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The Offce of Sustainability provides leadership, education, policy analysis, project development, measurement and accountability for the County’s sustainability efforts.

The division is a resource for County operations and community residents for topics related to energy conservation, waste reduction and recycling, green building practices and products, greenhouse gas emissions and more.

Sustainability Manager Maggie Theriot, the point person for sustainable actions both internal to the County and in the community, was born and raised in Tallahassee. She holds a master’s degree in Public Administration and a master’s degree in Urban & Regional Planning from Florida State University.

Did You Know

Leon County hosted the Sustainable Communities Summit in May 2010 to educate more than 350 attendees about locally grown food and ‘green’ economic development.

• Coordinated the Sustainable Communities Summit in May 2010, which drew nearly 400 community members to the two-day event that featured more than 30 breakout sessions and well known authors Bill McKibben and John Robbins.

• Established the Leon Energy Assistance Program (LEAP) to offer low-interest fnancing for energy effciency improvements to Leon County homeowners. LEAP is the frst program in Florida to enact a property-based fnance program, which is connected with the property, not to the individual owner.

• Through a creative effort, two community gardens are now

established on County-owned property. The County provided initial infrastructure, such as fencing and irrigation, while members of the community plant and maintain the vegetables and fruit.

• Through a competitive grant award, the Offce of Sustainability received $1.17 million for energy effciency improvements to several County buildings. The funds were part of theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will provide upgrades to lighting and lighting controls. By installing more effcient lights, using occupancy sensors and controls, Leon County will save an estimated $164,000 on annual energy costs.

• Implemented “green cleaning” in the County Courthouse and Downtown Courthouse Annex. The “green” aspects of the service include the cleaning equipment, consumable supplies and cleaners.

While reducing the environmental impact of custodial services for two of the largest County buildings, the County will save nearly $29,000 annually over the previous service contract.

• In partnership with the Fleet Management Division, a Fuel Management System was implemented. By installing monitoring devices on 220 vehicles, staff can monitor detailed fuel consumption data and target individual vehicles or drivers who are not operating to industry standards.

• Once constructed, the new Eastside Branch Library will feature a solar photovoltaic system, recycled building materials, use of natural day lighting and a rainwater capture system to irrigate its landscaping. The entire building will be constructed to Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standards.

• Environmentally friendly motor oil is now used in all applicable County vehicles. The synthetic blend is recycled used oil that is re-refned a second time while also receiving a performance additive. The oil exceeds the toughest standards in North America for quality and is competitively priced.

Growing Green Together

Office of Sustainability

Maggie Theriot

Coordinator Offce of Sustainability

606-5300 TheriotM@leoncountyf.gov

Insp iring a love of reading and a l i fe of learning

The LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library System, named for the late Gov. LeRoy Collins, enriches the community by inspiring a love of reading, providing a dynamic resource for creative and intellectual pursuits, and enabling residents to live a life of learning.

Leon County citizens use the downtown Collins Main Library or any of the fve branch libraries, the Dr. B.L. Perry, Jr. Branch, the Ft. Braden Branch, the Lake Jackson Branch, the Northeast Branch and the Parkway Branch. Bookmobile services are also available for use.

Cay Hohmeister was appointed Library Director in May 2010, having worked as a Library Services Manager in the System since 2004. She has also worked at the State Library of Florida and as a freelance copy editor.

Hohmeister received her undergraduate degree in History from Eckerd College and earned her master’s degree from Simmons College’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science.

Public Library System

• A new high-roof courier van with special shelving increases the effciency of the library’s courier service, delivering materials twice daily to users at all library locations, saving time and fuel.

• The seventh annual Teen Poetry Slam in April featured talented young poets performing their work at the Dr. B.L. Perry, Jr. Branch, the Northeast Branch, and the Collins Main Library.

• The Library brought writer and journalist Michael Grunwald to Leon County for the Tallahassee Festival of Books in March, partnering for this event with the Tallahassee Writers Association and other groups.

• In partnership with the Downtown Improvement Authority, the Library invited journalist and author John Heilemann and local children’s author Susan Womble to the Tallahassee Downtown Bookfair.

• Groundbreaking on the expansion of the Dr. B.L. Perry, Jr. Branch Library, which was held April 29, heralded the start of exciting expansion for the library system. The groundbreaking for the expansion at the Northeast Branch took place May 25, and groundbreaking for a green, environmentally responsible new building for the Eastside Branch Library at the County’s Pedrick Pond Park took place on July 8.

• The Library System received $162,000 in grants and donations, including the State Aid to Libraries Grant, Friends of the Library grant match, National Endowment for the Humanities, We the People Bookshelf, the Tallahassee Jewish Federation, and the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Grant to feature Tim O’Brien’s book, “The Things They Carried.”

•

Did You Know

On a typical day in the library system:

- Library users check out more than 5,700 items - More than 3,300 people visit the library - Librarians answer more than 900 questions - The library website and databases receive 8,300 hits - 40 literacy volunteer tutor pairs meet each day, and - More than 70 children and adults attend library programs

The courier van makes the library system’s collection more convenient and accessible to citizens throughout Leon County by transporting requested resources from one library to another.

Cay Hohmeister

Director

LeRoy Collins Leon County Public Library System 606-2665

HohmeisterC@leoncountyf.gov

For more information visit: www.leoncountyfl.gov/library