The madness of our first Saturday - sustainable style! :)

Jim Johnson , Director of Downtown Development/TIF District

Our Saturday to remember began with a guest speaker, Jim Johnson who is the Director of Downtown Development and TIF District for The Downtown Forth Worth, Inc.  Downtown Fort Worth, Inc was formed in 1981 to revitalize unsightly areas of downtown Fort Worth, which has since formed the TIF, The Downtown Tax Increment Financing District, in 1996.  “The TIF is managed by Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. and has funded a wide variety of projects and initiatives, from free parking downtown to streetscape and facade improvements.” Mr. Johnson explained the company’s Public Policy with respect to Sustainability as focusing on issues such as water use (storm water runoff), transportation, building codes, and zoning.  And some of the problems they address are:

1.       Master Thoroughfares

2.       Parking regulations

3.       Traffic regulations

4.       Maintaining Streets

5.       Transportation

6.       Regulating Streets and directing traffic flow

a.       Encouraging more foot traffic vs car traffic

b.      Moving towards a design concept called the Complete Street

c.       Controlling street expansion which can lead to urban and city sprawl

7.       City Zoning

Mr. Johnson took some time explaining the highway system in Fort Worth and the importance of street size regulation.  Even the simplest expansion of a highway or street by a few inches can add up to cause a massive and unnecessary urban sprawl that could be easily controlled by mandating a more manageable highway width.  The TIF focuses on a great deal of issues such as:

• Attract investment
• Support tourism and convention business
• Create an environment to attract office, retail, and residential development
• Use the increment to fund public improvements
• Create measurable financial gains for local governments

            The various areas of Fort Worth that have benefited from the TIF are noted in the map below:

As the city of Fort Worth works towards a more sustainable future and revitalized face, they have implemented a plan called “PLAN 2023” which is a “reflect the community’s vision for a livable, healthy, economically vibrant and exciting downtown for the next 10 years”.  The Downtown Fort Worth Inc states, “the plan will build on downtown’s existing natural, cultural, social and physical assets.  It will provide a strong foundation for strategic actions that will shape downtown’s future development, enhance connections to surrounding neighborhoods and strengthen downtown’s role as the heart of the city”.  The company has implemented a timeline, which is as follows:

ESTIMATED TIMELINE:

Issue RFQ December 2011

Proposals Due January 2012

Consultant Selection February 2012

Planning Process March 2012-March 2013

Final Report Spring 2013

            As you can see, the Downtown Fort Worth, Inc is working hard in many various directions to not only revamp several dilapidated areas within the city, but keep a watchful eye on the sustainable efforts with each design and project. It’s great to see a city like Fort Worth implementing a green initiative in some of the most important areas within a heavily populated area such as DFW.  This effort shows how city governments and planners are beginning to embrace the green movement and rebuild our world in the most sustainable manner as possible.  Its efforts like this that will educate the public on sustainability and what efforts each of us can make to heal our earth.

~

Jackson Murphy, President of Green Bean Analysis, LLC

            Secondly, before heading out to venture the lay of the land, we had one more guest speaker who was a wealth of knowledge with green building and sustainable investments and finance.  Mr. Jackson Murphy, who is the President of Green Bean Analysis, which provides services such as Financial Cost & Benefit Analysis, LEED AP Consulting, and Green Building Consulting.  He explained the aspects of investing in green with respect to environmental, social, and governmental.  He went on to discuss the aspects he concentrates on with building green, which includes site planning, indoor environmental quality, material use, energy use and conservation, waste management.  When considering those aspects of green building, a building can reduce each of those by varying percentages.  

