King Council decided to declare a "Climate Change Emergency" and voted to reduce greenhouse gas goal by 45% by 2030. This decision was done with very little information on the costs of doing this, now Council has learned the costs of reductions. Outlined in the Corporate Energy Management and Conservation Plan is the estimated costs of reducing our energy by 45%.
The cost $9,450,000 to $22,050,000! This estimate does not mean we will actually achieve our reduction goals because King Township is growing which will result in the addition of pump houses, street lights, new recreation centers, bigger libraries, and vehicles to maintain required service levels.
Council was told that this goal was achievable but the cost is not the only problem. In this plan, we would have to melt and close ice pads during the summertime. Reducing service levels is something that I do not believe residents are in favour of. After spending millions of dollars in infrastructure to build recreation facilities such as Trisan Centre, to then only have them available for operation for half the year with the purposed plan is ludicrous.
For instance, an example of wasteful green service spending happened in 2015 at the King City Arena. The past Council decided to change all the lighting in the Arena with a payback period of over a decade. 4 years later, we are starting to build a new recreation center in King City and we will never get our investment back. This is the fundamental problem with this program, we are retrofitting old buildings that will not be in service for much longer. I strongly support every new facility being built to high energy standards, so we do not spend money recklessly and we get the best value for our money.
Another example of poor future management of resources, in early 2018 the King City Seniors Centre got two new high-efficiency natural gas furnaces and hot water on-demand natural gas tanks. Sounds great, except the new King City Library has a brand new Seniors Centre built-in. With less than a year of use, the facility will be moved and those investments will be wasted.
There needs to be a clear vision and roadmap outlining future investments and changes in King Township to ensure the maximization of the Townships resources. This Council has members on it that seem to have zero regard for you the taxpayers and they need to be accountable for their decisions! I will continue to stand for financial efficiency and continue to invest in new facilities that are held to a higher standard that will bring residents the best value for their tax dollars.
I strongly believe climate change must be addressed at every level, but we must address the problem through strategic planning and not throwing money at the situation in hopes of getting a solution.