King County honors its employees with Building Green Awards

More than three dozen King County employees, whose work during 2006 helped King County maintain its position as a national leader in sustainable building practices, were honored recently for their dedication to providing excellent and innovative public service.

King County’s “Excellence in Building Green Awards” for 2006 were announced during an event featuring Executive Ron Sims and Department of Natural Resources and Parks Director Pam Bissonnette.

Six separate project teams were honored for their work, which has benefited both the environment and King County taxpayers, Sims said.

“I’m so proud of the work that King County employees have accomplished,” Sims said. “This innovative and environmentally responsible work ensures a healthier community and shows fiscal responsibility in getting the job done right.”

The winners of Excellence in Building Green Awards for 2006 are:

First Northeast Transfer Station Project Team - Lisa Williams and Patrick Domres, Solid Waste Division (SWD).

In planning King County’s next generation of solid waste transfer station, the team has developed a facility that will save more than 50 percent of the energy than current transfer station designs. The transfer station’s roof collects rainwater that will be used to wash down the floor, while ample natural light reduces the need for additional electric lighting. When completed later this year, the project is on track to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold status.

Military Road South - South 272nd Street Project Team - Don Bleasdale (Roads Services Division - RSD), Dan Sahagun (RSD), Manuela Winter (RSD), Dean Wilson (RSD), Marc Wilgus (Water and Land Resources Division - WLRD); Technical Advisory and Support Staff: Kate Rhoads (WLRD), Steve Foley (WLRD), Jim Sussex (RSD), Ronda Strauch (RSD), Lindsey Shepherd (RSD), Cindy Clark (RSD).

This project’s design uses low-impact development strategies in an arterial intersection improvement. The design includes porous concrete sidewalks, a linear bio-retention facility and a hybrid “rain garden” design for stormwater management. The project received a $400,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology. To fulfill grant requirements, the project will monitor the performance of the porous sidewalks and bio-retention facility for three years after construction. Interpretive signage, a Web site, project tours, public presentations other public education tools will all be used as project information sources.

South Treatment Plant Administration Building Team – Jacquelynn Roswell (Wastewater Treatment Division), Bill Williams (WTD), Jim Maloney (WTD),
Roger Browne (WTD), Eddie Tate (WTD), Jo Sullivan (WTD), Steve Tolzman (WTD),
Terry Smith (WTD), Clayton Wiek (WTD), Kinley Deller (Solid Waste Division - SWD).

This project features an innovative application of re-use, deconstruction and recycling strategies – including materials that will be used in another King County-sponsored project. The new building will use reclaimed water for toilet flushing and landscape irrigation, while a solar wall will be installed that will pre-heat air to reduce overall building energy consumption. The project, which is currently being advertised for competitive bid, is in line with LEED Silver certification.

King County South Park Custodial Landfill Brownfield Redevelopment Project Team – Anne Holmes, (SWD), Shirley Jurgensen (SWD), Kevin Kiernan (SWD), Tom Theno (SWD), Kathryn Killinger (Prosecuting Attorney’s Office), Rod Hansen (retired SWD), Noel Treat (Department of Executive Services), Bob Thompson (Department of Executive Services), Ray Moser (Business Relations and Economic Development).

This project to develop a vacant, custodial landfill in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood fulfilled the goals of citizens and industrial interests to provide industrial jobs in the area. King County performed an investigation of the old landfill in the 1990’s that an industrial developer sufficient information to become interested in the project and purchase the 19.4-acre site in 2006. King County is supporting the developer as they obtain the necessary permits and plans to remediate the property and build an industrial development that will provide hundreds of jobs on one of the largest such properties in the area.

148th Avenue Northeast Pedestrian Improvements Team – Kevin Chang (RSD), Jim Eagan (RSD), Frank Overton (RSD), David Watson (Transit), Phillip Rutan (RSD).

This project, located east of Woodinville along 148th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 172nd Street, enhanced sight distance along a curve and improved safety for pedestrians and motorists. Although it is a small project, it is worthy of recognition because the potential impact on future construction projects is large. The project successfully used a 50/50 mix of slag in the concrete, allowing staff to test this material. Slag is a byproduct of iron production that, when mixed in cement, can replace a significant percent of the Portland cement used in concrete mixes.  Using slag as an additive reduces greenhouse gas emissions generated in the production of Portland cement and removes slag from the waste stream. Slag also improves concrete strength and durability.

Marymoor Maintenance Facility Project Team - John McCarthy (Department of Executive Services) and Butch Lovelace, Parks Division.

Although this building project is modest in scope, the project team worked to ensure that it will achieve LEED certification. The facility was completed and occupied in July 2006 and the project awaits a LEED Silver rating certification.  The facility consists of an office and adjoining shop and a separate larger equipment storage facility.  Rainfall is collected from the roofs of both buildings and saved in water storage tanks. Reclaimed water will be used to clean lawn and trail maintenance equipment. The office contains a break room, restrooms (with a waterless urinal), and a small shop.  Recycled-content materials were used throughout both buildings.

The winners’ awards were made of recycled glass and were designed and created by Bedrock Industries, a King County Link-Up partner that produces several home and garden products using recycled glass.

More information on building green in King County is available at
http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/greenbuilding/index.asp on the Internet.