Energize Clinton County

Design help spurs downtown investment

by Parker Hoar
ECC Architect in Residence

While I was finishing my masters of architecture at the Technical University in Berlin, I learned about the work ECC. As I finished my degree, I was very interested in working in a rural community looking to build a new identity for itself, and joined ECC in June to contribute design services to some of its existing projects, and expand offerings that support improvements to cultural and capital value of the built environment. I’ve worked on village planning projects for Blanchester, marketing images for a local food processing industrial development, graphic design for the Buy Local campaign, and architectural design and documentation services for potential renovations and new construction projects in the area.

The renovation of 20 North South Street currently underway in downtown Wilmington is a good example of the potential impact that providing architectural services through ECC can have. When we started looking at how we could improve our spaces in the downtowns, and make it a place people wanted to be, we looked first at the buildings. After identifying architecturally significant buildings that could use repair, we contacted their owners offering free schematic design services to those interested in renovating. The owner of 20 North South was the first to respond.

Like many of its downtown neighbors in Clinton County the building was created with an elegant bone structure, stately windows, and a facade that was both handsome and durable- designed to serve and represent the community for several generations. But many of the older buildings of interest, and particularly 20 North South showed that the way in which they were being maintained and used had shifted over time, and it was a shift that moved away from preserving the original character of place.

20 North South was part of a community wide shift that no longer saw the same value in the architectural design as the original property investors did. An investigation of 20 North South revealed that a cast iron facade with its detailed columns from the famed storefront manufacturer Mesker Co., had literally been covered up with generic plywood- preventing something with character and history from being shared in the public space. After some schematic designs of how the building could better express its earlier qualities, the covering wood has been removed and the original columns and window frames are now exposed and ready to be restored.

Of the dozen or so properties I’ve documented for possible renovation projects, there are some real gems, that are clearly undervalued spaces that could become great to live and work in, or to be shared publicly. It may not be a single project that returns understanding for the relationship between craftsmanship, design and the creation of valuable spaces, but peeling off the layers that ignored the rich architectural past of our community is certainly a good start.

October 31, 2011

Energy Efficiency supporting local businesses

Since last year, ECC has pioneered a partnership with the University of Dayton’s Building Energy Center and Professor Dr. Kevin Hallinan to provide analysis and technical capacity to community-scale energy efficiency projects. ECC worked with UD to provide commercial energy efficiency analysis to local business owners. In 2011, the team UD provided 15 in depth energy assessments which recommendations (equivalent to $30,000 worth of audits), many of which had returns on investment (ROI) of just a few years.

One of the first businesses we worked with was Swindler and Sons Florists, the project is now finished and the results are exciting. Dr. Hallinan and the UD Engineering students toured Swindlers several months ago and came up with this list of recommendations for improving their businesses energy usage:

1. Install Thermal Curtain in Active Greenhouse
2. Add Drop Ceiling to storage and Work Areas and Insulate Space Above
3. Replace single-paned roofing for greenhouses with Lexan Thermoclear panels
4. Add insulation to North and East walls of greenhouse
5. Add stone walls to East Side and Floor of greenhouse

Items 2, 3, and 4 will be completed by November 31st. The estimated cost of these items is $5015 for the drop ceiling, $6200 to replace the glass with the Lexan panels, and $2190 for the added insulation for a total $13,405.

Through a grant that we received from G&J Pepsi of $10,000, ECC was able to contribute $2,000 to the projects. On top of this, Swindler’s received approximately $2500 from a Vectren energy efficiency program, totaling approximately $4500 in grant funding for the projects.

With savings around $3300/year, the estimated simple payback in years for each of these 3 items (2,3, and 4) ranges from 2.4 years to 5.4 years. These renovation projects were the most expensive ones on the list and happen to have the quickest payback leaving Swindler’s with the potential of seeing the full return of their investment in around 4 years!

Green glass before improvements

Greenhouse glass replaced with Lexan Thermoclear panels

A former greenhouse now used as a work space is insulated with blown-in insulation

Work space gets a dropped ceiling and insulation

Along with Swindler & Sons, the Red Brick on Main, Dove Church, and the General Denver Hotel have made investments to improve their energy efficiency after receiving audits from Dr. Hallinan and his students.

