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December 16, 2009
Focus on Illinois: Ground Broken for
SIU-Edwardsville Science Center
The top accomplishment for the 2009
Illinois legislative session was passage of a capital bill to
fund vital education and transportation infrastructure projects
throughout Southwestern Illinois. Since the bill’s passage
in the spring, the RCGA along with regional partners and
our legislative delegation strongly advocated for the science
building at Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville to be
included in the first phase of the State's Capital
Construction Plan. That successful effort became a
reality when Governor Quinn traveled to SIUE on December 1st to
officiate at the ground breaking ceremony for the $79 million
building.
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(From left)
IL Rep. Thomas Holbrook (D-Belleville),
IL Rep. Dan Beiser (D-Alton) in background),
IL Rep. Dan Rietz (R-Sparta), SIU
President Glenn Poshard, IL Gov. Pat Quinn, SIUE Chancellor
Vaughn Vandegrift, IL Sen. Deanna Demuzio
(D-Carlinville), IL Rep. Jay Hoffman
(D-Collinsville), IL. Rep. Ron Stephens
(D-Highland), and College of Arts and Sciences
Dean Aldemaro Romero. [SIUE Photo by Bill
Brinson]
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Governor Quinn stated,
"There's no better way to strengthen the economy than to invest
in education. We need to invest in SIUE, especially in science,
where there are good jobs to prepare and educate our students on
the rigor of the world's economy." SIUE Chancellor
Vaughn Vandegrift added, "Following a decade of
significant growth and demonstrated need, today marks a turning
point in the life of Southern Illinois
University-Edwardsville. We are thrilled to break ground on
the Science Building complex, a much-needed facility that will
allow us to meet the academic demands of our current students."
To
view a video of the groundbreaking ceremony click
here.
Overcrowding and outdated equipment have
led SIUE to conduct laboratory classes seven days
a week. SIUE will renovate the existing science
laboratory and construct a new 108,00 square foot facility to
accommodate growth of the science
programs.
The new
facility will house research and instructional laboratory space,
classrooms, offices and common areas. Renovations to the
existing 60,000 square foot facility include upgrades to the
HVAC, mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems, replacing
windows, and abating asbestos-containing materials.
With the
modern facility SIUE will be better positioned to
meet projected shortages in health care workers.
SIUE is home to the schools of Nursing and Pharmacy, science
programs through the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as the
SIU School of Dental Medicine in Alton. The project, slated
to begin next May, will create approximately 435
construction jobs and is scheduled to open by November
2011.
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| Rendering of new
SIU-Edwardsville science building, scheduled to open for classes
in November 2011. |
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New Science Building for Southern
Illinois University- Edwardsville
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New $79m building will replace 40-year
old classrooms and
laboratories
107,884 square foot facility will
accommodate 20 teaching labs, 49 research labs and 69 faculty
offices
New classrooms will be used for
biological sciences and the School of Nursing
Rooftop garden will be used to reduce stormwater
runoff
New building is scheduled to open
November 2011
The
existing 60,000 square foot building will be upgraded with new
mechanical and electrical systems
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RCGA
Testifies Before Missouri House Job Creation Committee on Capital
Formation Programs, Meets with State Leaders on MOSIRA
On November 30th the Missouri
House Job Creation and Economic Development Committee met in
Liberty, MO to learn more about economic development proposals
expected to arise during the 2010 session. At the request
of Committee Chairman Rep. Tim Flook, RCGA Vice
President of New Ventures and Capital Formation Jay
DeLong testified on the "Grow Me State"
Initiative. This initiative was developed to help
close Missouri's capital formation gap relative to other
states and spur growth of high-tech entrepreneurial
companies.
The "Grow Me State"
Initiative is part of the RCGA's overall strategy to
encourage Missouri to invest in innovation and capital
formation. Technology-based economic development helps
create high wage skilled jobs to grow the state's
economy. As the chart below depicts, wages in high-tech
industries significantly outpace those in other industries.
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(Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
2009.)
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However, Missouri has lagged other states in
investments in technology-based economic development to grow
jobs in science and technology, and its economy has
suffered. Per capita income in Missouri is
significantly lower than the U.S. average -- a gap that has been
increasing over the past several years (see chart below).
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(Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis,
2008.)
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The RCGA supports a Proof of
Concept forgivable loan fund, Seed Capital Co-Investment Fund,
and an Angel Tax Credit, along with innovative programs like the
Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA), to
help provide high-tech entrepreneurs with the resources they need
to increase their odds of success and generate new
jobs.
The RCGA has joined an informal coalition
of civic groups, business associations, and chambers of commerce
from around the state to educate lawmakers on the benefits of
MOSIRA, which would provide a stable source of funding for these
types of programs without impacting current general
revenue. The coalition has met with the Governor's office,
the Department of Economic Development, the Missouri Technology
Corporation, and legislative leaders to discuss the importance of
such a program to the state's future growth. For additional
information on the MOSIRA program click
here.
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RCGA
Kicks Off St. Louis High Performance Initiative to Advance "Green
Buildings" in St. Louis
More than 150 people attended the opening session
of the St. Louis High Performance Building Initiative,
a seminar series organized to promote the value of green
buildings. The RCGA is partnering with the U.S.
Green Building Council – St. Louis Regional Chapter on these
seminars to encourage businesses to “green every office” by
demonstrating that every employer can improve energy efficiency,
financial savings and workplace productivity through higher
performing buildings.
