Construction expected to start this month on a building in the Canton Industrial Park marks a step in a historical venture among the town, village, St. Lawrence County, Industrial Development Agency and St. Lawrence NYSARC that started when the county needed to build a jail.
"It is part of a long-term partnership. The notion of developing an industrial park in the county seat has been talked about for years," said IDA Executive Director Patrick J. Kelly. "Undertaking this project, we're fulfilling that objective."
The 15,000-square-foot $1.9 million building, the first in the light industrial park, will be constructed near the county jail on Commerce Lane.
"It's been one of my priorities since I've been on the board," said IDA Chairman Brian W. Staples. "This building will be a lean structure, a green structure and one that purposefully meets the needs for development in a college community. There will be light industrial subsections, pods so to speak, available for economic development."
The building's design will include such features as high insulation values, creative use of natural lighting and a high-efficiency heating system. Wall and roof panels and trusses will be manufactured locally and installed by contractor Danko, Massena. The building will be wired for high-level computer applications.
The IDA expects to be one of the building's first tenants, becoming an on-site manager.
"Being the owner/occupant for this kind of facility makes sense," Mr. Kelly said.
The IDA expects to take about 3,500 square feet of the building for its offices. A microbrewery operated by the owners of the Blackbird Cafe in Canton is in the works to occupy 3,000 square feet.
"We plan to work with local colleges in Canton and Potsdam to develop this facility," Mr. Kelly said. "We think having the ability to offer a variety of spatial layouts will make it more appealing."
The industrial park's startup is also expected to draw attention to six commercial lots NYSARC owns that were developed as part of the package deal that made the jail possible.
"We haven't actively marketed them yet, but we will," said NYSARC Executive Director Daphne A. Pickert. "That was quite a thing when you think about the history."
In 2005, the town, village, county, IDA and NYSARC signed a memorandum of understanding that led to the jail's construction and development of the commercial and light industrial lots.
The municipalities agreed to annex property for the jail and industrial park lots into the village to connect to water and sewer lines. NYSARC gave the county land across its property to connect the site with a road to West Main Street. The IDA was to develop the park and provide utility access along the road to NYSARC lots.
"We co-designed a road that met the needs of the commercial lots, jail and park without making it a pass-through," Mr. Staples said.
The park represents the IDA's goals of creating assets that support the county's work force, its colleges and diversity of its communities, Mr. Kelly said. "This building is a step in that direction," he said.
2012年6月10日 星期日
2012年1月5日 星期四
Book Highlights Failings of Enviro Trends
Todd Myers of the Washington Policy Center has advanced the cause of environmental protection by writing "Eco-Fads: How the Rise of Trendy Environmentalism is Harming the Environment." He lays out a logical case as to the causes and effects of the modern rush to embrace trendy eco-fads and does a good job of explaining how most of the fads do not deliver the promised environmental benefits (in many cases they actually do harm to the environment).
"Eco-Fads" is divided into two parts. The first deals with explaining what eco-fads are and why they are promoted by many politicians, some businesses and most of the media. The second exposes the rationale, or lack thereof, for embracing the fads and how their proponents convince others to adopt their favored policies.
As pointed out in the book, compact fluorescent light bulbs have become the poster child for eco-fads. The problem — CFLs save energy but can cause harm to the environment because they contain hazardous mercury gas. Myers points out that the hypocrisy of environmentalists is startling when one considers their support of CFLs coupled with their crusade to eliminate mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, no matter what the cost to consumers.
Many environmentalists will find little to like in this book as the author uses rational thought and science to debunk many of their pet assumptions. "Eco-Fads" is a good read for the average consumer who wants to do the right thing for the environment but does not want to be taken advantage of by special interest groups or politicians with self-serving motives.
Lighting. Even though Tom Edison's incandescent light bulb won a nine-month reprieve from Congress last month, you may want to start the conversion anyway. Now-delayed efficiency rules were to require a phase-out of the old bulbs and a phase-in of more efficient bulbs such as compact fluorescent light bulbs or LED lights. Those more-efficient bulbs have a bit more expensive initial cost compared to a less-efficient light. But lower energy usage and a longer life from the new bulbs will make up for the higher purchase price.
Resolve this year to replace your incandescent light bulbs with CFLs or LEDs as they burn out, and start to save.