As a local business of nearly 100 years in our community, Swindlers and Sons does more than sell flowers, they employ local people, add to the diversity of small business, are rooted in our community, and are a necessary part of having a healthy, diverse, vibrant local economy and community. Swindlers invests in our community, and- with your support- ECC is proud to invest in Swindlers.

Moving forward, we’re excited to build upon our successes working with small business by helping Clinton County residents save energy at home. Since June, we’ve been piloting a new system developed by Dr. Hallinan and his team which generates Energy Report Cards for residents using some basic household info and a year’s worth of energy data. In our initial pilot, we provided energy report cards to 90 Clinton County households. In the coming weeks, we’ll be launching a new on-line platform called Dropoloy which will allow households to get on-demand household energy report cards and advice on ways to save energy.

Get a preview of the Dropoly platform here.

October 31, 2011

Solar Questions

In the last week, solar energy a number of questions have been raised around the value of solar energy and the Return on Investment of the city’s recently completed solar project. To shed some light on the issue, we are happy to share the 30 year pro forma prepared by Hull & Associates, the engineering firm which managed the project.

>> READ THE 30 YEAR PRO FORMA

Here are the highlights:

• It shows a return for the city of $367,807 over the 30 year life span of the panels.
• That number doesn’t include the $56,000 in Renewable Energy Credits that Hull & Associates takes over the first 8 years to pay back the matching funds they put up for the grant (that’s how the city dealt with not putting any money upfront for the project).
• So in total, the project will generate $423,807
• The total value of the project is equal to a 20% ROI on the $352,600 grant received by the city.

It’s important to remember that the city didn’t have to put any local money up front for this project due to an arrangement they reached with Hull & Associates. Hull agreed to provide the matching money for the grant in exchange for the Renewable Energy Credits produced by the installation for the first 8 years. So for the City of Wilmington, all savings generated by the project is a net gain.

A few thoughts:

Investing in innovation: In the business world, innovation can have a high price. It can be risky, it can have a very low payback or no payback at all. But businesses invest in innovation because standing still isn’t enough to stay alive. Community also have to innovate. This can be risky and pricey for community as well. For us, the city solar project provided an opportunity for our community to innovate and actually gain economically (as highlighted above) with no risk (no local money had to be used for the project).

Three years ago, there was very little discussion locally, or nationwide, about renewable energy. Today, the US renewable energy market is poised for a major boom, as highlighted by a report published this month by PricewaterhouseCoopers. When we began our work, we felt the need to help the community innovative and build capacity so that we could be on the front edge of adopting the technologies of the future and attracting the businesses of the future.

The city’s solar project was an important learning experience for all of us. Not only did we gain in-depth knowledge of the technical and economic specifics of solar energy, we also came to understand how renewable energy systems interface and integrate into our larger energy grid. But knowing how it works is only have the battle, actually putting knowledge into action is required for real innovation to take place.  Any business in Clinton County that is interested in trying solar in the future will benefit from this experience and the ability to see a working unit in action. Furthermore, this experience makes us far more prepared to adopt future technologies as they emerge. We’ve taken a big step down the experience curve, and are more ready for the future.

Use of incentives: There will also be disagreement from some about state and federal incentives for projects like this. It seems to break down in two ways. First, whether incentives should be used to promote renewable energy. It has always been our position that Ohio and the country are moving towards an energy system that balances existing fossil fuel energy sources with emerging renewable technologies. We see other countries like China moving in this direction at a rapid pace, and to keep up we need to use incentives that make sense.

The other question is whether we should embrace state and federal grant and incentive programs that bring resources to our community. We believe that we should consider every opportunity to bring resources to our community that help us build capacity. As our local resources are stretched thinner and thinner, we strongly believe that taking advantage of strategic opportunities to bring in grant dollars to push our community forward during a difficult economic time is essential for our community.

October 27, 2011

ECC Awarded USDA Rural Development Grant

October 17, 2011

ECC and City of Wilmington Celebrates Solar Installation

As many of you may recall, we worked with the City of Wilmington back in the fall of 2009 on a Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant to do a solar install at a City site. After many dedicated hours from the Mayor’s Office and especially by Laura Curliss, and months of patiently waiting, we finally were able to officially cut the ribbon (on 9/30) for this awesome project for the City of Wilmington.The 56kw system is located at the former Randall Textron facility (a brown field remidiation site) which is now owned by the City of Wilmington and occupied by Total Baking Solutions off of Nelson Ave, fittingly near the Luther Warren Peace trail.

