Senior center receives $185,000 donation
Date: 9/6/2013
By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.comCHICOPEE – The campaign to raise the funds to pay for the new RiverMills Senior center took a leap forward this week with a rebate check from Chicopee Electric Light Department (CELD) in the amount of $185,280.
The rebate check was in response to the building reaching Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification, recognizing its energy saving, green design. The announcement was made on Sept. 3 at the building site.
The silver level is the second level of LEED certification. The U.S. Green Building Council administers the program.
The rebates were earned by the inclusion of energy efficient heating and cooling controls, lighting, Energy Star appliances for the kitchen and demand control ventilation for the kitchen hood, besides other features.
Jeffrey Cady, general manager of CELD, said he was proud to support the project.
Mayor Michael Bissonnette explained the RiverMills project is the first LEED building in the city’s history and the first LEED senior center in the Commonwealth.
Mark Sylvia, the commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources congratulated the city for reaching this goal and said, “Massachusetts is leading the way national for energy efficiency.”
Sylvia said the LEED standard means the building will useless electricity, which in turn till mean it would account for less greenhouse gas emissions.
Chris Nolan, who has been the project manager for the city, said the new senior center is “model for other senior centers and a model for other city buildings.”
Bissonnette said the rebate was “good news for the seniors and better news for the citizens of Chicopee.”
He called the senior center “a landmark building,” and stressed, “It’s not a club house, but a community center for the older residents.”
The city is now pursuing an incentive rebate from Columbia Gas for the new senior center.
