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STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – A resolution has been proposed that would promise Stevens Point would become carbon neutral and attain 100% clean energy by 2040.
However, should it pass, some city leaders are worried about how the promise will be executed.
“Many of the people that I’ve talked to at City Hall and even some of the alderpersons that I’ve had a discussion with, feel that it’s too much,” said Mayor Mike Wiza.
Under that resolution, every city-owned vehicle or other operation would need to be replaced to fit those goals, consisting of first responder vehicles, public works vehicles, and more.
There are some electric vehicles in the fleet of city vehicles, but getting all of them to become carbon-free would require a lot of shuffling. “Our current fleet replacement schedule, we have vehicles that are further out than 15 years so that would be an extra cost if we were fully committed to doing that,” said Chris Johnson, the city’s street superintendent of fixed assets.
There would also need to be conversations on how essential services like snowplows and emergency services would affected, especially in winter months.
“We have to think about what happens once we hit winter, when we have those sub-zero degree days and the impacts they’re having on the lithium batteries,” Johnson said.
Wiza says it’s too much of an undertaking right now to make a firm promise on they will be able to do it by 2040. “To make a promise we very likely can’t keep, it just seems counterproductive,” Wiza said.
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