While this project is no utility-scale solar field, it is a milestone achievement for our community. To undertake such a completely new and challenging project, and successfully complete and implement it has made our community that much more knowledgeable and confident in our understanding and capacity to pursue such 21st century opportunities. And beyond the power that is generated for this 100,000 sq. ft. site (and the dollars saved through this), our community can visibly show our efforts to pursue innovative opportunities–a crucial demonstration, especially in such current economic times.

October 17, 2011

Sustainable Farming at Branstrator Farm

In celebration of the upcoming local food season, we’re featuring a series of articles about local farmer Jon Branstrator leading up to his spring Snappin’ Asparagus  and Strawberry Jam Festival. We hope you’ll join us at Branstator Farm on May 21st for this fantastic local food event. More info on the festival here.

By Aileen Ash & Kirsten Astler

There is an essence about the Branstrator Farm that has an effect on anyone who visits. A sweet sense of serenity will sweep over your body as soon you step out of your vehicle. No one can really explain it but countless have commented on it. It is a feeling that is unique to each person. Perhaps it is the cascading landscape that consumes your senses which is much different than the normal day to day routine. Perhaps it is the sweet smell of the earth freshly tilled and planted with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.  Like the farmer this land is humble and does not discriminate or tell you what you should think feel or say. This farmland opens up to you simply for what it is and in return accepts you as you are offering to you a crop yield to satiate your body with health and vitality.

Jon Branstrator owner of this picturesque landscape prioritizes producing high quality fruits and vegetables for his community while maintaining a healthy ecosystem.  The farm is comprised of seven acres of strawberries, four acres of asparagus, four of peach trees, twenty-five of pumpkins and winter squash, twenty of sweet corn, three of staked tomatoes, less than an acre of blackberries, raspberries and currants, sixty non GMO tofu soy, sixty corn, and 40 soft red winter wheat.  Branstrator, has a great respect for the land and practices sustainable farming methods.

(more…)

2,671 comments May 10, 2011

Immerse Yourself

By Josh Martin- ECC Intern

I strongly believe that if you set your mind to something and want to accomplish a great task, you must immerse yourself into it.  Everything you do needs to be shaped into how it can help you in your work.  You will find that this will present ideas and new ways of achieving goals that you may never have thought of.  This is what I am trying to do with my work with Energize Clinton County.

In my final quarter at Wright State University, to make the best of my experiences with ECC, I am trying to take all of my classes and somehow tie them into energy efficiency and the work we are doing.  From my attempts at immersing myself into energy efficiency I have found some really interesting correlations with my assignments.  Currently I am taking my final public relations class, and Health Communication, along with my internship.  In each I have really tried to take the concepts we are learning and apply them to energy efficiency and how they can help ECC. 

For public relations specialists’ theory is important to learn, and then how to apply theory to real life situations.  Recently we read an article that dealt with theory of Positive Deviance.  Positive Deviance basically states that in a community there are certain individuals who use uncommon behaviors that go against the norm, enabling them to find better solutions to problems than their peers using the same resources.    

In this article the organization, Save the Children, traveled to Vietnam, where the children were suffering from malnutrition.  In order to counter this issue the went to the town of Thanh Hóa, and began by finding out if any households had children that were well nourished, and if so instead of just feeding the children they would learn from these “Positive Deviants” and teach their techniques to the rest of the town on how to counter act malnutrition.  Positive Deviance uses the idea that if a community self-discovers the solution, they are more likely to implement it and change the societal norm.  In the end the town discovered certain families had well-nourished children and began implementing their successful tactics to solve the issue of malnutrition.  Over the next several years the program helped over 50,000 children improve their nutrition.     

Going back to the idea of immersing yourself into your work, the entire time I was reading this I could not help but to think about Energize Clinton County and the newly formed Energy Savings Challenge.  By teaching our community how to be more energy efficient, instead of just giving us the supplies and leaving, the effect of the project will be much greater.  From the challenge we will find people in the community that are “Positive Deviants”, and we can find the solution to our problems with the help of Energize Clinton County.  We can learn from one another, and realize that the solution to our problems lies within.  As a society wasting energy has become a norm, but little by little we can change that by learning from “Positive Deviants” like ECC.

