Dayna Whitfordís presentation topped the agenda of items at Boyle Village Council Dec. 19, where the senior director of Momentis pitched her EnergyMizer power reduction product to council.
The device, which for residential installation is smaller than a smoke detector but costs around $350, is said to reduce the fluctuations caused in energy currents to provide safer, cleaner energy consumption by devices, and save up to 20 per cent on electricity bills.
ìThe Energy Management Systems are used in commercial and industrial environments that carry inductive loads, meaning the alternating load current lags behind the voltage of a load, which can cause excessive damage to your equipment,î said Whitford, who said a set of the devices were installed at Boyle Liquor Store just over six months ago.
According to Whitford, ì25 per cent of out electricity is unusable because of the surges and the spikes that we get in our power. What this system does is it stores, flattens it and then it releases it as that motor or that fridge needs it.î
Councillors scratched their heads at the productís true feasibility for installation around town, but they were attentive to what the EMS rep had to say, and so too was public works superintendent Alex Neumann.
Neumann later posed some technical questions; Whitford offered to connect him with one of the companyís senior experts in energy management for a more thorough explanation on the in and outs of the technology.
The cost for two industrial sized units can be around $3,500 but can be paid in lease, financing or outright options; the potential cost benefit, said Whitford, can be in the tens of thousands if maintaining an expensive piece of equipment.
The Electro-magnetic fields (EMFs) are believed to have damaging health effects, claimed Whitford. She said EMFs can contribute to Alzheimerís, blood pressure problems, asthma, miscarriages, leukemia and cancer.
Boyle Village Council will continue to look into the feasibility of the energy-conserving product, as CAO Charlie Ashbey briefly noted that the villageís streetlights use up a fair amount of power, noting that Boyleís hydro bill in 2011 totaled about $18,600.
Monthly Report for Public Works
Alex Neumann, public works superintendent for the Village of Boyle, presented his monthly report to Village Council, providing a wide scope of public works updates to council.
Among those he highlighted was a strong snow removal program, and Boyle Public Works have cleared all sidewalks at least twice.
ìIt is better to err on the side of caution rather than have someone fall with a detrimental outcome,î reads the superintendentís report to council with regards to proactive snow removal.
The point was also raised by council that even though the village is trying to be proactive with snow removal with the clearing of vacant lots, spec homes and existing vacant homes, members of the community should still make a concerted effort to clear snow around the neighbourhoods.
ìI donít want to get that phone call where a senior has tripped and fallen and maybe because of too much snow on the sidewalks that maybe we missed or someone else missed,î said Neumann.
Some of the villageís equipment has been repaired and recertified, including a lift truck and grader. The grader has been repaired to 90 per cent of its ìrated lifeî and is reportedly ìin good working conditionî operated by an ìexceptional grader operator.î
The townís bobcat requires repair that could be expensive and Neumann suggests the village might get a better bang for its buck if it upgraded to a slightly larger one with tracks that will be easier on the operator and have a lower risk of tipping or rolling over, said Neumann.
ìWeíve had some issues in the past in which the small bobcat has actually [operated] in excessive angles,î said Neumann. ìI wonít knee-jerk it, but I will research it, and I will let council know whatís out there and how we could possibly approach this.î
Neumannís report noted Cameron Sewage failed to make an appearance in Boyle in November to clean the main sewer lines, forcing him to ìput the service on holdî with the dropping temperatures as the winter progresses.
On the upside, the village arena is functioning within normal parameters and ìoperators are doing a great job,î says the report. New windows have been installed.
Neumann said village safety is at a high with no accidents to report, and the village is holding regular safety meetings.
