Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Michiana Council had a presentation from Mike Pence to discuss how his goals, if he becomes governor, would align with the free enterprise goals of ABC. He related several personal anecdotes on why he believes that Right-to-Work should be one of the number one goals of his administration. He expressed his belief that on many of our issues, it was a matter of educating the public. His opinion is that educating the public on issues should be one of the governor’s priorities.
He spoke elequently and made a strong case for ABC’s support of his candidancy. There appears to be only one other candidate at this time, but there may be more. If others decide to try their hand against Mr. Pence in the primary, they will find a formidable opponent. I think it’s likely that he will be the Republican candidate for governor.
Last Wednesday I attended a presentation/seminar on the Indiana Energy Code presented by Associated Builders and Contractors of Indiana (ABC) and Newport Ventures. Newport Ventures is supporting the State of Indiana in the adoption of the new Indiana Energy Code by conducting stakeholder meetings, developing a compliance roadmap and conducting training on the new code.
The presentation was informative and will no doubt be useful. Though Easterday Construction would not normally be involved in designing the systems discussed, it is still good for us to have a working knowledge of these things. It helps us understand them when we find them on plans, it gives us the ability to discuss them with clients before the design phase begins, and it also allows us to take the best practices found here and apply them to situations where it is not necessarily required by code.
Some of the things presented were already prevalent in the industry as “‘Best Practices”. These mainly related to insulation standards, optimized framing and building envelope tightness. Others such as changes in electrical systems and HVAC systems for reduced energy consumption have been available, but it has been left to the Owner or Developer’s choice as to whether to pursue them. Many have been promoted by the U.S. Green Building Council and tracked in their LEED Rating System and Certifications in recent years. The Indiana Energy Code is based on standards developed by ASHRAE (The American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers). While LEED and ASHRAE share some goals, their standards vary, but suffice to say that following ASHRAE standards are usually the minimum requirements for a project path toward LEED certification.
I have no doubt that all of the standards presented to me on Wednesday will save energy, as defined by the energy necessary to heat, cool, light and generally operate the facility. I was dismayed that when I asked who was researching the Return On Investment (ROI) for these systems, I was told no one. Isn’t it a bit premature to put these practices into law without assessing the final cost? Apparently not, as this was part of a Federal program where Indiana received funds to implement this.
As part of the discussion, the changes to a building HVAC system were discussed. Additional zone divisions will be required. Additional duct sensors, motorized dampers, thermostats (7 day programmable thermostats with off-hour setbacks and controlled overrides only), ducted returns (no return plenums), economizers and heat recovery systems for fresh air intakes including CO2 sensors to determine optimum fresh air requirements and low pressure fan systems will also be required. Again, nothing here struck me as ineffectual for reducing operational energy consumption… But what does it mean if you look at it holistically including construction and maintenance?
These are just a few of the things that came to my mind during the discussion. Things which could be project killers.
There is no question that Easterday Construction will comply with the new standards. It’s the law now. It currently applies to commercial and industrial projects in Indiana, but we will take what we consider the best of these things and discuss them with residential clients as well. Some of them make sense. Some of them that may not make sense to me today, may do so in the future. I sincerely hope that someone is doing the research to prove that the front end expense (in dollars and energy consumption) of complying with these regulations will pay for itself.
Today we had the ground breaking ceremony for Culver Garden Court. As you can see in the picture, actual ground breaking occurred over a week ago and we already half completed rough grading and have the building pad in place. There was a pretty good turnout including dignitaries from Culver and Plymouth as well as a representative from Congressman Joe Donnelly’s office. I was pleased that Culver Council President Ginny Munroe attended along with Council Members Ralph Winters and Ed Pinder. The Culver Town Manager, Michael Doss, was there as well as the Culver Clerk Treasurer, Casey Howard.
Culver Garden Court, Inc. is a HUD 202 project. It is a 13 unit assisted living facility for senior citizens. It is sponsored by Garden Court, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation located in Plymouth which has worked to provide affordable housing to Marshall County residents for over 40 years. It will be the 7th Garden Court built by Easterday Construction. We have been working for years trying to find suitable property for a Garden Court in Culver and are extremely pleased that the Culver Town Council had the foresight to help with this project and that Wade and Claudia McGee chose to make property available for this project.
Our contract with Garden Court and HUD allows us 12 months for completion, but we will strive to complete work in the 9-10 month range. We will work to have the facility weathered in quickly which will allow us to proceed with interior finishes even in inclement weather conditions.
President Obama on his relationship with the U.S. Chamber during his speech there on February 7, 2011.
I was amused when I saw that the Wisconsin State Senate Democrats were hiding in Illinois. Their new moniker as the FLEE Party was funny. Now I am ashamed to see that our Indiana State Representatives, including our local District 17 Representative, Nancy Dembowski, are doing the same. If you’re as embarrassed by her method of representing us as I am, please take the time to send her a note here: h17@in.gov
This is poor government, poor sportsmanship and just plain poor leadership. I received an email from the Indianapolis TEA Party that has a lot of interesting links if you want to follow up with them. You can see the email here. They are not only taking on the missing Democrats, but also the Governor and the Republican led Senate, asking for better leadership from our representative government. I don’t think this is an unreasonable request.
There is a billboard at the corner of S.R. 8 & S.R. 17 that I pass every day on the way to work. It has Nancy Dembowski’s smiling face telling me she’s my Representative. If that’s the case, why is she hiding in Illinois?