The Edgewater Council Chambers were full last night (2/3/2017) as City Council made a decision on the Civic Center Design Contract. Community members led by Xerxes Steirer and John Beltrone collected signatures, started an online petition and encouraged community members to share their voices on the contract. Steirer and Beltrone, along with over 100 community members who signed the petition, encouraged the City of Edgewater and City Council to lift up sustainability in the design and construction of the new building.
Even before public comment on the contract, City Council members, City staff and the chosen design group NV5 made it clear that they shared the same values of sustainability. NV5 shared about methods to solicit community feedback through a variety of means. They also shared examples of sustainable design work they have done at NREL and other projects in the area. NV5 talked about LEED Certification and the benefits of using green construction yet not going all the way with becoming LEED certified. You can learn more about LEED certification here.
During public comment, the voices in support of sustainability were in the majority and Council listened to all voices on the matter. In the end NV5 was chosen unanimously for the design contract and made a commitment to encourage community input throughout the whole design process. There will be a balance between staying within the budget for the building and lifting up the value of sustainable design and construction.
Stay tuned for more information on these community input sessions starting in March.
Joel has been a resident of Edgewater, Colorado with his family since 2012. He is the Executive Director of local education nonprofit Edgewater Collective and Editor of the Edgewater Echo.
I am so proud of our community! I knew we would have a win win solution…