard Drive teacher Julie Yngber, out for a
Fuddrucker dinner
County Commissioner Lynda Bell said, “This is a great day for the residents and officials of Palmetto Bay who have set an example for other American leaders to achieve.”
Former Mayor, Eugene Flinn was given an opportunity to speak. He made sure to thank and congratulate people who were there 10 years ago at inception. He reminded us that former Councilman Paul Neidhart picked the location to allow for economic redevelopment and smart building.
“Green is not a lofty goal, it’s really about quality construction,” he said, while singling out director of building Ed Silva who got the money in Tallahassee from the Department of Energy.
The municipal center features the largest solar array in South Florida providing about 80 percent of the needed power for the facility, LED lighting for 95 percent of all lighting needs, a 60-thousand gallon cistern system that supplies all water for restroom facilities and landscape irrigation, 36- unit air conditioning for on demand cooling, occupancy sensors that automatically turn resources on and off to save electricity, and free electric car-charging stations to name a few.
Pictured are (l-r) Brian Morrison, 14, brother Jay, 12 and
Jared Heller, 15, who run the annual CCDH poker tournament.
There are only 900 LEED Platinum buildings in world. The Village Municipal Center ranks 111th among them. Of all the buildings that apply to become LEED Platinum, only three percent achieve that status.
FUDDRUCKERS HELPS HOWARD DRIVE ELEMENTARY The new Fuddruckers on South Dixie Highway and 147th Street recently hosted a fundraising night for Palmetto Bay’s Howard Drive Elementary School. Owned by Pinecrest residents Berny and Marcello Montalvan, the already successful eatery wanted to give back to the local community.
The idea was simple enough. The PTA distributed red tickets to Howard Drive students and parents instructing them to eat at Fuddruckers on the designated night and turn in the ticket when placing their orders. “We staple the order receipt to the ticket and then we’ll send 10 percent of the total bill to the PTA for use at the school,” said shift manager Nestor Chacon. “We had a great turnout for the event.”
Howard Drive math and science teacher Julie Yngber brought her kids to Fuddruckers to support the fundraising event.
“Not only am I a teacher, I’m also a parent of kids that go to Howard Drive,” she said. “This is a great way to support our school. The funds will go back to the classrooms and our children.”
The evening raised $240 for the Howard Drive ElementaryPTA.
BET SHIRA POKER TOURNEY FUNDRAISER
Brian, 14, and Jay Morrison, 12, along with Jared Heller, 15, hosted and ran the ninth annual Charity Poker Tournament on Sunday, Feb. 3, at Bet Shira Congregation. The Poker Tournament raises money for CCDH (formerly the Community Committee for Developmental Handicaps). Over the past three years, the boys have raised more than $15,000. You can find out more by contacting Brian or Jay at 305-613-2069 or by going to pokertournament4charity@gmail.com.
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Hal Feldman (MiamiHal) is a Realtor with RE/MAX Advance Realty. You may contact him with your ideas or real estate questions at www.MiamiHal.com, Hal@MiamiHal.com or www.facebook.com/MiamiHal.
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