Westlock News (Westlock, AB): Green fund idling

Roughly $87,000 has been collected via town's $4 bi-monthly surcharge

A green fund worth roughly $87,000 could be used to offer rebates on installing low-flow toilets or energy efficient furnaces as early as this summer, mayor Bruce Lennon says.

Plans for spending the money -- generated from a $4 bi-monthly surcharge on business and household utility accounts --have yet to be finalized, Lennon noted.

However he expects administration to table a proposal for using the fund by summer.

"We're not going to re-invent the wheel," the mayor said, noting the town would likely duplicate an initiative that has proven successful elsewhere.

The green fund emerged on the heels of initiatives such as Project Porchlight, which last spring helped distribute compact fluorescent light bulbs to households across town.

The fund dovetails with plans to brand the town as a sort of green haven, Lennon recalled.

"In terms of marketing our town and showing that we're progressive, we felt that we could be the greenest town north of Edmonton."

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