Councilman Howard Tendrich advised me that the news is official – Palmetto Bay Village Hall has officially received the LEED PLATINUM certification.
I am thankful that this recognition has been finally been made official. Many communities will be “Green” with envy. This building sets the standard for sustainability. It’s going to provide great savings to our residents.
A significant portion of this Village Hall was paid through grants and aid from our trips to Tallahassee and Washington so that construction could begin. I believe this project was worth the effort and will bring desirable economic impact to the area.
Be sure to review New Village Hall now open for business, by Gary Alan Ruse for background on the original article concerning village Hall coming on line. I really have to give credit to former Councilman Paul Neidhart for wanting to put the village hall in that area. Not only will it provide great service for residents, it will be a big economic generator for a part of the community that needs a lift.
I have also posted a link to the minutes for the historic Special Council meeting of March 11, 2009, which provides background on the thought process for selection of the site (worth the read). The resolution to authorize the Manager to purchase the property for village hall passed 4 to 1 with VM Pariser opposed).
This has certainly been a long time in coming. I have been keeping fellow residents up to date from past State of the Village addresses as well as e-mail updates.
I was reminded of the excitement for this LEED certified Village Hall which is located on page 34 of the December edition of Natural Awakenings, “Green is Our Color”. The village hall should set an example of sustainable construction. We discussed the green village hall and programs, including the LEED certified building at Coral Reef Park on Comcast’s Newsmakers
I am pleased that we still have Council member Howard Tendich on the village council. Howard has been a long-time advocate for Palmetto Bay green code and working for environmental sustainability.
Congratulations residents of Palmetto Bay for supporting this vision of sustainability. The confirmation of the LEED certification is the final step is providing a nearly self-sustaining, and therefore, much more efficient, money saving village hall.
I also direct you to Hal Feldman’s blog coverage of the 2010 State of the Village, my eighth. As Hal stated, it was bittersweet. I enjoyed the comment he posted: ‘As the evening wrapped, the outgoing mayor challenged everyone, “I and the council leave you a house in order. I expect you to keep it in good shape.”’
I hope that this Platinum Village Hall is a reminder to the current and future councils as to what can be achieved when a community is inclusive, focuses on the positive and works together toward mutually established goals.
