The city of Saskatoon is no longer giving the landfill wind turbine project a green light after the sole bid on the project exceeded the estimated budget by nearly $2 million.
The bid received was $6.35 million – the city had set the budget at $4.4 million.
City manager Jeff Jorgenson says the project is no longer considered to be a good financial investment.
“City manager Jeff Jorgenson says the project is no longer considered to be a good financial investment. ”
IOW….he didn’t know anybody in the company that bid,so no kickback for him. Are ALL enviro-nazis and AGW cultists brain dead? There has not been ONE green scheme/scam that has returned ANY money to the taxpayer.
Finally some common sense prevails.
What has happened to Saskatchewan, Kate? It used to be the heart & sole of stupid socialism. Now it is the very epitome of common sense!
Robert in Ottawa – I can’t help but stress at the crazy green decisions being made and forced on people in Ontario. How the heck did you guys not change the government when you had the chance.
The over budget submission allowed the city an excuse to stop a locally unpopular project. One that among other drawbacks, would have ended up looking like a spinning propeller on a beanie.
The underlying reason for the cities decision was fear of a rebellion lead by the gray haired warriors in the community association.
By it’s unique design, it’s history(military veterans from WW2), and separation from any nearby other neighbourhoods, it really is a community.
If any number near it’s 2,000 residents formed a roadblock and stopped traffic, it would be national news.
A large, united group of citizens protesting their grievances has a long Common-Law history. It is democracy in action.
It produces fear in politicians and bureaucrats in a way that simply voting can’t.
This is because it asserts the political supremacy of the citizenry over the bureaucracy and the politicians. In the theory of a liberal democracy, their power is merely one delegated temporarily. Political sovereignty remains with the citizen.
It’s the same reason politicians fear referendums and plebiscites and why they are so rare.
“…of the people, by the people, for the people”- Lincoln’s Gettysburg address.
Good on you, Kate.
What’s really astounding is former NDP Cabinet minister Pat Lorje, as Red as they came, seeing through the farce and calling Bullsh!t!
Good on her!
At $3 for natural gas even if the turbine was a tenth of the budgeted cost, buying and operating a Gas Turbine would be a better financial investment.
Whoever thought of putting a “bird blender” in a landfill must really hate seagulls.
Speaking of SDA getting results, I notice that the visitor total is rapidly approaching 25 million, estimate that it might reach that number over the weekend. Congrats.
The Conservatives on City Council voted FOR this project while the Socialists all voted against it. Huh!
Randy Donauer is my Ward Councilor. I don’t know how many emails I sent him with information regarding the fiscal insanity of wind turbines. He obviously never reads emails from his constituents. This so-called Conservative voted in favor of this project.
I attended the public meeting regarding the turbine prior to the City Council vote. The City engineers in attendance were completely ill-informed as to the financial viability, the sound problems, the strobe effect, the potential killing of birds etc.
There is not one large wind turbine on the planet that has been profitable without subsidies or a rate increase on power. The Saskatoon “big fan” would have been massively subsidized by the Feds and the Provincial governments.
I came away from that meeting absolutely disgusted and thinking what a bunch of idiots the City of Saskatoon has holding down important positions, from the Bobblehead Mayor, to City Councilors, to City Dept. staff.
The grant money for the project was only available to the city if they built it inside their city limits.
It wasn’t going to be sited at the best spot for wind turbines, it was going to be sited at the best spot for grant farming, which was a pretty poor place for a wind turbine.
It wasn’t a wind turbine, it was a grant turbine.
I talked to an engineer familiar with it who said it would only generate about a third as much power here compared to down south around Swift Current.
A dumb idea made even dumber by the grant system, I’m still surprised it got the chop.
Well, whatever… Maybe with the ‘other people’s money’ we saved we can get a glass dome over downtown instead.
“Speaking of SDA getting results, I notice that the visitor total is rapidly approaching 25 million, estimate that it might reach that number over the weekend. Congrats.” Peter O’Donnell.
I noticed that too! Maybe in light of that auspicious landmark Ms. Kate would consider awarding the lucky 25M th poster, oh, I don’t know…
1) A free roadtrip on the next doggie competition,
2) A ‘Kate Original’ piece of artwork,
3) A guided whitetail hunt in southern Saskatchewan,
4) A ‘hoggie’ road trip on Sask’s hiways and byways,
5) A personal guided tour of downtown Delisle.
6) The runt of the next champion litter.
Sounds good Snagglepuss except for the fact that Kate has already shelled out a lot keeping us informed and entertained. Besides, do you know how far she drives daily on those road trips?
To be fair, if I’m #25,000,000 I’ll send her a lobster dinner.
Although, as 25 million is a milestone, a “then and now” look back would be entertaining. I think her first blog was on a Commodore64 with punch cards.
Saskatoon needs a new mayor.
Montgomery Place is not against development, just against stupid development. The community meetings concerning the turbine were a sham intended to appear to consult the community while openly ignoring everything that taxpayers said. It would make a great deal of sense to talk to the community first and then make plans.
The city is doing the exact same thing in regard to development north of 11th St. W. and may well waste time and money on it too.
If we elect a new mayor in 2012 we will almost certainly not get someone too arrogant to care about the effects of his or her decisions.
People in Saskatoon need to think about what is being done here and how little the residents seem to matter.
Let’s make some changes at City Hall.
“What’s really astounding is former NDP Cabinet minister Pat Lorje, as Red as they came, seeing through the farce and calling Bullsh!t!”
Posted by: Snagglepuss
Don’t get too excited about Pat there snaggle, I heard her on the Richard Brown show this afternoon saying she would much rather see a solar panel installation at the landfill. So it turns out she still is a watermelon!
how much did the taxpayers have to shell out to studt this issue? I’ll bet it was more than a 100,000 dollars. What a f’n waste of money. Fire Mayor Atchison, Murry Totland and All city councillors. Send these usless bums back to there day jobs.
My favourite line in the story is that the killing of the wind turbine had “nothing whatsoever” to do with the opposition of the citizens. That must make all Saskatonians proud and confident in their leadership.
At least it is dead, it would have been a perpetual white elephant that would have to be propped up by taxpayer dollars for years to come because no one would shut it down and have to bear the “I told you so’s” from the intelligent folks in the room.
Not sure what SDA had to do with it. The bid was over budget. The city said ‘no’. Plain, simple, and smart!
“What’s really astounding is former NDP Cabinet minister Pat Lorje, as Red as they came, seeing through the farce and calling Bullsh!t!”
I am hesitant to give Lorje credit for this since past performance has shown that she has never seen a stupid idea that she didn’t like.
The proposed windmill was to be built in Lorje’s ward and I’m sure she heard long and hard from her constituents. Had the windmill been slated to be erected in another area of the city, she would have been all over it and pontificated about its benefits during council meetings in her usual long-winded manner.
Texas Canuck 9:41 PM
we should all pitch in and do something for the lady, it would be deserving, after putting up 25 million times with this load of fools:-))))