County Rejects Plan for Eco-Friendly Jail

HAILEY, Idaho — Blaine County ‘s commissioners failed to authorize design changes that could achieve LEED-certification for the county’s new $13 million jail that is within striking distance of USGBC recognition.

The Blaine County Public Safety Facility, designed by Boise-based architects Lombard-Conrad, already has 13 of the requisite 26 criteria points needed for standard LEED certification, officials say.

With site work on the project well under way, officials estimate the design changes and upgrades required to gain the remaining 13 points could cost more than $340,000. However, commissioners are divided on the upfront capital outlay, operational costs and practicalities of implementing several measures put forward by project architects.

An $86,000 proposal to cover half of the facility’s parking lot with concrete rather than asphalt to gain one LEED rating point for reducing the heat island effect met with some opposition. Commissioners raised concerns about using concrete, which is more expensive than alternatives, such as asphalt. Concrete is also less durable than alternatives, particularly when treated with de-icing agents, such as salt, and requires more maintenance, according to officials.

With the installation of photovoltaic solar panels ruled out by the design team, the LEED-endorsed option of contracting for two years from renewable energy providers was deemed prohibitive. Purchasing the facility’s power from renewable energy programs, such as wind, would increase annual baseline utility costs by an estimated $18,000, officials say.

Efforts to win a LEED rating point for the recycling of construction material and debris, primarily concrete slag in the case of the Blaine jail project, were also shelved by commissioners. The nearest concrete recycling site is more than 150 miles from Blaine and commissioners deemed the added expense incurred and extra pollution generated by trucking project materials over such distances was impractical, except as a last resort.

The board of commissioners approved $150,000 of enhancements to the current facility design, including energy-performance optimization, storm-water management and ozone-depletion mitigation initiatives, which would raise the facility’s LEED score to 19 points, officials say.