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Glamour's Women of the Year
UD vs. Northern Kentucky
Magic visits with area students
Roof of City Hall may be covered in grass
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
DAYTON — The City Hall roof could be teeming with greenery by this summer, but the vegetation won't be a recreational zone for weary city employees.
The city is exploring installation of a GreenGrid® modular green roof system on a 2,000 square-foot section of the City Hall roof. The effort is a combination public education demonstration program and a storm water pollution reduction project, said Donna Winchester, environment manager for Dayton's Department of Water.
A green roof is substantially covered with low-growing shrubbery. Because it is modular, a GreenGrid® roof can be adjusted and rearranged after installation. Modules can be moved for roof maintenance, according to the GreenGrid® Web site.
The plants on green roofs transpire, cooling the atmosphere around them. These factors have the potential, in large scale, to lower city temperatures.
Winchester said the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency requires education projects as part of the city's storm water discharge permit. Funding will come from the city's Water Department, storm-water development fund, not general fund tax dollars.
The green roof, approved by the Dayton City Commission on Dec. 23, will cost $33,578. Next week, Cleveland-based, VIP Restoration will begin a $11,000 analysis to determine if the roof can support the system. The analysis will be done in three weeks.
"If we didn't spend money on this project, we'd have to do something else with the same goal of reducing runoff to the storm-water system," Winchester said.
Green roofs are credited with reducing heating and cooling costs, but Winchester said energy savings by the city are expected to be marginal as vegetation will only cover one-third of the roof.
Still, there are expected benefits.
"We believe this demonstration project will be a catalyst for other green infrastructure projects," Winchester said.
The Water Department has researched green roofs for about five years and City Hall was selected as the demonstration site, because the rooftop can be viewed from other downtown buildings.
The green roof will not be open to the public. Individuals who want to view the site will have to request an escort.
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Comments
By Chrissy
July 16, 2009 11:25 PM | Link to this
This all has already been done. I dont see how going green means spelling out Dayton in white stones.
By Bill D.
January 18, 2009 8:32 PM | Link to this
It seems to me that a complete cost-benefit analysis should have been done and published if the city didn’t want to take a lot of flak over this. On the surface, it seems rather extreme that the city should spend $11k just to see if the roof would support the weight. With no proven benefit, no one will be spurred to do this. Any intelligent business operator is going to do the cost-benefit analysis before deciding on such a project.
By Ann Ruef
January 15, 2009 2:27 PM | Link to this
Ridiculous! The city is cutting the police and fire dept.., but we have money for this!!!!!
We had a drouth last year. How about that run off? So will they put up a sprinkler system up there too. OH BOY! Use that “run off “to water the large pots downtown. $40.000 plus is a lot of money and that doesn’t count the maintenance.
How about an energy produce Wind Mill that would create energy for the building and save us money!
By aaron
January 9, 2009 2:51 PM | Link to this
riclewis is as ignorent as the mayor he mocks. the reason nothing gets done in dayton is because we haver the worst of both races. hillbillys with no teeth and gang bangers with gold teeth.
By RICLEWIS
January 9, 2009 11:13 AM | Link to this
I told you people the our Mayor was a bleeping joke. Grass on a roof is dumb in concept. This city needs to Impeech Mayor McLinovich…… How long are we going to allow her to run a muck in this town? We need a strong political candidate to unseat this “embalmer” I dont care who her daddy was, she is absolutely crazy and I cant believe the good white people of the community is letting this negro do dumb crap up and down these streets. IMPEECH IMPEECH IMPEECH IMPEECH IMPEECH!!!!
By A Dayton Resident
January 9, 2009 9:54 AM | Link to this
I think this is so stupid. They just demoted fire chiefs to Captains and then now they are going to put a lawn on the roof of city hall? Dayton already cut the arts center downtown after people tried to get them to keep it, but you told them you didn’t have the money. Yet you have all this money to put grass on the roof? Give us something to do in Dayton, since there is nothing to do. Look at our economic times? Dayton is a nasty place these days. Use the $ for the schools or to clean the city.
By Joe
January 9, 2009 2:48 AM | Link to this
The timing is waaayyy off on this one. Wiser heads need to prevail.
By Dayton is Dying
January 8, 2009 6:55 PM | Link to this
This has to be the dumbest idea ever!!! Let’s see…spend $50,000 for grass on a roof building and then layoff employees. Seems like a no brainer. Keep fire and police services or grow grass on a roof building. Wow we really have the smartest people running the city. Mayor Mclin is as dumb as those stupid looking glasses she wears.
By Tony Helke
January 8, 2009 5:52 PM | Link to this
Alter should put a green roof on its roof to grow the dope they sell at alterfest
By Green Roof
January 8, 2009 5:06 PM | Link to this
They wanted the employees to take a cut in hard times but have they ever in the past volunteered to give a raise above what the contract required because of higher than expected revenue. Ans spending money this way is stupid
By County Boy
January 8, 2009 5:01 PM | Link to this
Yeah I heard the SO is buying new SUV while laying off people. What a Joke. And we thought the other one was bad
By Whine Maclyn
January 8, 2009 4:58 PM | Link to this
Spending Money in this manner shows why employees would not and should not accept a pay cut. Same goes for the County. They spend thousands on a Salem mall signe just in time for it to be torn down. The County SO buys new SUV’s for the leaders but have cars with far to many miles and layoff people.
By chuck
January 8, 2009 4:55 PM | Link to this
This seems to be an investment that may or may not pay off some day. I would think that they should take this 35k use it to pay off debt or help the City Schools with it. The schools need toilet paper for gods sake. Help out your shcools before putting up dirt and grass on the roof.
By Catty
January 8, 2009 4:38 PM | Link to this
Do I think a “green” roof is a good idea? Yes. But I don’t understand how the City can look at doing something like this when it is making budget cuts, people are losing their jobs, and they are closing City run funtions/buildings. I’m sure this comes from a “different” fund but lets be real, in the end it all comes from the same pot of tax dollars we all contribute too.
By flipper
January 8, 2009 4:33 PM | Link to this
Just make sure there is no canabis mixed in by an enterprising city employee.