“It’s just a construction easement, but this is a big project,” said Councilor David Prytherch, who said Oxford will benefit from the multi-million dollar hub at no cost to the city.
“We’re getting a wonderful facility in our community that is paid for by the BCRTA that will benefit all of the City of Oxford, currently without great cost to us or any cost to us,” Prytherch said. “This facility could be in Hamilton — all of that employment could be in Hamilton. There are reasons why it’s here, but this is a multi-tens-of-million dollars facility.”
Prytherch also encouraged residents to attend Thursday’s public input session for the city’s Climate Action Plan, a plan years-in-the-making that outlines the city’s sustainability goals and supports City Council’s promise to become net carbon neutral by 2045.
Assistant City Manager Jessica Greene described Thursday’s meeting as a chance for residents to express ideas or concerns about the specific options that the city has to meet its climate goals.
Prytherch said, “The city can set the goals … but it’s going to take all of us if we’re going to meet [them].”
The meeting is scheduled from 6 to 7:30 p.m. today, April 6 at Oxford Seniors and will feature an in-depth look at the city’s plan.
Relatedly, Council announced a new full-time city position: a Climate Sustainability Coordinator, which has already been filled. Current graduate-level intern Reena Murphy will start in July.
As an intern with the city for nearly a year, Murphy has been at the forefront of Oxford’s sustainability initiatives, including data gathering, analysis and reporting of the city’s carbon neutrality efforts and drafting policy.
“She’s just done tremendous work in this area,” Greene told the Journal-News. “She’s going to be very much driving the climate goals for the City of Oxford.”
Prytherchsaid the creation of the full-time position is a critical step in achieving the city’s energy and climate goals.
“In order to do what we need to do, we need the staff capacity — but that’s one of the harder things for us to carve out of the budget,” Prytherch said. “We’re putting our money where our mouth is when it comes to sustainability.”
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