The Editor,
Re. "Green concerns over PM fire hall" and "PM pondering 6.74% tax hike" (The Tri-City News) Feb. 17.
When British Columbia has one of the lowest electricity rates in the world, why would we want to cover Port Moody's new fire hall with costly photovoltaic panels simply to gloat over being "self-sufficient in energy or even returning energy back to the power grid"? This wrong-headedness is good, however, for LEED certification.
A green wall and green roof on the fire hall would earn points toward LEED certification while increasing the cost of the structure of the building to carry the added load. The stronger steel columns and beams embody high energy consumption to manufacture but that is overlooked in the certification.
I am pleased that a majority on Port Moody council voted to build a functional fire hall that is reasonably energy efficient and environment-friendly without being LEED certified.
Hopefully, this common sense will allow our property tax hike to be kept to about 3%.
D.B. Wilson,Port Moody
