Touting its energy efficient standards, Wal-Mart officials talk increasingly about improving the environment.

Sometimes, they forget to talk to each other.

On Sept. 24, Paul Smith, a local attorney representing Wal-Mart, told the Twin Falls City Council that construction for the store scheduled to be built along Pole Line Road would be delayed by three months as the company redesigned the store to make it more energy efficient.

The council asked a few questions, careful that any changes would not affect the requirements set in April when it amended a land-use agreement for the retailer to, among other things, operate 24 hours a day.

But exactly what is being redesigned, if anything, remains unclear. Smith told the council he was unsure what the company meant and did not present new building plans. He said the council would have to take his word.

"The basic look of the building is not changing," said Smith, who was hired by the Arkansas retailer after previous unsuccessful attempts to come to Twin Falls. "They just told me to tell you that internally it is going to be a better building."

But the company has no plans to redesign the building, according to Karianne Fallow, a company spokeswoman based in Boise.

"I just confirmed that we are not redesigning the store," Fallow told the Times-News.

The city will still require the company to follow special rules pertaining to lighting, landscaping and signage requirements. Fallow said that all the "green" elements, like skylights, special light bulbs and white roofs were drawn into the plans.

"I think the inside was exactly how we submitted it to the city," she said. "If anything, there would be minor modifications but there's no full blown redesign."

So why did Smith assure them changes were being made?

Mayor Lance Clow said the matter is irrelevant, and he was unsure why Smith even brought up the apparent redesign. As long as the company abides by the city-sanctioned agreement, it can do as it pleases, including making its interior energy efficient.

"Redesign could be a lot of things," he said. "The size of the box and the exterior façade is the same, but if they do something different with the interior walls or structure technique, that has no bearing on the approval."

Smith did not return phone calls Wednesday.

His announcement preceded a City Council decision to split the 80-acre property that Wal-Mart is expected to be built on were split into two, nearly equal properties. The parties said construction schedules are different and that Wal-Mart will begin building first. No properties have been recorded with Twin Falls County.

The Sept. 24 council vote resulted in a two-phase development of Cheney Drive. Wal-Mart will install a traffic signal at Cheney and Washington Street. The road to be built will lie between Park View Drive and Washington Street North. Wal-Mart will be responsible for the eastern half of the road. The western half of the road, which will allow travelers to continue westward to the new St. Luke's Magic Valley Regional Medical Center, will be developed as part of the second phase. That timetable is unknown.

Additionally, it's unclear when Wal-Mart ��" or developers of the second phase ��" will begin construction. Residents will have yet to see whether the developments will pose problems for the new Canyon Ridge High School, which will open in 2009, and the hospital, which will open in 2010.

Jared S. Hopkins can be reached at 735-3204 or jhopkins@magicvalley.com.