2009-10-30 - Laserfiche WebLink

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To: Honorable Mayor Adams and Council From: Julie Feier, City Manager Date: October 30, 2009 Subject: Weekly Update The St. Louis Business Journal honored the City of University City last night with a “Heroes of the Plant” award . It was very humbling to receive recognition for the over 40 years of practice implemented by the University City leadership. More recently, the efforts of Public Works Director Evelyn Shields-Benford and the Green Practice Committee continue to push the City to achieve more even during difficult financial and political times. In today’s St. Louis Business Journal, the City was complimented for the joint purchasing agreement spearheaded by Petree Eastman, taking the lead for seven area municipalities to purchase recycled paper, the UHome-UCity project and our ongoing commitment to LEED construction for municipal buildings. In addition, the East-West Gateway Council of Governments notified the City this week Outstanding Local Government Achievement Award for that we won an Leadership in Planning and Design Innovation. The award is granted to honor “forward thinking planning and design for public spaces or community development that challenges the way people think about their surroundings”. This year the award will recognize the evolution of the City’s efforts to get new affordable green homes built on Bartmer and Crest in the northeast quadrant of the City as a pilot for future sustainable development. The City made the affirmative step of purchasing and clearing title on five vacant lots with foresight that LEED-Platinum homes would be built on them to help revitalize the area and demonstrate how green homes reduce energy usage and costs of operating a home. Bartmer and Crest are a few short blocks to all amenities that residents would need to live healthy lives with reduced auto dependency. The City accepted the proposal of Arcturis, BOA Construction and Washington University Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts to become a partner in the venture. Homebuyers will work with the architecture studio to finalize the designs on their homes to be built by BOA Construction. The green homes team will soon launch the UHome-UCity project. To make sure that all residents in the neighborhood have the opportunity to live in a more sustainable way, the City is coordinating efforts with the St. Louis County Community Action Agency to weatherize all income eligible homes on the block (for free). The City is also working to find a way to provide a common energy source for the entire block as well as pursuing storm-water runoff reduction techniques. The design process will begin in January and assuming buyers are found, construction is scheduled