Duncan holds out on Madvac vote

At the March 31 council meeting, a rare debate among the councillors began after Duncan refused to vote in favour of purchasing a new Madvac vacuum vehicle used to clear the city’s sidewalks of litter.

In what was expected to be a routine agenda item, to be quickly voted upon and passed, Duncan said she did not believe that acquiring the nearly $70,000 diesel-powered Madvac was an environmentally responsible purchase by a council committed to ‘green’ initiatives.

“I’m afraid I can’t vote in favour,” Duncan told her council colleagues. “I can’t in my right conscience vote for this item.”

In a subsequent interview, Duncan shared her idea on what she sees as an alternative solution to cleaning the streets.

“You can sweep the streets and you can get the commercial sector of the city sweeping in front of their establishments,” said Duncan. “They want just as much to contribute towards being green in this community as we do and the residents do.”

Mayor Karin Marks, who is in favour of adding a Madvac to the City’s fleet of vehicles, disagreed with Duncan’s views that the emissions produced will be significant.

“I think we’re talking about a relatively small amount compared to [other vehicles],” said Marks. “All along the way, when you’re talking about sustainability, you’re looking at the balance between environment and other needs, and where do you get the greatest bang for your buck in terms of the changes that are made,” she said.

The mayor believed that the benefits of the Madvac would outweigh the alternative proposed by Duncan, and that the new composting program would offset the pollution produced by the vehicle.

“I’m not convinced that not having a Madvac and trying to mobilize citizens and personnel... is the way to go,” said Marks. “I think our composting program is going to be a huge thing and an important thing in looking at what we’re doing for the environment.”

Although council approved the purchase of the Madvac, the debate over environmentally efficient equipment raised some good points for the council to consider as they move forward in committing Westmount to greener environmental practices.

The next city council meeting will take place this Monday, April 28, at 8 p.m. at City Hall.