Congratulations to the City of Asheville
Wednesday, April 25th, 2007At the April 24th City Council meeting, late into the evening, the City Council adopted a LEED resolution to certify all municipal buildings over 5000 square feet at the Gold level. I have to admit that after countless deliberations where members of staff and council had uneducated discussions (some may call them arguments) about LEED and its associated costs and requirements I was relieved and impressed with the presentation by the Sustainable Advisory Committee and its effectiveness. Having a presentation that preempted questions and concerns, it was an easy decision to make. You mean we can save money and do the right thing?! Additionally, the city agreed to reduce its carbon emissions by 2% per year until it has reached the goal of a 80% total reduction in carbon emissions. There are many more details to work out with this goal, but it is great to see some action behind the many idealistic goals of our city. It is also a relief to see the governing institutions and the business community begin to realize that we can have a quality of life, clean air and a vibrant economy. I also appreciated Mayor Bellamy’s challenge to the Sustainable Advisory Committee that its next goal be to educate the community to begin saving energy in the homes and businesses of our community. Since many of us began working with the City to consider adopting a LEED resolution, the idea has always been for the City to LEED (sorry) by example. Thanks.