Fortis community and aboriginal relations manager Blair Weston was on hand at Monday’s city council meeting to give the City of Castlegar an energy rebate check and to talk about the Fortis Operations Centre.
He presented the city with a cheque for $24,500. The savings result from upgrades the city made to the South Sewer Treatment Plant. This is the second rebate cheque the city has received for the project for a total of $49,000 which is based on the verified savings from the project, an amount which actually exceeded expectations.
The energy savings came from installing variable speed drives to the air compression system allowing for operators to control production to the exact amount needed. Previously, it ran at a fixed speed using the same amount of air whether it was needed or not.
The retrofit will save 630,000 kWh annually, a reduction of more than half of the energy used at the facility — the equivalent of powering 50 homes and a savings of $50,000 annually.
Weston also reported that the Kootenay Operations Centre is in its final stages and about 70 employees will be starting to move into the building on Monday, Sept. 25 with more to follow in November.
“Thank you for investing in our region, I think it is a fantastic addition to the city of Castlegar,” said Coun. Florio Vasilikakis of the new facility.
Green Line
Council has adopted a new logo and tagline to go along with city promotional material and signage relating to active transportation. Castlegar Green Line — Connecting Castlegar will soon be associated with all of the pedestrian and cycling connections throughout the city.
Although the city has had an overall vision for creating pathways throughout the city, there has not been a consistent name associated with the network.
Dump truck purchase
The city is purchasing a 2018 single axle 35,000 lb. GVW dump truck from Premium Truck & Trailer Inc. for $129,355 plus taxes. The expenditure was allocated in the 2017 budget and five-year financial plan.
Grants
Council awarded a $500 grant to the West Kootenay Boundary Crime Stoppers. The grant will assist with volunteer training, decals, banners and informational literature.
Permits and licenses
Once again, both building permits and business licenses are up from 2016 levels. There have been 157 building permits issued for the year, compared with 136 last year.
Business licences are up by 21 over the same period last year for a total of 647.