If you wish to read the article, follow this PDF link http://www.positivedeviance.org/pdf/wisdom%20series/PDVietnam07112010.pdf

For the upcoming weeks Josh Martin will be blogging about his work on the Energy Savings Challenge as an intern with Energize Clinton County.  Please don’t forget to fill out your FREE energy report at http://energizecc.com/?page_id=2197

3,167 comments May 4, 2011

A Farm, a Farmer, a History

In celebration of the upcoming local food season, we’re featuring a series of articles about local farmer Jon Branstrator leading up to his spring Snappin’ Asparagus  and Strawberry Jam Festival. We hope you’ll join us at Branstator Farm on May 21st for this fantastic local food event. More info on the festival here.

As the growing season approaches and you begin to crave juicy strawberries, crisp asparagus, blackberries the size of your thumb and peaches that drip juice down your face, think of Branstrator Farm. Not only does Branstrator Farm produce this diverse blend of fruits and vegetables, but it is accompanied by a unique farmer with quite a story and a rich family history.

Shortly after the end of the Revolutionary War, George Washington allotted Stephen Mason 1,000 acres of land from the Virginia Military District for his dedicated service. In 1823, Andrew Branstrator and his wife, Francis Wilkerson, purchased an estimated 400 acres of the Mason property near what is now the Clinton-Massie School. Andrew, Francis and several of their children and grandchildren are buried on the grounds of Branstrator Farm.  Andrew’s great grandson, Ralph, returned to Branstrator Farm after serving in World War II and converted the operation from livestock to corn production. After Ralph’s passing, his son Jon took on the responsibility of operating the farm.

Jon can be described as a self-starter and self-educator with an admirable work ethic. While helping on the farm as a child, Jon’s father always told him “Get with it and get it done”, thus promoting his work ethic that when there was work to do, you put your head down and worked until the job was done. And that is exactly what Jon did.  He had perfect attendance at school until he was fourteen when his father fell sick with pneumonia and Jon became responsible for planting the 200 + acres of farmland by himself.  Jon’s independence, worldly perspective, and open-mindedness is partly due to his passion  of electronics, specifically short wave radio broadcasts.  He enjoyed listening to broadcasts from different parts of the world, that included thought provoking discussions, and presented differing opinions and viewpoints. Maps and globes surrounded Jon as he grew up and he took it upon himself to learn as much about geography as possible. An important role model in his life was the explorer, ecologist, and scientist Jacques Cousteau whom inspired him to become quite the naturalist, earning his advanced open water scuba certification in his early twenties.

In the late 80′s Jon headed south for Central America.  For approximately ten years , he spent his winters in Costa Rica and his summers in Ohio. While living in Costa Rica, Jon worked in agriculture, primarily for seed producers.  He was exposed to harsh working conditions with unpredictable tropical weather, insects, land degradation and civil war.  He was fortunate enough to visit Mexico, Belize, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Panama during his time in Central America.  When he returned to Ohio, he worked on building ropes courses and completing other construction projects.  After returning from abroad, he lived and worked in several different places within the U.S.  While living in Claire, Michigan, he built ropes courses and oversaw an equestrian program for a local YMCA. Jon then decided to attend college in Prescott, Arizona and worked refurbishing old houses and operating heavy machinery.

Jon’s traveling and agricultural experiences played a key role in 1995, when he returned to his family’s farmland. The land degradation that he was exposed in Central America inspired him to be environmentally conscious. Jon transitioned the farm from a grain monoculture operation to that of a mixed fruit and vegetable farm and uses methods such as crop rotation that help maintain a healthy ecosystem.

Clinton County is comprised of an eclectic group of individuals with interesting experiences and histories that should be shared.  Jon Branstrator and his rich family history are an essential part of the community especially when considering that his farm has been established in the county for almost 200 years. Jon is an asset to our community, with his world perspective and always-positive attitude.

Be a part of  local history by attending the first annual Snappin’ Asparagus and Strawberry Jam festival May 21 and 22. For more information on Branstrator Farm and the festival, check back on Facebook twitter and the ECC website next Wednesday.

Check back next week for our second installment about John and his unique farm.

