Editor: In the Dec. 15 edition of The Chatham Voice a picture and storyline beneath it (on Pg. 13) shared information about the new EV charging stations at the Civic Centre. It explained how the stations came at a cost of $170,000 to CK taxpayers and in the next sentence stated, “There will be a charge for users at some point, as officials are evaluating what the cost and payment structure will be.” The picture showed a lady plugging in her vehicle, and it leaves a reader no choice but to conclude that she is “juicing” up her vehicle for free, at the expense of guess who – us taxpayers!
“At some point” they will start charging. When “officials” figure out the cost? Are you kidding me? Can someone from the municipality please call me and assure me that we have responsible, intelligent people managing the affairs of this community, and that there has been some confusion in the way that this story was presented. Surely you did not flip the switch and leave it “ON” – thereby giving away free fuel – while you figured out how to get reimbursed for this big expense …… did you?
Hydro is not free. And you do realize that there are no local gas stations giving away free gas to the other 98 per cent of us taxpayers still driving gasoline-powered vehicles, don’t you?
It is offensive to see waste like this. It is concerning to learn that the people running our municipal business can’t figure out something as basic as cost recovery or asset management. But then again, maybe this story contained incorrect information and we have nothing to worry about. Please say it’s so; my number is in the phonebook.
Rick Youlton
Chatham-Kent