         

            Mr. Murphy went on to explain the various types of sustainability building rating systems other than LEED.  While LEED may be the most recognized and often used, it’s often considered a crutch for many businesses that use LEED as a stopping point, often not allowing for further green efforts that can be done, just not observed or regulated by LEED.  Other sustainability rating systems include:

·               Energy Star

·               Green Globes

·               Green Roads

·               Breeam

·               NAHB – National Green Building Program

·               ASHRAE 189.1

·               Sustainable Sites

·               IGCC – International Green Construction Code

Mr. Murphy told us about the window replacement project at the Empire State Building in 2010.  They took over the 5^th floor of the building, and actually constructed each double pane window on the site, and then installed each one, one floor at a time, while the building continued business as normal.  He shared a wonderful arrangement of possibilities in green building and the efforts that are being made to become more sustainable in the built environment.  I thoroughly enjoyed his visit and learned a great deal from him.

~

Bedford Public Library

            As we left the class, we ventured out into the world to scope out what local businesses were doing to support the green movement and become more sustainable.  We traveled over to Bedford to visit their new state of the art library and investigate what note-worthy efforts they were making to create a greener world.  As we arrived, I immediately noticed the gorgeous new building with a very modern look to the exterior.  Once we got inside, Maria Redburn, the Library Manager, met us in the lobby and began answering questions right away.  Before we even had a chance to begin the tour, you could tell the group was excited to see the facility and curious to know about several very obvious sustainable features.  Within the first few minutes, we all noticed the xerioscaping outside and the Solar Panel Meter Reading Console just inside the front door.  As the group settled down and everyone arrived, she began explaining the financial aspect of the project and how it all got started.  Being that the Bedford Public Library is a government agency, the financial regulations and intricacies are far more complicated than any private business.  In order to begin the project, the library began great efforts to raise funds and apply for grants to help fund the project.  In 2005, a tax rollback election closed the Bedford Public Library was closed; therefore, the effort to reopen a community library was indeed of great importance and a valiant community effort.  Per the Bedford Public Library Website:

“The Bedford Public Library Foundation seeks to promote a secure financial future by raising funds for an endowment.  Our goal is to enrich, not replace, traditional tax-based support for the library through gifts, grants and bequests from individuals and organizations to support library programs and projects not normally met by public funding.  The Foundation was formed to spearhead a Capital Campaign to ensure that the new Bedford Public Library will be able to meet the needs of the community.

Funds raised for the Capital Campaign will be used to enhance the following areas of the library:

• Art and Landscaping:  Enhance the new Library by updating and repairing the Globe, creating sculpture gardens and outdoor seating.
• Children’s Area:  Enhance the Children’s Area by raising funds for the Storytime Room, Discovery Room and Toddler Interactive Area.
• Furniture:  Assist with raising funds to purchase chairs, couches and tables to create a comfortable environment for leisure reading and studying.
• Technology:  Purchase 65 computers for the new library to be placed in the Computer, Job and Homework stations, Early Literacy stations and the Teen Center.”

After all the financial aspects were secured and the project was approved, they made the decision to purchase an existing building in 2007, an old Food Lion Grocery Store, and re-adapted it into the new library.  Once they determined that the foundation required for support the enormous book weight load, they moved forward with the grocery store.

Utilizing an existing building and re-purposing it, is indeed a sustainable feature in itself.  But to move beyond that effort, they began analyzing what green features they could include, what their budget would allow, and what would be the greatest return on investment with the quickest return possible.  After much research, they decided to apply their SICO Grant money to install a system of solar panels, which includes a power inverter.  On a total side note, it was a really exciting experience to get to see a power inverter and portions of a PV system in action.  It was also interesting to learn that the inverters that accompany a PV system, have to be replaced roughly every 10-15 years, and costs around $150,000 each.  With expenses like that, it’s important to keep that in mind when trying to calculate returns on investment as well as maintenance costs.  Mrs. Redburn explained that they were able to keep a good portion of the original building, which saved a great deal of construction cost, and they simply added a children’s storytime tower and a few other addition along the interior.  A few other sustainable elements include:

1.  A white reflective roof to cut down on solar absorption – Provided for by a Formula Grant

2. Energy efficiency light bulbs 

3. Geothermal Well Energy System 

4. Low E-glass – protecting the books from natural light penetrating the building 

5. Carpet Squares – made of 80% recycled materials

6. Low VOC Paint

7. Energy Efficient Insulation added to the envelope of the building

8. Strategically placed windows to minimize direct sunlight

Another interesting technological feature, is their AMH book conveyor belt, which is a automated book sorter that not only saves time in sorting the massive amount of books that are returned on a daily basis, but also saves the library a great deal of money by not having to depend on a staff position to sort that great load of books.  Each book is tagged with a tiny chip imbedded in the tag, and as the book passes by an electronic eye, it tells the belt which bin to deposit the book into.  

