Space in the paper is tight, so I didn't get a chance to write about tonight's workshop on the revised RFP for the development of the city-owned land on High Rock Avenue.

I was able to stay for a bout 40 minutes of the discussion, which focused mostly on the relative merits of seeking LEED certification for the new public safety building. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a set of standards used to evaluate new buildings whose developers want to make a "green" statement. Things like geo-thermal heating, rain-water use/re-use, and solar panels are just a few of many items that can help a building achieve one level of LEED certification. The idea is that additional construction costs will be offset by savings on building operation/maintinance costs.

The proposed building designed by LaBella Associates under a previous RFP would have meet the minimum standards for LEED certification, and Commissioner of Public Safety Ron Kim asked the council this evening if they wanted to include such a requirement in the new RFP.

The problem with LEED is that in addition to higher construction costs, applying for and recieving the actual certification can be extremely costly. There are some state grant funds availabe, but they aren't easy to get.

So discussion tonight, for part of tonight, anyway, centered on whether it was worth pursing certification, or if it was good enough to build a green building that could, in theory, be LEED certified, but not actually go through the application process.

Ultimately, the council decided to include language in the RFP that indicated a desire to be green, but left open to developers whether or not they would actually propose to seek LEED certification.

After that was settle, there was some wrangling over which commissioner's name would be attached to the RFP. Then I had to leave.

It was very nice to see the council having a productive conversation and getting stuff done, and prior to the meeting, at least two members of the public said as much, also referencing last week's capital budget program, which the council passed unanimously after some amendments. However, at last night's workshop, there were still some overtones about who had made mistakes in the past, and who hadn't worked will with the council. It seems there are still some skeletons in the closet, even if the council is not getting stuff done.