Two electric vehicle charging stations will be installed within city boundaries, if City of Powell River council agrees to a recommendation from the sustainability steering committee.
If approved, the estimated project cost of $18,000 would come from the Community Works Fund, which is where the city houses its federal gas tax funds, and would effectively serve to extend the current electric car grid.
The initiative was drafted by Thomas Knight, planning manager for the Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP), and members of the committee.
“One of the stations will be located at Town Centre Mall,” Knight stated. “The installation of the charging stations will extend the electric vehicle grid, which is currently limited to the Sechelt/Gibsons area, and reduce carbon emissions.”
A staff report on electric charging stations, in addition to a report on CEEP, also includes a recommendation to use a SMARTTool application to track annual carbon emissions. Knight said the ability to track reduction in the city’s carbon footprint is key to outlining areas where the program has been effective and areas where improvement is required.
Also in Knight’s recommendation are plans to organize a green buildings workshop for the benefit of builders and the development community to showcase renewable energy technologies. The plan will run in conjunction with programs and initiatives by BC Hydro, FortisBC and among local business owners who wish to participate.
At Knight’s urging, council will consider a sustainability and heritage awards program to raise awareness and recognize achievement in the areas of sustainable development and to reward efforts to preserve and maintain local historical landmarks, architecture and heritage preservation.
Knight included the awards program recommendation in the CEEP working document. “We had something similar in the City of Revelstoke,” said Knight. “There was huge buy-in from local property owners, in particular, to win one of the heritage categories. It also became a marketing tool when homeowners wanted to sell their home with the award attached to the property. It was even better to have the mayor at the time, who was leery of putting funds into any heritage endeavour, present awards to those who’d earned them.”
Knight said the program is scheduled for consideration this month or in June.
City staff was directed to source grants and available assistance that could be used to fund the awards.
With all the additional requests outside the initial CEEP work plan, including a review of the Carbon Offset Protocol Agreement, development of a high school exit survey, and drafting new terms of reference for the sustainability steering committee, the city has extended Knight’s term of employment until December 31, 2014 with funds from Community Works Fund. This would enable him to oversee completion of the QuickStart Integrated Community Sustainability Plan.