2,646 comments April 29, 2011

ECC Intern- The Beginning

By Josh Martin- ECC Intern

            Energy efficiency. When you hear those words what do you think?  I hear “the future”.  For the past few months I have been focusing on those two words in my internship with Energize Clinton County.  Last quarter at Wright State University my public relations class began working with Energize Clinton County trying to give them help in any way we could.  We focused our quarter on conducting background research in the community to grasp a better understanding for how ECC was perceived.  After great success with our research, the quarter ended and we were left with a taste in our mouths for what public relations was truly like, and we wanted more.  After a few minor setbacks, I began my internship with ECC for my final quarter at Wright State.

                In the short amount of time with ECC I have had the privilege to learn about their unique and creative ideas for how to improve the economy in Wilmington through energy efficiency, and use it as a model for the rest of the country.  With the newly created Energy Savings Challenge, Energize Clinton County has partnered with the University of Dayton to help reverse the flow of money back into the local economy from wasted energy.  Ideas like this have slipped through the cracks, however, when you think about it the concept is so simple.  By monitoring how much energy you use; the length of a shower, what the thermostat is set to and more, you can save a lot of money which in turn could be reinvested back into our community.  This is why when I hear energy efficiency I hear “the future”.

                Wilmington has been my home for the past 23 years.  I was born and raised here, the entire Martin family lives here, and have lived here for over 100 years.  The same is true for many others in Wilmington, including Mark and Taylor.  So you can see where their passion, and my passion and so many others come from to help our hometown.  When you have lived in one place for so long, and know nearly everyone, it becomes more than just another town, it becomes family.  When family is down on their luck you lend a helping hand, which is exactly what Mark and Taylor are trying to do with Energize Clinton County.  They have helped open my eyes to how truly important energy efficiency is, and how we can use it to rebuild the current state of our economy, and make it sustainable.  The possibilities are there through programs like the Energy Savings Challenge, I just hope that the rest of the community and even the country can also see “the future”.

For the upcoming weeks Josh Martin will be blogging about his work on the Energy Savings Challenge as an intern with Energize Clinton County.  Please don’t forget to fill out your FREE energy report at http://energizecc.com/?page_id=2197

2,676 comments April 27, 2011

Dr. Bill Vitek to speak at Wilmington College March 20 & 21

A few times on this blog we’ve referenced a book that has been very inspirational to our work–Rooted in the Land: Essays on Community and Place. This book contains fascinating and challenging collection of essays about why community matters, what it means to become native, and why we should strive for a life of rootedness. It is a collection that we return to over-and-over again to understand our work, and even more so our place within the community we love and serve.

We’re therefore thrilled to invite those in and around Clinton County to join us in welcoming Bill Vitek–editor of Rooted in the Land and professor of philosophy at Clarkson University–to Wilmington College on March 20th & March 21st. Over the course of these two nights, Dr. Vitek will be exploring the connection between the environment, community, and limits.

SUNDAY, MARCH 20 — “LOVING GOD’S CREATION:ONE LIMIT AT A TIME” — 7:30 McCoy Room in Kelly Center
How might a change of thinking about ourselves and the Earth we live with begin to turn crisis into opportunity around the globe, and right here in Wilmington, Ohio?

MONDAY, MARCH 21 — “FINDING OUR PLACE IN A SUN-POWERED ECOSPHERE” — 7:30 McCoy Room in Kelly Center
How would accepting limits as necessary, creative and redemptive begin to heal the world and ourselves?

Hosted by the Wilmington College Religion & Philosophy Department and the Campus Minister’s Office

Vitek’s research and writings are focused on the intersection between social practices and the environmental, cultural, and historical contexts in which they occur. His current focus is on the substantial cultural and social changes that will be necessary—in our lifetimes—to live without easy access to cheap, carbon-based energy in the form of soils, forests, oil, natural gas and coal. He is the author of one book, Promising; the co-editor of three books: Applying Philosophy (with Terrell Ward Bynum); Rooted in the Land: Essays on Community and Place (with Wes Jackson); and The Virtues of Ignorance: Complexity, Sustainability and the Limits of Knowledge (with Wes Jackson). He is currently writing a book of his own essays titled Post-Carbon Sense. He was a 2007 Visiting Scholar with The Center for Humans and Nature and with The Land Institute. Vitek co-founded and directed Clarkson’s Environmental Science & Policy Program for eight years, and was Associate Director of Clarkson’s Center for the Environment for four years.

2,581 comments March 8, 2011