Mat-Su elementary school gets energy certificate

MAT-SU — Fred and Sara Machetanz Elementary School was named last month as the first school in the state to merit a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certificate.

The LEED program is a third-party corporation that helps rate and set standards for environmentally sound building construction and renovation around the nation. It’s the measuring stick used by the U.S. Green Building Council to evaluate a building’s energy efficiency.

The LEED certification has four award levels: basic certification, silver, gold and platinum, said Bob Beltech, project manager for the Mat-Su Valley Borough.

Beltech was pleased with the school’s silver rating, but added that, “We just missed a gold certification, and that is quite amazing because we already had the building designed before the borough mandated the LEEDs certification, and thus the 10,000-square-foot building was redesigned and formatted to meet qualifications.”

The school’s design change made some problems for McCool Carlson Green Architects, the firm awarded the contract to build the school. But Beltech said the firm worked hard and even dipped into its own pockets to help meet the LEED certification, as did Collins Construction, the general contractor.

“The borough jumped right into meeting green certifications and the designer and builder planned and used recyclable material and made other changes in the building to meet certification, like having insulated heat systems in the gym and the kindergarten classrooms,” he said.

However, Beltech said that some new designs in the school’s layout allowed for maximum gains in energy efficiency, especially the construction of multi-use classrooms.

“It was time to revamp with a new prototype,” he said. “The Machetanz school is still the same size as other schools, but has increased functionality.”

This new design of schools with more functionality and green energy ratings is something that is happening across the valley.

“We have been trying to make our schools energy efficient, and some older schools can be retrofitted to be made more energy efficient,” said Catherine Esary, spokeswoman for the school district. “As of now, 19 buildings have been rated as energy star efficient.”

The push to become more energy efficient is something McCool Carlson Green Architects has seen more of in recent months. Crystal Barnes, marketing coordinator of the firm, said that since handling the design of Machetanz, the company has had several other projects wanting to meet LEED certification.

“I think we (Alaskans) were on a slow start in becoming energy efficient, but we are fast track now,” she said. “And part of the issue is the inclement weather up here, it is just more difficult to be green.”

Contact Lanier Hutcheson at lanier.hutcheson@frontiersman.com or 352-2265.