Heating water is the second-largest energy user in a home, so fix any dripping faucets. Otherwise, you're wasting water and the energy needed to heat it. After turning off electricity to the water heater at the service panel, set the water heater thermostats to 120 degrees. You might experiment by gradually reducing your water heater thermostat settings to find out what temperature works for you. Most have two thermostats, so be sure to set them both. Put insulation around your water pipes including the inlet and outlet piping above most water heaters.
Energy Star labeling. Buy appliances and electronics with the Energy Star label, which certifies that refrigerators use 15 percent less energy than their non-Energy Star peers, that dishwashers use 25 percent less, and clothes washers use 50 percent less. The orange Energy Forward sticker on TVs also indicates energy efficiency.
"Eco-Fads" is divided into two parts. The first deals with explaining what eco-fads are and why they are promoted by many politicians, some businesses and most of the media. The second exposes the rationale, or lack thereof, for embracing the fads and how their proponents convince others to adopt their favored policies.
As pointed out in the book, compact fluorescent light bulbs have become the poster child for eco-fads. The problem — CFLs save energy but can cause harm to the environment because they contain hazardous mercury gas. Myers points out that the hypocrisy of environmentalists is startling when one considers their support of CFLs coupled with their crusade to eliminate mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, no matter what the cost to consumers.
Many environmentalists will find little to like in this book as the author uses rational thought and science to debunk many of their pet assumptions. "Eco-Fads" is a good read for the average consumer who wants to do the right thing for the environment but does not want to be taken advantage of by special interest groups or politicians with self-serving motives.
Lighting. Even though Tom Edison's incandescent light bulb won a nine-month reprieve from Congress last month, you may want to start the conversion anyway. Now-delayed efficiency rules were to require a phase-out of the old bulbs and a phase-in of more efficient bulbs such as compact fluorescent light bulbs or LED lights. Those more-efficient bulbs have a bit more expensive initial cost compared to a less-efficient light. But lower energy usage and a longer life from the new bulbs will make up for the higher purchase price.
Resolve this year to replace your incandescent light bulbs with CFLs or LEDs as they burn out, and start to save.
Heating water is the second-largest energy user in a home, so fix any dripping faucets. Otherwise, you're wasting water and the energy needed to heat it. After turning off electricity to the water heater at the service panel, set the water heater thermostats to 120 degrees. You might experiment by gradually reducing your water heater thermostat settings to find out what temperature works for you. Most have two thermostats, so be sure to set them both. Put insulation around your water pipes including the inlet and outlet piping above most water heaters.
Energy Star labeling. Buy appliances and electronics with the Energy Star label, which certifies that refrigerators use 15 percent less energy than their non-Energy Star peers, that dishwashers use 25 percent less, and clothes washers use 50 percent less. The orange Energy Forward sticker on TVs also indicates energy efficiency.
2011年11月9日 星期三
Hubbell Lighting Illuminates New Home for Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority
Designed by the Rhode Island-based architectural firm of Robinson Green Beretta (RGB) and Boston-headquartered Architectural Engineers, Inc (AEI), the new $34 million transit operations facility in Providence, RI began construction in 2008 and was completed in 2010.
Intended to consolidate operations previously spread out in several buildings, the overall RIPTA design and build objective was to create a facility to house RIPTA operations for at least the next 80 years, said John Racine, RGB's project architect. In addition to housing administrative offices, the 140,000 sq. ft. building provides space for total bus maintenance tasks, now to be conducted under one roof.
The result of the two-year plus construction project is a state-of-the-art building in terms of maintenance, electronics, and security, and one that reflects the traditional look of New England architecture. Examples of the facility's high design include a white membrane roof to effectively dissipate heat build-up; moisture barriers that provide as much drainage as possible; the largest installation of heavy-duty street pavers in New England; a parking deck on the roof, also unusual for New England architecture; and high efficiency lighting systems both inside and outside the building.
Extensive tests of light fixtures employing metal halide, fluorescent and LED light sources were conducted prior to final luminaire selection, according to David Walkenstein, a senior electrical engineer at AEI who developed the electrical plan, including the lighting design. The exhaustive tests covered life-cycle studies, distribution patterns and overall costs, he said.
