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8A Page 6 It has been predicted that a levee break in that area would result in water levels as high as 20 feet. One of the challenges for this region is the fact that historically floods have occurred during the winter when water temperatures are near freezing, making the public safety impact of such an event even greater. Governor Announces Funding for Affordable Housing Projects Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger awarded $73 million for 40 affordable housing projects in 26 cities this week. The announcement was made on Wednesday, Feb. 20, at the Skid Row Housing Trust in Los Angeles. This funding will help 1,611 families rent or purchase affordable housing. The projects will be funded through Proposition 1 C and Prop. 46 funds. Prop. 1 C, part of the $42 billion package of infrastructure bonds passed in November 2006, includes $2.85 billion to finance affordable housing and infrastructure. California voters approved Prop. 46 in 2002. In addition, earlier this month, the Governor announced $69.5 million in permanent low-interest loans from Prop. 1C. Sustainable Cities Feature: Rohnert Park's Recycled City Hall Rohnert Park is taking recycling to a whole new level by transforming an outdated, late 1970s office building into a state-of-the-art energy efficient city hal!. Scheduled to be complete in June, the new city hall will house 50 city workers and a new council chamber. The original 14,000 square foot building, constructed in 1979, served as an office building for many years until a massage school took it over. The building had been vacant about two years when the city purchased it. The original building had a typical wood frame construction, single pane windows and minimal insulation. Although the heating and air conditioning roof units were updated, they did not even meet the minimum state requirements set three years ago. The renovated building will be a far cry from what it once was. The new council chambers will add an additional 2,000 square feet to the building which will now meet the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. The U.S. Green Building Council has created a set of benchmarks to certify the environmental and efficiency standards in construction. Peter Bruck, a building official with Rohnert Park, heads the project and believes the city is setting an example for the community. The new city hall reflects the green building ordinance that went into effect in 2007, requiring all new construction in Rohnert Park to meet some level of green building through LEED or a residential green certification system the city uses. Bruck says Rohnert Park is very committed to sustainability. "The city council recognizes the importance of conservation and practicing responsible stewardship of the land and buildings. What we're doing is using off the shelf technology so everything we're doing can be easily replicated." The "recycled" city hall will boast a large array of highly efficient features including: . A special lighting system that will shut off when an office is empty and adjusts the light according to the external natural light source. . Exhaust system for the rooms that house the copy machines send the fumes outside so they do not permeate other rooms in the building. . Walls covered with paint that contains no or very minimal volatile organic compounds, meaning there won't be any "fresh paint" smell. . The building will be 22.4 percent better than Title 24, the section of the California Energy Code which sets a minimum level of energy efficiency for building energy use. This means the new city hall will use only 78 percent of the energy that a building that meets the minimum energy requirements would. 6