County seeks environmentally-friendly status for new administration building

Mohave County is going green.

County officials decided to pursue green building certification for the new $20 million county administration building through its contractor Opus West.

"The developer we selected is noted for building and designing buildings that meet" green building requirements, said county Office of Management and Budget manager Gene Hepler.

"They lead you that way, and we as a county decided to do it," he said.

The green building certification process takes about a year.

Examples of things the county is doing to obtain the certification include:

€ No hydrochlorofluorocarbons in the cooling system.

€ Use of building materials that won't deplete the ozone layer.

€ Installation of a carbon dioxide monitoring system.

€ High-level ventilation control.

€ Waterless urinals.

€ Ultra-low-flow water fixtures.

€ An "energy star" white reflective roof.

€ Bicycle storage and changing rooms.

€ Occupancy sensors in the building.

€ Low light pollution fixtures in the parking lot.

€ Thicker glass with ultraviolet light protection.

€ Insulation beyond code requirements.

The county is also building a shaded bus stop on U.S. Route 66 next to the building and will use recycled water for desert plants outside the building.

Examples of desert-friendly landscaping Opus West will plant on site include desert willow and honey locust trees.

The county received a $20,000 grant that will be used toward the cost of the light sensors. The county will contribute $30,000 to the cost. The sensors are projected to save the county $5,530 a year in energy costs.

In addition, glass design and placement, extra insulation and using recycled water is projected to save the county close to $14,000 a year.

"We want to bring environmentally friendly companies (into the county)," Hepler said. "We want to be a role model."

A "green" county administration building will help attract these types of companies, officials hope.

Opus West has been a US Green Building Council member since 2000 and currently has the largest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) registered project in the state, a 300,000-square-foot building and parking structure in Phoenix for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.

Opus West's devotion to environmental quality extends to putting on-site construction waste into separate recycling containers for paper, glass, metal, gypsum board, plastics, etc.

Opus West produced one of only 19 2.0 gold certified projects in the U.S., the American Honda Motor Co. Northwest facility in Gresham, Ore.

Other things the county is working on at the 60-acre site include building a 1.5-mile hiking/walking trail in the hills behind the new building. The county plans to use volunteers, DUI prisoners and probationers on the project, which should be finished within a couple months.

From the building and parking area color scheme to the shaded bus stop and tree and shrub areas, the new county administration building will fit right in with the red-and-brown mesas nearby.

Thanks to environmental planning, the complex will also be "green."

You may contact the reporter at soptelean@havasunews.com.

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