With studies completed and evaluated, eight of the 21 iconic brands manufactured by Hubbell Lighting were chosen to illuminate the new RIPTA building. Architectural Area Lighting's Providence series (the name is coincidental to the project location) with decorative cast bases make up most of the roof parking deck and site lighting. Hubbell Outdoor flood lights and Spaulding Laredo wall packs are employed around the building perimeter. Spaulding Cimarron rectilinear fixtures and Hubbell Industrial class 1 explosion-proof fixtures are used at the fueling station. Topping off the site, Kim Lighting in-grade fixtures illuminate the flag and flagpole.
The areas inside the building are divided into bus parking/storage, maintenance garage, wash bays, fueling, and administration, and feature 4 and 6- lamp T8 fluorescent industrial high bay lighting fixtures from Columbia Lighting. Considering life-cycle costs, including initial cost, power consumption and periodic maintenance for 300 fixtures, plus about 30+ UL wet location luminaries in the wash bays, these were the best solution noted Walkenstein.
The interior corridors are lit with Prescolite low brightness compact fluorescent down lights, and administration offices use Columbia Lighting's Stratus Series indirect/direct center basket light fixtures. Back of the house areas, file copy rooms, and maintenance closets and storage are lit with 100+ of Columbia Lighting's corridor and shallow wrap around fluorescent fixtures.
Completing the lighting of RIPTA's new home, Walkenstein integrated life safety egress path lighting into Prescolite down lights using Dual-Lite integral emergency battery backup and supplemented with Dual-Lite explosion-proof units in hazardous storage areas.
Intended to consolidate operations previously spread out in several buildings, the overall RIPTA design and build objective was to create a facility to house RIPTA operations for at least the next 80 years, said John Racine, RGB's project architect. In addition to housing administrative offices, the 140,000 sq. ft. building provides space for total bus maintenance tasks, now to be conducted under one roof.
The result of the two-year plus construction project is a state-of-the-art building in terms of maintenance, electronics, and security, and one that reflects the traditional look of New England architecture. Examples of the facility's high design include a white membrane roof to effectively dissipate heat build-up; moisture barriers that provide as much drainage as possible; the largest installation of heavy-duty street pavers in New England; a parking deck on the roof, also unusual for New England architecture; and high efficiency lighting systems both inside and outside the building.
Extensive tests of light fixtures employing metal halide, fluorescent and LED light sources were conducted prior to final luminaire selection, according to David Walkenstein, a senior electrical engineer at AEI who developed the electrical plan, including the lighting design. The exhaustive tests covered life-cycle studies, distribution patterns and overall costs, he said.
With studies completed and evaluated, eight of the 21 iconic brands manufactured by Hubbell Lighting were chosen to illuminate the new RIPTA building. Architectural Area Lighting's Providence series (the name is coincidental to the project location) with decorative cast bases make up most of the roof parking deck and site lighting. Hubbell Outdoor flood lights and Spaulding Laredo wall packs are employed around the building perimeter. Spaulding Cimarron rectilinear fixtures and Hubbell Industrial class 1 explosion-proof fixtures are used at the fueling station. Topping off the site, Kim Lighting in-grade fixtures illuminate the flag and flagpole.
The areas inside the building are divided into bus parking/storage, maintenance garage, wash bays, fueling, and administration, and feature 4 and 6- lamp T8 fluorescent industrial high bay lighting fixtures from Columbia Lighting. Considering life-cycle costs, including initial cost, power consumption and periodic maintenance for 300 fixtures, plus about 30+ UL wet location luminaries in the wash bays, these were the best solution noted Walkenstein.
The interior corridors are lit with Prescolite low brightness compact fluorescent down lights, and administration offices use Columbia Lighting's Stratus Series indirect/direct center basket light fixtures. Back of the house areas, file copy rooms, and maintenance closets and storage are lit with 100+ of Columbia Lighting's corridor and shallow wrap around fluorescent fixtures.
Completing the lighting of RIPTA's new home, Walkenstein integrated life safety egress path lighting into Prescolite down lights using Dual-Lite integral emergency battery backup and supplemented with Dual-Lite explosion-proof units in hazardous storage areas.
2011年11月2日 星期三
Videos teach DIY car repair
Chambers is a fan of website EricTheCarGuy.
