The new Georgina Trades and Training Inc. centre in Sutton is going to be as energy-efficient as possible.

To reach that goal, council is asked to allocate a portion of the town’s green fund.

Work on the new facility is going on schedule and should be open later this spring, trades school president Gerry Brouwer said.

The first class to be trained will include 24 men and women enrolled in the carpentry pre-apprentice program in partnership with George Brown College.

Students are being taught in the neighbouring Sutton District High School shops as construction on the new school continues.

The school’s first pre-apprentice auto technician grads have all found jobs and the outlook is the same for the carpentry students, Mr. Brouwer said.

“We look forward to this being an equal success,” he told council, adding the school, with its contracting partners, is looking at every means possible to acquire a LEED designation for the building.

LEED stands for leadership in Energy and Environmental Design with standards ranging from platinum to certified.

Contractors for renovations at the former Foodland building agree with exploring potential green options, trades school instructor Paul Rothfels said.

Working with the older, retrofit building, however, makes for greater challenges in going green, executive director Art Niezen added.

Those include specialized insulating paints, solar hot water tank, dual flush toilets, upgraded boiler, low-flow hands-free faucets, in-line point-of-use water heaters, heat recovery ventilation and solar wall/photovoltaic panels, to come at a later date, with projected costs of $100,000.

Every opportunity for government grants is being explored, Mr. Niezen said.

Mayor Rob Grossi proposed the $70,000 in projected costs for the various initiatives be granted.

“I don’t want to squeeze them, so, maybe, we should give them a further $10,000 and make it $80,000, so they don’t have to come back for little things,” Councillor Brad Smockum added, to which council agreed.

“They’re certainly being very frugal and doing a fabulous job,” Mr. Grossi said.
 
“This building will be a showcase.”

The money will come from the town’s $200,000 green fund, to which $100,000 annually has been allocated in the budget.

See www.gtti.ca for more information about the school.