Going "green" can mean a lot of things, but lately, it's all about the pursuit of practicing to be more environmentally friendly and deciding to make ecologically responsible decisions.

And so it is with the town of Niverville. As of Thursday, council members for Niverville released the following commitment on social media: 

“To changing the town’s gas-powered vehicles and equipment over the next few years to electric and will start with those items where it makes the most financial sense.” (Facebook)

The Mayor of Niverville, Myron Dyck shares the reason behind the statement,

“Well, you know, we're looking to do our part considering where society is going. It's part of being environmentally responsible and we want to ensure that we are doing our part. We started with the new Rec Centre. There are four charging stations (for electric cars) there that we got because of a Government Grant." Dyck continues, "when we look at asset management for equipment, which is town equipment, public works, and otherwise, we're changing equipment over every number of years as it reaches its economic life, and so now, instead of looking at gas-powered, we're looking at electric and what that might mean for infrastructure and costs and so, the announcement is that we are making the commitment that where it is financially reasonable to do so, that we will be looking to change vehicles like riding lawnmowers, gators, 4-wheelers and things that we would use in day-to-day operations as part of our environmental responsibility.”

Dyck says they’ve already begun the changeover process in Niverville. “So the ice maintainer at the new Community Resource and Recreation Centre, the machine that is flooding and caring for the ice, is already a battery-powered unit, while other ones in the area may run on propane, but this way there is no scent in the building and again, it's also a part of environmental responsibility.”

Niverville CRCC battery-operated ice maintainerNiverville CRCC battery-operated ice maintainer.

As to how long it will take to replace all the machinery used in the town of Niverville, Dyck says each piece of equipment will be replaced once it has reached its economic lifecycle.

“So, every year when we go to our planning session, one of the things we would look at is the budget for the following year and what equipment is being changed out. So, for 2023 there will already be items on there, though I'm not sure that we would be replacing them." But, Dyck says, it's not just about replacing machinery, there also needs to be infrastructure in place on our public works yard or at our town office.

"You know, as far as electrical service and charging equipment and then ensuring we have space and buildings and otherwise. You know, it starts with the first unit and then there will be multiple units and so we need to ensure that we have the electrical capacity and that we have the storage capacity as well to be able to hook up all these units.”

Dyck shares that one reason for releasing this statement at this time is the price of gas these days. “This is what we have started to study and doing our due diligence as far as costs. We don't want to go and spend double on something, just because it might be something that should be done. There has to be a balance of cost because we're conscientious of the ratepayer and what they're paying in taxes, and we want to make changes where it makes the most financial sense. We want to exchange the gas-powered with the battery and maybe save a few dollars on operations and things like that, but only change over where it makes sense.”

As to whether the Mayor will be owning an electric car anytime soon? “I'm a business person and I've done some investigating as I've been driving down our Manitoba roads. Well, they aren't all smooth sailing highways and that's no knock against it, I mean this is just the climate we live in. So if I'm going down a gravel road and fighting the potholes in the mud I need something that's not gonna leave me, you know, stuck right? But mostly, I'm still Mennonite at my core, I have to honour my ancestors and their thriftiness.”

So for now, the Mayor will leave going 'green', when it comes to vehicles, to his fellow council member Nathan Dueck, who commented recently regarding charging his Tesla Model 3 at the Niverville CRCC -  "Awesome charging station. Really great area. Had time to check in on a hockey game and grab a snack while vehicle charging. Great experience."