District of Squamish staff is recommending council not move ahead with seeking a LEED certificate for the new Valleycliffe fire hall due to higher costs in getting the certification.
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a way to provide independent, third-party verification that the building was constructed using processes to achieve high performance in five areas: sustainable site development, water conservation, energy efficiency, material selection, and the quality of the indoor environment.
Getting the fire hall LEED certified, however, would cost the taxpayers more than $200,000.
The project team originally recommended pursuing LEED to provide accountability and signal to the community that the district takes its responsibility to the environment seriously.
But the district is now backing off after it solicited prices from consultants and contractors and found out that getting the building LEED certified would cost more than $200,000.
This would put considerable strain on the overall project budged, according to the staff.
The project team says it could still meet the district’s sustainability and accountability goals with less cost by not formally pursuing LEED.
However, that would mean decreased reporting and third-party monitoring, which would be substituted with more internal monitoring and reporting, reducing overall costs.
Following the completion of the fire hall and EOC, the project team will compile a close-out report outlining how the climate change targets were met.
Not having the building LEED certified would save approximately $75,000.