Moderated by Tracy Hart, President of Tarlton Corporation and
RCGA Energy and Environment
Chair, the first
seminar on December 7th featured national and local
examples of retrofitting workplaces into high performance
buildings. U.S. Representative Russ Carnahan, Chair
of the bi-partisan Congressional High Performance Building
Caucus, provided the keynote address and Robert
Lane, Director of Green the Capitol and
Christine Ramsdell, Manager of Space Planning and Design
for Enterprise Holdings, provided examples of how
buildings and office space can be renovated into high performing
buildings.
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(from left) Tracy Hart, U.S. Representative Russ Carnahan,
Christine Ramsdell and Robert Lane at the RCGA's and USGBC's High
Performance Building Initiative Seminar.
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Congressman
Carnahan said the United States is facing the challenge
of increased energy demand, and that making existing
buildings more efficient is one of the keys to meeting that
challenge. The U.S. Congress is working to reduce barriers
to financing of energy efficiency investments, access to
information, and training of a skilled green jobs
workforce. A proposed solution includes Property Assessment
Clean Energy (PACE) bonds to enable the up-front costs of new
energy efficient technology to be paid back from their property
taxes. Congressman Carnahan remarked that St. Louis has
many assets and the potential to become a leader in the green
economy. For audio of Congressman's address click here.
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Congressman Russ Carnahan addresses the
audience at the High Performance Building Initiative
seminar.
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Robert Lane, Director of Green
The Capitol, talked about the
sustainability initiative to transform the U.S. Capitol campus
and Congressional offices. Lane's strategies
cover six million square feet of government
buildings that house more than 10,000 employees. The
Green the Capitol goals are to: (1) aggressively reduce the
carbon footprint of the U.S. House of Representatives, (2) cut
energy consumption by 50% in 10 years, and (3) make the House a
model of sustainability. Since the initiative started in
2007, the Capitol has converted its power plant from coal to
natural gas, replaced 12,000 incandescent bulbs to compact
fluorescents, recycled 1,635 tons of paper and 41 tons of
bottles and cans, and composted 500 tons of food waste. The
Capitol now uses a virtual computer server for each Congressional
office to save energy and improve security. His
presentation is available by clicking on the graphic below.
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Click here for audio of this presentation.
Christine Ramsdell, Manager of Space
Planning and Design for Enterprise Holdings, discussed
the value that Enterprise Holdings places on sustainable
buildings. Enterprise Holdings chose to
"green" their facilities to show responsible leadership,
earn customer loyalty, and attract and retain employees.
Their fleet management center in Maplewood was certified as LEED
Silver in 2005 by the U.S. Green Building
Council, and their new
St. Louis Contact Center was LEED certified in 2009. Their
green buildings feature recycled materials in the office
furniture, locally-sourced construction materials, motion-sensing
HVAC controls, and water-saving plumbing.
Enterprise Holdings
offers carbon offsets at their rental locations across the globe
and is building green fleet rental centers in the United
States. The company also offers WeCar, a car sharing program, in downtown St. Louis
and at Washington University. Ms. Ramsdell concluded by
saying Enterprise Holdings will continue with sustainable
buildings because it benefits employees, improves retention and
recruitment, and shows that Enterprise listens to its customers.
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Click here for an audio of her presentation (with
introduction by Emily Andrews, Executive Director of the U.S.
Green Building Council - St. Louis Regional Chapter)
On January
7th, the High Performance Building Initiative will
continue with a seminar on the value of LEED Certification and
third-party verification, featuring presentations by Paul
Todd Merrill, Director of Sustainable Construction at
Clayco, Matt Malten, Assistant Vice Chancellor
for Sustainability at Washington University, and Marc
Lopata, Senior Vice President – Engineering, Azimuth
Energy Systems. The seminar series will conclude on
February 2nd with a discussion on financial incentives
for high performance buildings.
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UPCOMING
EVENTS
January
7th: High Performance
Building Initiative Seminar Series "Why A LEED Building? The
Value of Third Party Verification" with Paul
Todd Merrill, Director of Sustainable Construction,
Clayco, Matt Malten, Assistant Vice Chancellor
for Sustainability, Washington University, and Marc
Lopata, Sr. Vice President - Engineering, Azimuth Energy
Systems.
The seminar, sponsored by the RCGA and the U.S. Green
Building Council - St. Louis Regional Chapter, is from
7:30 to 9:30 a.m. on January 7th at the RCGA's
Regional Collaboration Center on the 13th
floor of One Metropolitan Square (211 N. Broadway) in downtown
St. Louis.
To register for this free event, contact Sherri
Bailey at sbailey@stlrcga.org.
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The
RCGAdvocate is published periodically to inform RCGA
members and government officials about important public policy
matters at the state, federal and local levels. It seeks to
provide timely, in-depth coverage on regional issues, and, at
times, to call RCGA members to action. We welcome your comments
and suggestions.
Richard C.D. Fleming ~ President
& CEO ~ (314) 444-1100 ~ dfleming@stlrcga.org
Chip Casteel
~ Senior V.P. of Public Policy ~ (314) 444-1107 ~ ccasteel@stlrcga.org
Susan Stauder ~ V.P.
of Infrastructure & Public Policy ~ (314) 444-1155
~ sstauder@stlrcga.org
Eric
Schneider ~ Senior Director of Public Policy Research ~ (314)
444-1148 ~ eschneider@stlrcga.org
Kevin Riggs ~ Director of Illinois
Government Affairs ~ (314) 444-1108 ~ kriggs@stlrcga.org
Christine Snively ~ Project Manager of
Public Policy ~ (314) 444-1144 ~ csnively@stlrcga.org
Sherri Bailey ~ Executive Assistant for Public Policy ~ (314)
444-1134 ~ sbailey@stlrcga.org
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