"His website also ties into his YouTube videos, so not only can I search his website for his forum info but also his videos," he said.
Chambers used online information on an Acura to change the gear shift in his Volvo XC90 sport utility vehicle.
Rather than buying the part at the local dealer, he also saved money ordering the Volvo gear shift online.
"The part cost $131, and the dealer quoted me $212," he said.
It took Chambers about 45 minutes to get his Volvo gear shift changed.
"I easily have saved $400 to $500 on this repair doing it myself," he said.
David Hettena, is another repair enthusiast and YouTube fan.
"YouTube is great, because unlike looking at pictures in a book, you can actually see how someone takes something apart," he said.
He did his own step-by-step oil change on his 1990 Lexus.
He takes it to a do-it-yourself shop in Denton, MyBay Automotive, where he can rent a lift for the car.
"I can save a tremendous amount of money," said Hettena, who has been doing his own repairs for years. "Instead of paying a $100 for full synthetic oil, I can get it done for $40 or $30. Air filter changes cost me $5 in five minutes."
Hettena also uses online car forums, which can be found by Googling for a car's make and model.
He found the step-by-step instructions for his Lexus' oil change by doing that.
"It can really make you an expert just by doing a little bit of research," he said.
Jessica Konderla had never watched a YouTube tutorial on car repairs but was willing to give it a try.
"It doesn't seem that difficult," said Konderla, whose father is a mechanic and the shop manager at Rick and Ray's Auto Plaza in Fort Worth.
With her dad sitting next to her, she watched a YouTube video on how to change a car battery and successfully replaced her corroded battery with a new one.
But changing her headlight bulb after watching a how-to video wasn't nearly as easy.
"It was harder than it looked definitely," said Konderla, who didn't get that job done.
"I like the experiment," said her father, Ray Konderla. "But it showed that sometimes, it looks easier than it turns out to be."
He said many jobs are simply too tough for people to watch a video on and then perform on their own car.
Ray Konderla said he has clients who watch YouTube to learn how to do their own car repairs.
"One of my friends fixed his own break rotors," he said. "Of course, I was upset, because he didn't bring it to me, but it saved him some money."
But even shops will reference videos when they get a repair problem they've never seen before.
"The videos can be a great guide," he said.
"His website also ties into his YouTube videos, so not only can I search his website for his forum info but also his videos," he said.
Chambers used online information on an Acura to change the gear shift in his Volvo XC90 sport utility vehicle.
Rather than buying the part at the local dealer, he also saved money ordering the Volvo gear shift online.
"The part cost $131, and the dealer quoted me $212," he said.
It took Chambers about 45 minutes to get his Volvo gear shift changed.
"I easily have saved $400 to $500 on this repair doing it myself," he said.
David Hettena, is another repair enthusiast and YouTube fan.
"YouTube is great, because unlike looking at pictures in a book, you can actually see how someone takes something apart," he said.
He did his own step-by-step oil change on his 1990 Lexus.
He takes it to a do-it-yourself shop in Denton, MyBay Automotive, where he can rent a lift for the car.
"I can save a tremendous amount of money," said Hettena, who has been doing his own repairs for years. "Instead of paying a $100 for full synthetic oil, I can get it done for $40 or $30. Air filter changes cost me $5 in five minutes."
Hettena also uses online car forums, which can be found by Googling for a car's make and model.
He found the step-by-step instructions for his Lexus' oil change by doing that.
"It can really make you an expert just by doing a little bit of research," he said.
Jessica Konderla had never watched a YouTube tutorial on car repairs but was willing to give it a try.
"It doesn't seem that difficult," said Konderla, whose father is a mechanic and the shop manager at Rick and Ray's Auto Plaza in Fort Worth.
With her dad sitting next to her, she watched a YouTube video on how to change a car battery and successfully replaced her corroded battery with a new one.
But changing her headlight bulb after watching a how-to video wasn't nearly as easy.
"It was harder than it looked definitely," said Konderla, who didn't get that job done.
"I like the experiment," said her father, Ray Konderla. "But it showed that sometimes, it looks easier than it turns out to be."
He said many jobs are simply too tough for people to watch a video on and then perform on their own car.
