North Beach to Build 'Green' Town Hall

North Beach officials will build an environmentally friendly town hall, one of a handful of "green" buildings in Southern Maryland.

The Town Council agreed unanimously Jan. 10 to hire David Clements with Architectural Associates to design the building. Clements said he will use the standards of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) throughout the project.

An application for LEED certification must be submitted before construction, but a project does not receive official certification from the U.S. Green Building Council until the structure is completed. Certification is based on several criteria that aim to promote energy and water efficiency while upgrading indoor environmental quality, Clements said.

"The green building process will cost you 10 percent more," Clements told the council. However, using solar panels and other energy-saving measures could lead to significant savings on power bills, he said, in some instances, to the point of having the meter run backward.

A requirement for a LEED-certified building is that materials must come from within 500 miles of the construction site, "which means we are cutting down on trucks and pollution," Clements said. Incorporating renewable building materials is another requirement.

Clements will present preliminary sketches to town officials by the end of the month. He said the council will have full control in every step of the design process.

"It will be an interesting process," said Mayor Michael Bojokles.

The town council has set aside $2.16 million for the building, and future mortgage payments are factored into the budget, Bojokles said. The council also plans to request a grant of about $50,000 from the Maryland General Assembly toward the construction project, said Council member Gregg Dotson.

The former North Beach Town Hall was demolished last year.

The La Plata Town Hall is a LEED-certified building. A higher-education building in St. Mary's City and Chaney Enterprises in Waldorf have applied for LEED status, among other buildings in Southern Maryland.

Asian American Panel

Waldorf resident Tammy Pantages was appointed to the newly expanded Governor's Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs, Maryland Gov. Martin J. O'Malley (D) announced last week.

Pantages was chosen to be Southern Maryland's representative to the commission, as part of an expansion that created new positions for geographic areas of the state. Pantages is president of the Korean American Association of Southern Maryland, a job she will retain along with her membership on the state commission. She also chairs the Korean American Cultural Arts Foundation.