Mayor Randy Hope said anyone who believes he doesn’t concern himself with water quality hasn’t been paying attention to his career.
The mayor and council have come under fire for being willing hosts to several hundred wind turbines across the municipality but he says money received through negotiations haven’t affected his or council’s judgment.
“I’ve never sold my soul for money and I never will,” he said. “I know it’s an emotional issue but we can’t make decisions just based on emotion.”
Hope said the millions of dollars negotiated by Chatham-Kent through wind farms are a boon to the community in offsetting taxes and helping local groups.
“The fact is many municipalities didn’t do what we did and ended up with projects without providing municipal funds. We didn’t have the power to stop turbines even if we wanted to. It’s a provincial decision.”
He said during his time in the provincial legislature, he fought for funding for municipal water towers in Pain Court and Mitchell’s Bay.
“There has been a long-standing issue with methane in some Dover wells so I wanted to ensure a safe, reliable supply,” he said.
He said he was involved with earlier attempts for a north Kent water line to bring water to Dresden and the surrounding area. Although that effort failed after it “got bogged down in politics” Hope said it wasn’t for lack of effort in his quarter.
He said he was happy council decided to send Chief Legal Officer John Norton to a review tribunal on the North Kent One project.
“I want the right thing to be done,” he said. “If there is an issue that can be backed up with science, it can be dealt with.”
