New Los Altos Town Hall opens for business, dedication on June 16th, 2005

LOS ALTOS HILLS, Calif., June 13th, 2005 – The Town of Los Altos Hills, a community of 8,452 residents located on the San Francisco Peninsula, today announced the completion of its new town hall and municipal offices at 26379 Fremont Road. The 8400 square foot, Peter Duxbury-designed building has been widely recognized for its innovative design features and energy saving technologies. The modern building, which replaced a decaying structure dating back nearly to the Town’s 1956 founding, is designed to complement the natural setting and features passive solar design. The building, which strategically surrounds an ancient oak tree, maintains a rural charm that reflects the surrounding community while belying its location immediately adjacent to Silicon Valley.

The Town employs a staff of 21, with 18 people working at the new municipal offices. The new facility boasts a number of public meeting spaces, including the council chamber, designed to accommodate audiences of over 100 people. Reduced energy and water consumption were major priorities for the design. In addition, the New Town Hall features an on-site, 30KW solar power plant, expected to supply a majority of the building’s future energy needs. The PV (photovoltaic) installation was designed by Sunnyvale, CA-based Eco Energies and features ultra-high efficiency solar panels from SunPower Corp., also from Sunnyvale. The solar system was made possible in part by a grant from the Packard Foundation of Los Altos. Another notable feature of the building is the extensive use of day-lighting, including strategically placed solar light tubes to reduce electrical lighting load.

The New Town Hall’s design details, budget and construction was overseen by a volunteer citizen’s committee, which included four residents, two planning commissioners, the mayor and three councilmen. Construction took just under 12 months for the $4.5 million project. Cost analysis, bid preparation and project management services were provided by San Jose based Toeniskoetter & Breeding, Inc.

All residents of the Town are welcome at the dedication, which begins at 7:00 pm on Thursday, June 16, 2005. Many elected officials from surrounding communities throughout the county will attend. The evening will include remarks by former Mayor and Councilman Mike O’Malley, Mayor Breene Kerr, and Jennette Gayer, Solar Homes Organizer for Environment California, a statewide environmental advocacy organization that will be recognizing the building’s energy saving design at the dedication.

After the formal presentation will be an “open house” enabling residents and out of town visitors to see the end result of a plan/design/build process that has spanned over three years. The event will also feature live entertainment and refreshments.

Town Hall Building Committee:
Chairman, Mayor Pro Tem: Breene Kerr
Mayor: Mike O’Malley
Councilmember: Jean Mordo
Councilmember: Dean Warshawsky
Planning Commissioner: William Kerns
Planning Commissioner: Carl Cottrell
Member: Jim Downey
Member: Vicki Oldberg
Member: John Radford
Member: Al Whaley

Architect: Peter Duxbury Architects
Landscape Architect: Thomas Klope Associates
Construction Manager: TBI Construction Management, Inc.

Contact:
Duffy Price
(650) 948-0596
duffy@duffysmail.com

Breene Kerr
(650) 948-6395
breene@bkp.com