A cloudless, sunny afternoon welcomed local Congressman Sam Farr and several other officials for the ribbon-cutting ceremony recognizing the completion of Military Construction Project 197, commonly known as P-197, a $7.9 million project resulting in a new 12,000 sq. ft. facility on campus. The new academic building, yet to be named, will provide the campus with expanded high-tech classroom, conference and meeting spaces primarily for NPS’ Graduate School of Business of Public Policy.
Capt. Marko Medved, Operations Officer, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, noted that successful collaboration on building requirements by the designer and contractor resulted in a flexible educational environment that will meet the university's needs. He also noted the focus on environmental sustainability that will eventually award the facility with a prominent achievement in stewardship circles.
He noted, “Two key elements [of this facility are] the audio-visual system and the sustainable design features … The LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] certification that will be attained on this building, which is governed by the U.S. Green Building Council, has about 140 buildings in the current inventory proposed to receive certification … This building will receive a Gold level which is the second highest level," he said.
"This building has a few extra trinkets in it that make it more sustainable than your average building. It provides more open space, storm water filtering and management, photovoltaics on it for renewable energy, a high-efficiency HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning] system, [construction] diverted 75 percent of the debris away from local landfills by recycling it and 20 percent of the building is made up of some type of recycled content,” Medved added.
Congressman Sam Farr remarked that he is a strong advocate for investing in military institutions on the Monterey Peninsula, and has also been an active supporter of collaborative efforts between the county’s DoD/DHS entities. Farr spearheaded an effort to formalize these collaborative efforts, creative a collective of the nine defense installations, to include the Coast Guard, in Monterey County known as Team Monterey. The effort looks to capitalize on the collective strengths of the various installations to ensure maximum cost effectiveness and benefit is gained from the federal investment in these institutions.
Farr closed the ceremony by offering his compliments to the Naval Postgraduate School community and the institution's mission within DoD. “I’m very excited about the mission of this institution, excited that Leon [Panetta] is now Secretary of Defense … and I want to continue to build," he noted. "You are the family of this campus and it is your work every day that makes this a world renowned class act … a diamond jewel in American military installations.
”Following the Congressman’s remarks, the ceremonial ribbon-cutting was conducted to rousing applause, with a tour of the new facility following for the gathered crowd.