From an article by Liz Welter in the Marshfield News-Herald:
Marshfield city government and infrastructure could reduce its non-renewable energy consumption by 25 percent using a plan the Sustainable Marshfield Committee devised.
The proposed plan to achieve the 25 percent reduction isn’t unanimously supported by Common Council members.
The council debated the plan last month prior to approving it 8-2 with Alderpersons Alanna Feddick and Ed Wagner voting no. The plan calculates the costs and savings to the city if projects are implemented from 2011 to 2025. . . .
The committee has identified potential cost-saving measures, but what to implement is the council’s decision, Earll said.
The cost of some of the items would burden the city with long-term debt, Feddick said.
“My concern is that the price tag put on these blue sky or pie-in-the sky ideas will be paid for by our future generations.
“I’m all for recycling and protecting the environment, it’s something my family has done for years, but we need to protect the taxpayers too,” Feddick said.
The Marshfield 25×25 Plan for Energy Independence was the product of a grant initiated by Gov. Jim Doyle to demonstrate that communities throughout Wisconsin could reduce their dependence on fossil fuels 25 percent by 2025.
The committee has applied for another grant that would provide about $225,000 to implement some of the identified energy-saving measures, said Amy Peterson, a municipal planner who was contracted to assist the committee regarding the grants.
“If the city gets the (grant) and uses it along with the projects for the fire station (construction), they will be well on their way to meeting the 25 by 25 goal,” she said.