Whitefish has decided to follow energy efficiency guidelines in the construction of a new City Hall building.

Breaking a tie vote by city council, Mayor John Muhlfeld on Dec. 1 voted in favor of pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification for the building. Councilors Richard Hildner, Andy Feury and Pam Barberis voted for certification. Councilors John Anderson, Frank Sweeney and Jen Frandsen voted in opposition.

“I have a problem paying for paperwork,” Anderson said. “I don’t see the benefit in the formal certification. We can build an efficient building without paying for the paperwork.”

“We need to keep people’s feet to the fire to create the most efficient City Hall possible,” Hildner contended.

LEED is the U.S. Green Building Council’s green building system that holds participants accountable to meet defined goals for building performance to save money, conserve energy and reduce water consumption.

The city’s architect, Mosaic Architecture, believes the current design for City Hall could achieve basic LEED certification and silver certification is likely attainable and gold certification is possible.

Council favored constructing an energy efficient building, but split on whether to obtain certification of the building. Council did not decide on what level of certification to ultimately pursue.

There is a cost of $1,000 to register for LEED certification and an additional $50,000 to $75,000 for the paperwork and follow-up.

Hildner said the cost benefits that come from an energy efficient design that is LEED certified will pay off with savings down the road.

“Taxpayers deserve to know they are getting the return on their investment,” he said. “When you begin to cut corners to save money, this would reduce the possibility that conservation measures would be cut.”

Frandsen said pursuing a higher level of LEED certification could mean a loss of a chance to save money.

“It’s too early to commit to certification,” she said. “We want our construction manager to build a building that is efficient.”

City Manager Chuck Stearns cautioned council that while earning the certification appears to be merely paying for paperwork, it can also ensure that efficiency for the building isn’t lost in cost-saving measures during construction.

“You can always say LEED is your desire, but if you don’t do the certification it isn’t always obtained,” he said.

“What it comes down to is a life cycle cost analysis,” he added. “It does look like you’re paying for paperwork, but what happens is when it comes down to day-to-day decisions on saving money, having LEED prevents bartering away long-term cost savings.”

Ben Tintinger of Mosaic presented information on LEED certification at a recent city hall steering committee meeting.

He said a sustainable design can save an average of 30 percent in energy, 35 percent in carbon, about 30 to 50 percent in water use and 50 to 90 percent in waste costs.

Tintinger said the cost premiums for a green building are anywhere from 0.4 percent increase to 29 percent increase. He said Mosaic has already figured a 3 percent cost increase into its proposal.

He explained there are points for a building to receive the different levels of LEED certification, and corresponding construction costs. The current design of City Hall already has the 46 points, which means it would be certified LEED. Council will have to decide if it wants to meet the next levels of certification — silver, gold or platinum.

Cost estimates for the combined City Hall and parking structure are about $14.6 million for a three-story building with a full basement. The LEED certification does not apply to the parking structure.