Ray Konderla said he has clients who watch YouTube to learn how to do their own car repairs.
"One of my friends fixed his own break rotors," he said. "Of course, I was upset, because he didn't bring it to me, but it saved him some money."
But even shops will reference videos when they get a repair problem they've never seen before.
"The videos can be a great guide," he said.
2011年10月14日 星期五
The Big Flush: $180 billion vanishes from Michigan
Michigan home- and business owners have lost an astounding $180 billion from the value of their properties over the past four years — the result of auto company bankruptcies, a severe national recession and the worst state economy in more than 70 years — according to an analysis of state data by Bridge Magazine.
Adjusted for inflation, property values have plunged 27 percent since 2007. In other words, Michigan homeowners and businesses have lost about $1 in every $4 of property value they once possessed.
The $180 billion loss in value is an amount five times larger than General Motors’ market capitalization. It represents an average loss of $18,200 for every Michigan resident.
Experts say the real estate collapse could slow Michigan’s economic recovery for years as residential, commercial and industrial properties reset at much lower values.
“That may be the biggest story as far as Michigan’s economy is concerned,” said Michigan State University economist Charles Ballard.
Booming home prices and the easy availability of home equity loans in Michigan once allowed big-spending homeowners to use their property as virtual ATM machines. They pulled out hundreds of millions of dollars in equity to buy cars, big screen televisions and other purchases that kept the economy humming.
Each year, the state of Michigan collects property value information from all local governments in the state. Using this data, Bridge compared values in 2007 to values in 2011, both in raw figures and adjusting for inflation. The result was “Big Flush,” a loss of more than $180 billion in Michigan assets in a four-year span.
Not anymore. The crash in the value of Michigan’s homes and other property shut off the lights at this party.
The total value of Michigan’s property has plunged 20 percent since topping out at $906 billion in 2007. Today, Michigan’s real estate is worth $726 billion, according to Bridge’s review of Treasury Department data.
That has resulted in a variety of negative impacts for the state’s economy, schools and local governments.
Homeowners no longer have equity available to finance big-ticket purchases or to remodel their homes.
Unemployed homeowners or those with better job opportunities can’t go after jobs in other locations because they can’t sell their houses for as much as they need to pay off mortgages. And the high rate of foreclosures is pushing values down further.
Kelly Sweeney, chief executive of Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel, said the number of sales and prices of owner-occupied homes in Oakland County has started to rise as Michigan has added about 70,000 jobs this year.
Adjusted for inflation, property values have plunged 27 percent since 2007. In other words, Michigan homeowners and businesses have lost about $1 in every $4 of property value they once possessed.
The $180 billion loss in value is an amount five times larger than General Motors’ market capitalization. It represents an average loss of $18,200 for every Michigan resident.
Experts say the real estate collapse could slow Michigan’s economic recovery for years as residential, commercial and industrial properties reset at much lower values.
“That may be the biggest story as far as Michigan’s economy is concerned,” said Michigan State University economist Charles Ballard.
Booming home prices and the easy availability of home equity loans in Michigan once allowed big-spending homeowners to use their property as virtual ATM machines. They pulled out hundreds of millions of dollars in equity to buy cars, big screen televisions and other purchases that kept the economy humming.
Each year, the state of Michigan collects property value information from all local governments in the state. Using this data, Bridge compared values in 2007 to values in 2011, both in raw figures and adjusting for inflation. The result was “Big Flush,” a loss of more than $180 billion in Michigan assets in a four-year span.
Not anymore. The crash in the value of Michigan’s homes and other property shut off the lights at this party.
The total value of Michigan’s property has plunged 20 percent since topping out at $906 billion in 2007. Today, Michigan’s real estate is worth $726 billion, according to Bridge’s review of Treasury Department data.
That has resulted in a variety of negative impacts for the state’s economy, schools and local governments.
Homeowners no longer have equity available to finance big-ticket purchases or to remodel their homes.
Unemployed homeowners or those with better job opportunities can’t go after jobs in other locations because they can’t sell their houses for as much as they need to pay off mortgages. And the high rate of foreclosures is pushing values down further.
Kelly Sweeney, chief executive of Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel, said the number of sales and prices of owner-occupied homes in Oakland County has started to rise as Michigan has added about 70,000 jobs this year.
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