Rants
Indiana Energy Code
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?
- Additional electrical control sensors – additional things to break and things that the average maintenance man won’t be able to service. Optimizing the various control system will require a complicated set-up.
- Ducted returns will require additional sheet metal and associated installation labor.
- The low volume fan systems will require larger ducts and larger heating and cooling units. This could mean additional building height due to dead space between floors for duct work, larger mechanical rooms stealing usable floor space, etc. What about the costs of these additional materials, i.e. the bricks & mortar necessary to raise a building’s height to provide additional system space?
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.
Development on the South Side of Culver
As recently discussed here, the Culver Plan Commission rezoned the newly annexed area on the south side of Culver to a residential mix of R-1 and R-2. I think the annexation, the rezoning and the planned sewer and water extensions are positive steps towards growth. Now I think there should be a discussion about the future of this area.Culver Garden Court/Bureaucracy Rant
It seems that a day doesn’t go by that I don’t get asked about the status of the Culver Garden Court Project. I’m not sure why I should expect this phase of the project to go any smoother since it took years of promoting the project before finding a generous property owner willing to work with Garden Court for a site. Now that we have a site and the Town is behind the project and HUD has approved the funding, we have hit another wall of bureaucracy.
It is particularly frustrating when President Obama has been talking about expediting shovel-ready projects for the past two years. Is this how you expedite a project???
Time line:
July 2010 – Project Funding Announced: Generally on past projects the funding is determined and announced in the Spring, often in time for us to have an early to mid-summer start. This year the announcement was delayed until late July.
August 1st– Garden Court, Easterday Construction and B.A. Martin Architects meet to discuss finalizing plans. Garden Court attorney applies for the 501(c)3 status with the IRS. (HUD requires that each Garden Court be its own, separate, 501(c)3 non-profit entity.)
August 15 – Plans complete and sent out for bid.
September 1 – Prices in. Budget met. Easterday Construction is ready to go! No 501(c)3 status. Can’t close on property.
September 15 – HUD would REALLY like to have this project close before their year end of September 30th. Can they help expedite the 501(c)3 approval with the IRS? No.
September 30 – HUD year end passes. No 501(c)3 status. Project can’t close.
October 31 – Another month passed. No 501(c)3 status. Project can’t close.
November 30 – Another month passed. No 501(c)3 status. Project can’t close.
December 10 – We had been nursing hopes of still starting but Winter hits with a vengeance. Even with a closing, we would not be able to start, but… No 501(c)3 status. Project can’t close.
Present – As of this time, nothing has changed.
This project is not funded with “stimulus” money. This project falls under HUD’s regular budget. Washington is talking about expediting projects and they can’t even get their regular projects out the door in a timely fashion! Is it any wonder that stimulus money remains unspent 2+ years after it was budgeted?
There are a lot of good people involved with Garden Court Projects. The people at the local level are extremely dedicated to making these projects above and beyond the norm and the genuinely care about their elderly clientele. The Open House for the LaPaz Garden Court we just finished was heartwarming as usual, seeing all of those involved come together in the celebration of a new facility. The new residents were there to help celebrate and seemed thrilled with their new home. And it is a home. Garden Court strives to make it so.
My understanding is that the initial hold up with HUD’s funding was not at the local (Indianapolis) level. The people at HUD in Indy have been wonderful to work with on the last couple of projects. They seem to particularly like Garden Court projects and make a point to introducing the Garden Court representatives to their superiors at HUD when we are there for closings. Our site inspector for LaPaz Garden Court, Vera Atha, was knowledgeable and showed genuine interest in how the final product would serve the elderly residents. This hasn’t always been the case and it was refreshing! We were pleased to hear that we will be working with her again on the Culver project.
The hold up with the IRS is puzzling. As mentioned above, every one of the Garden Court properties is its own 501(c)3 corporation , so this isn’t something new nor is it an unfamiliar entity making the request. The Garden Court attorney has done this in the past, so there should be no issues with paperwork. To the best of my knowledge there hasn’t even been a request for additional information. We are assuming that now that we are into the holidays, it is unlikely that there will be any movement on this until after the first of the year.
To repeat, President Obama wants to expedite shovel-ready projects! How much more shovel-ready can you get??? To paraphrase the MasterCard Commercials:
- Project Funding in place? Check!
- Property under contract? Check!
- Plans complete? Check!
- Municipality requirements met? Check!
- Budget met? Check!
- Contractor ready to start? Check and double CHECK!
- One piece of paper from the IRS that is currently holding up the entire project? PRICELESS!
The Arrogance of Authority
A DEA officer stops at a ranch in Texas, and talks with an old rancher. He tells the rancher, “I need to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs.” The rancher says, “Okay, but don’t go in that field over there,” as he points out the location.
The DEA officer verbally explodes saying, “Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me.” Reaching into his rear pants pocket, he removes his badge and proudly displays it to the rancher. “See this badge? This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I wish… On any land. No questions asked or answers given. Have I made myself clear? Do you understand? “
The rancher nods politely, apologizes, and goes about his chores.
A short time later, the old rancher hears loud screams and sees the DEA officer running for his life chased by the rancher’s big Santa Gertrudis bull…
With every step the bull is gaining ground on the officer, and it seems likely that he’ll get gored before he reaches safety. The officer is clearly terrified. The rancher throws down his tools, runs to the fence and yells at the top of his lungs…
“Your badge. Show him your BADGE!”
Marshall County Innkeeper’s Tax
The Marshall County Council chose to increase the Innkeeper’s Tax from 3 to 5 percent. [Pilot News Article] I’ve had a disagreement with this tax since it first went into effect over a decade ago.
My first issue is the same as Dr. Watson’s. (See his letter to the editor here.) It is taxation without representation. It was originally passed “because we could” rather than because there was a need. Now it appears that it has been raised using the same rational. From the Pilot News Article: “Woolfington [Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director] pointed out that Marshall County was one of just a handful of counties in the state of Indiana that has held the tax at 3 percent. Adjacent counties have raised their tax to the 5 percent level and St. Joseph County is at 6 percent.” Mr. Woolfington then goes on to talk about our loss of a major hotel chain. Somehow I doubt that this was because they suffered a decline in business because they weren’t charging enough! How is raising our tax rate to match surrounding counties going to attract people to stay here?
My second issue with this has always been the Marshall County Visitor’s Guide. Despite the Innkeeper’s Tax, the first thing the newly formed Visitor’s and Convention Bureau did was to start shaking down local businesses and Chambers of Commerce for ads in their new visitor’s guide. Currently more than that 10% of the Culver Chamber of Commerce’s annual budget goes toward an ad in this guide. I was on the Culver Chamber Board when this went into effect and I voted against that budget item and the passing of the budget including that item until I left the board and I continued to vote against it as a Chamber member for several years after. (I now generally skip that meeting as my meal doesn’t sit well after that vote…) I considered it then and now a phenomenal waste of precious dollars…dollars requested by a tax funded entity of a volunteer organization. Dollars which wouldn’t need them if MCCVB was effective in it’s mission!
