By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD – The Town Council voted last night to pull the plug on the “Decarbonization Roadmap” that is one of the key requirements for the town joining the state “Climate Leader Communities” program.
On April 8, 2024, the Town Council voted to apply for a technical assistance grant to create a Decarbonization Roadmap for Wakefield as a step towards being certified by the state as a Climate Leader Community. Being so designated would make the town eligible to apply for certain climate-related grants.
After a series of delays, the town recently received the consultant’s draft Decarbonization Roadmap. To put it kindly, town officials and Town Councilors were less than impressed with the product.
They found the document to be riddled with errors. The footer at the bottom of each page identifies it at the Decarbonization Roadmap for Amherst. Wakefield officials and institutions are misidentified and much of the document appears to have been copied and pasted from other communities.
DPW Director Joseph Conway (identified as “Joe Wakefield” in the document) and DPW Business manager Ann Waitt were on hand for last night’s discussion.
Conway expressed skepticism regarding the town’s financial and practical ability to meet zero-emission vehicle requirements outlined in the draft roadmap.
Councilor Edward Dombroski said that he was alarmed by the number of errors in the document. He also pointed to the number of mandates and expectations included in the Decarbonization Roadmap with no regard for the costs. He said that the town was nowhere near being able to meet the document’s lofty goals, which would have a real impact on the taxpayers. He said it would be “incredibly financially irresponsible” for the town to take the “aggressive and radical approach” called for in the document.
Town Councilor Douglas Butler questioned why Wakefield needs to be a “Climate Leader.” He expressed his frustration with what he called “virtue signaling and environmental grandstanding.”
“This is very expensive and is not going to have any impact other than making us feel virtuous,” he said.
Councilor Jonathan Chines claimed that the Roadmap would not mandate the town to do anything. He advocated continuing to move forward and have the consultant work with DPW to clean up the document.
Dombroski disputed the claim that the Roadmap comes without obligations. He called it a “poor document” and questioned the wisdom of “continuing down this path.” He said that the DPW is already looking at ways to make the town more energy efficient.
Chairman Michael McLane pointed out that any grants coming from the state wouldn’t come close to covering the costs of enacting the measures outlined in the Decarbonization Roadmap.
“If we go down this road, we have to honest with the taxpayers about the cost,” he said.
Dombroski made a motion to not move forward with the Decarbonization Roadmap. McLane seconded the motion.
“We don’t need a disengaged consultant,” Dombroski said, adding that there is nothing stopping the DPW from pursuing energy efficiency goals and doing its own assessments.
Councilor Mehreen Butt advocated continuing with the Decarbonization Roadmap. “There’s more work to be done on this plan,” she said.
Butler said that he is not a fan of decarbonization.
“I’m not looking to decarbonize,” he said. “Decarbonizing Wakefield will not make a difference.”
McLane reiterated his view that it would be “indefensible to go forward without establishing where the money would come from.” He noted that there were a lot of strict requirements and very expensive items in the Roadmap.
“If you sign on to this Climate Leaders program, you must do them,” he said. Dombroski agreed.
“We are going down a path that is going to create mandates that this town cannot afford,” he said.
After a motion by Chines to table Dombroski’s motion failed, the Town Council voted 4-3 in favor of Dombroski’s motion to pull the plug on the Decarbonization Roadmap. Voting in favor of scuttling the Decarbonization Roadmap were Councilors Dombroski, McLane, Vincent and Butler. Chines, Butt and Carney opposed the motion.