Lake County to ‘LEED’ the way in green building

While Lake County is embarking on an aggressive capital improvement plan, it is not looking to sacrifice environmental concerns in the process. As many as four current projects in various stages of planning are expected to meet the silver certification requirements of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.

A voluntary program, LEED provides a complete framework for assessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals. Based on well-founded scientific standards, LEED emphasizes state of the art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

In May, the Lake County Board of County Commissioners committed to designing the new Judicial Center expansion using the LEED standards for green building. According to Jim Bannon, Director of the Lake County Department of Facilities Development and Management, he estimates constructing a building using the LEED standards will increase the total cost of the project by about 5 percent.

“However, the County will surely reap more savings over the life of the building in energy and water efficiency,” he said.

Office relocations for several departments continued in July. The Office of Information Technology (IT), an internal office that responds to communication and technology needs of the County’s departments, combined its offices from the fifth floor of the Historic Courthouse and the second floor of the Administration Building to the first floor of the admin building. To make space for IT, the Information Outreach Section vacated its offices and moved into IT’s previous digs on the fifth floor of the Historic Courthouse. Under the direction of the County Manager’s Office, Information Outreach was created in 2004 to expand internal and external communications. The section works similar to an advertising agency, as it uses the creative skills of all its members to create ingenious solutions to a variety of communication-based projects.

Previous Editions of the Building Bulletin

• July 2006
• June 2006

County Commissioners cut the ceremonial ribbon for the renovation and expansion project of the Lake County Agricultural Center on Aug. 18.

The project included construction of 5,600 square feet for two new classrooms, three offices, a lobby and a plant clinic. In addition, the project also included revamping and enlarging the parking lot and changing the building’s entrance to 1951 Woodlea Road.

Other than the new carport and lobby to the Agricultural Center, the most visible improvement to visitors will most surely be the plant clinic. Staffed by volunteer master gardeners, the plant clinic is open during normal business hours, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and assists home gardeners with problems and questions about plant care.

While the project narrowly missed its deadline for completion, more importantly, it came in under budget. Some of the additional funds were used to refurbish existing portions of the building. After “extra” projects, such as repainting the entire exterior of the facility, $124,000 was remaining from the budgeted $1.2 million project.

The Agricultural Center houses the Lake County Extension Service, a partnership between the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences and the Board of County Commissioners. The trained professionals and volunteers of the extension service offer research-based education in agriculture, family and consumer sciences, and 4-H youth development.

Public Works readies for transfer

The Lake County Department of Public Works will close from Monday, Sept. 11, to Friday, Sept. 15, for office relocations.

Currently housed at 123 N. Sinclair Ave, adjacent to the Lake County Judicial Center in downtown Tavares, the Department of Public Works is vacating the two-story office building to accommodate office space needs for additional judicial staff. The majority of Public Works’ divisions will move to a leased office complex at 437 Ardice Ave. in Eustis.

The divisions of Road Operations, Parks and Trails and the administration of Fleet Management will move to a former satellite office of the Department of Community Services at 31150 Industry Drive in Tavares. This relocation is temporary as an additional facility off of Ardice Avenue is to be constructed in the next six months to accommodate the remaining divisions of the Department of Public Works.

The Department of Public Works will reopen on Monday, Sept. 18. Flood map determinations will continue to be completed during the week of Sept. 11 by Public Works staff on the fifth floor of the Lake County Administration Building, 315 W. Main St., Tavares.

The new general information phone number for the Department of Public Works is (352) 483-9000. Other new phone numbers for the Department of Public Works are as follows:

There are more than a dozen different projects underway for the Lake County Department of Facilities Development and Management. Here are a few developments:

1. Judicial Center expansion
   Board approves schematic design
   
   
2. Umatilla Health Clinic
   Final design drawings expected to be completed by October 2006.
   
   
3. Cagan Crossing Community Library
   Anticipated start of construction end of September 2006