Keeping LMT Green

(The pic is of the Delaware Canal, which may actually be in Yardley Borough as opposed to Lower Makefield Township - oh well...).

I simply had to take a minute or two and take note of this “Thumbs Down” entry from the Bucks County Courier Times from last Saturday (took awhile, I know)…

To Lower Makefield supervisors for only getting behind a smoking ban until it hurts the township's bottom line.

This week the township supervisors moved forward on prohibiting smoking at township parks and other properties by authorizing the solicitor to draft the ordinance. However, one likely exception will be the township-owned Makefield Highlands Golf Club.

“When you choose to go up there and golf,” said board Chairman Greg Caiola, “I think you make a conscious decision to be among people who are smoking.”

Really? We would have thought that folks who go to the golf course have only made the conscious decision to ... play golf.

We think Supervisor Pete Stainthorpe was a bit more forthcoming when he said, “Guys smoke cigars while they golf and they're even sold in the prop shop. It would put a dent in the revenue up there to prohibit smoking.” Which of course makes you wonder how committed the supervisors really are to protecting the health of residents.

I’ve been going back and forth on this for a little while now, and I suppose it would be hypocritical for me to say I favor smoking at Makefield Highlands after favoring all the other “do gooder” stuff that I do, such as motorcycle helmets, carpooling and mass transit initiatives, etc.

However, I should add the caveat that I think that if you’re going to allow smoking somewhere, a golf course would be a place where that could be allowed; it’s outdoors, my guess is that the participants will overwhelmingly be older than 18, many of whom probably smoke anyway, and you would probably have a minor rebellion on your hands if you told the paying customers that they wouldn’t be allowed to light up.

Leaving all of this aside for a moment, though, I would like to take some time and do something the Courier Times didn’t do (I haven’t been able to find it, anyway), and that is to list the environmental initiatives of Lower Makefield Township that, at the very least, offset the Makefield Highlands smoking issue as far as I’m concerned (this list was provided by Greg Caiola)…

LMT became first community in Bucks to sign up for this Sierra Club Cool Cities program. This program establishes an action plan to lower LMT’s carbon footprint. Further, it proved to be the impetus for Bucks County to become the first county in the state to adopt the Cool Cities Program.

Energy Audit – LMT contracted with Sun Technics, a firm with alternative energy expertise, to perform a comprehensive energy audit of all major Township facilities. This audit was presented to the Board of Supervisors and the citizens of LMT.

Alternative Energy – LMT became the first community in Bucks County to sign on to the Smart Power initiative, which committed LMT to using 20% alternative energy by the year 2010.

Smart Power Award – As part of Smart Power commitment, LMT, with 20+ other communities, was challenged to sign up an additional 200 customers in order to receive a small stand-alone solar system or a $10,000 grant towards a larger system. LMT became first community in Bucks to reach this goal and the 350 new signups was the highest of any of the municipalities in the program.

Farmers Market – The saying “Get Fresh on Thursdays” became a household word when an outdoor Farmers Market opened for business in the Edgewood Pocket Park. Since only locally produced items may be sold at the market, the lower transportation costs result in a lower carbon footprint for LMT.

LID Ordinance – LMT’s comprehensive and progressive Low Impact Development Stormwater Management Ordinance requires natural aquifer recharging before any constructed stormwater management devices may be used. It also allows clustering which results in more open space. The result is less infrastructure and construction activity, which decreases the amount of CO2 entering the atmosphere. This ordinance, it should be noted, won a National Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Solar in LMT – In addition to the small system won in the Smart Power Program, LMT is currently having prepared for its evaluation, several solar proposals by the Sun Technics Group.

A Green Building Code for LMT – LMT’s Environmental Advisory council is currently writing up a draft “Green Building Code” for LMT that would apply to all new construction and any substantial renovation of Township facilities.

An individual who has perhaps been the most important driver of these initiatives is Board Vice Chairman Steve Santarsiero (from here), who is running for the PA State House of Representatives; to help Steve, click here.