As you can see, the Bedford Public Library has been through many trials and tribulations throughout their existence, but they have made huge strides to overcome all of their bumps in the road.  And seeing that they had a unique opportunity to become more sustainable and become a showcase for libraries everywhere, they seized the moment and have now become a note worth facility.  I have to applaud them on their efforts and advise each of you to take a moment and visit their library to see all the wonderful sustainable efforts in action.

~

Rahr and Son’s Brewery

Our day of madness ended with our class gathering at the Rahr and Son’s Brewery in Fort Worth.  Though it may seem strange to visit a brewery to examine their sustainability efforts, it simply demonstrates one fact, that it doesn’t matter where you go, what business you visit, or what they do there, almost every business these days has some sort of sustainability effort going on or in place.  With that in mind, I was surprised to find out what actions they were taking to be more sustainable.  Some they didn’t even realize were truly sustainable until after the fact.  

            One of the most considerate sustainable actions they brewery does is donating a ton of remaining wheat barley hops, grain left over from the brewing process each brewery day.  This ensures that no residual grain product goes to waste.  The re-purposed grain products are used as silage for cattle.  They claim that, “the next time you're driving down a Texas highway and you see a group of cows that really, truly seem to be smiling, feel free to smile and nod back at them because you know their secret.”  Which very well may be true, but with green efforts like that, anyone would be smiling.  They also donate their spent grain from a batch of “Ugly Pug” to the Artisan Baking Company where they turn it into loaves of Ugly Pug Jalapeño bread.

Other green aspects being utilized at the brewery include:

·         Use water to cool the beer wort within a closed system, which reduces the amount of water waste

·         Use local materials as much as possible

·         Use locally grown grain whenever possible

·         Re-adaptive a Coca Cola Warehouse in 1847

·         Bottle Recycle Program – Return 20 bottles and receive $5 in “Rahrbucks” to spend at the brewery

·         Bike and Walkable friendly – providing a large bike rack along the exterior of the building

·         Sell their beer only in Texas (Locally)

As you can see, whether you’re visiting a public library, or a local brewery, many companies from many walks of life are taking measures to become more sustainable.  While there may be a frequent list of common sustainable efforts, some changes can very much be tailored to a specific company or industry.  We can take note from those common lists, but it’s up to us to step out of the box and truly analyze what can be done, what changes can be made to become more sustainable, within any walks of life.  And the next time you’re out at a restaurant or in a store, or even on a tour, pay attention to what they’re doing to become more eco-friendly, and if you don’t notice sustainable signs right off the bat, just ask, most companies and businesses will be glad to share what they’re doing to be green!

References

Downtown Fort Worth Inc – History - http://dfwi.org/who-we-are/our-history

Downtown Fort Worth Inc – TIF - http://dfwi.org/what-we-do/tif-overview

Downtown Fort Worth Inc – Plan 2030 - http://dfwi.org/what-we-do/projects/plan-2023

Green Bean Analysis – About - http://www.greenbeananalysis.com/About.html

Green Bean Analysis – Services - http://www.greenbeananalysis.com/Services.html

CoStar - http://www.costar.com/

USA Today – Empire State Building Article - http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2010-07-12-empire-state-building-windows-green_N.htm

Bedford Public Library - http://www.bedfordlibrary.org/CapCamp/home.html

Bedford Public Library – Foundation - http://www.bedfordlibrary.org/CapCamp/campaign.html#found

Rahr and Son’s Brewery – Recycling - http://rahrbrewing.com/community/rahr-recycles.html

University of Missouri – Department of Animal Services - http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G2059