Borough Council candidates talk about getting green

By Davy James, Staff Writer
   JAMESBURG — Candidates for the Borough Council say that municipalities need to explore green alternatives as ways to save money and energy costs.
   Republican Brian Duke, Democratic Daria Ludas and Democratic incumbent and current council President Otto Kostbar are vying for two, three-year seats on the council.
   Mr. Duke, 36, is the national director of marketing for a consulting and engineering firm in Manalapan. He said Jamesburg needs to be proactive in pursuing money-saving energy alternatives.
   ”Clearly, as a society we’re moving towards sustainable energy solutions,” Mr. Duke said. “We’re moving towards hybrid vehicles and as a borough we need to explore all directions. The use of solar power has moved forward a great deal. We need to explore implementation through grants and funding which can be used to install solar panels on rooftops for municipal buildings. We need to explore retrofitting our existing municipal buildings with green and sustainable energy methods.”
   Mr. Duke said converting the stoplights in town to LED lights and using high-efficiency low-wattage bulbs in streetlights were other areas that could save money in the borough. He also would look into other areas for conservation.
   ”There are areas of water conservation I would explore, like gray water for example,” Mr. Duke said. “That would use treated water for irrigation within town. There are a lot of avenues involved in sustainable design. We need to be moving towards green alternatives as a borough, but also encouraging citizens to work toward a more sustainable lifestyle. As energy costs continue to rise, the change towards green initiatives is an inevitability. It’s better to be ahead of the curve than following it.”
   Mr. Duke said the borough needs to explore all options available because of the importance of helping the environment while also saving money.
   ”Clearly there are areas for grants and funding that we need to start exploring because researching and applying for grants and low-interest loans is key to accomplishing our goals,” he said. “The reality is municipalities need to look to save money by implementing green solutions with grants and loans. Society is expecting this of governments. Becoming a more sustainable society is the expectation.”
   Mr. Kostbar, 58, is an attorney who has served on the council for three and one half terms. He said the council has looked into green energy alternatives, but the borough can’t afford to risk losing money on anything that would damage the budget.
   ”In the past we’ve looked into getting a loan to put solar panels on Borough Hall, but the energy savings would barely cover the cost of the loan,” Mr. Kostbar said. “Plus the life of the panels wasn’t long enough and those would need replacing and it didn’t work out as being a viable alternative. We have a very tight budget and can’t take chances. We can look into many alternatives but the main thing is money consideration. If we can find a way to save money then we’re going to do it.”
   Mr. Kostbar said there were no grants or funding available that the borough hasn’t already explored and the council is constantly looking for ways of saving money with energy saving alternatives.
   ”We’ve looked into having increased bicycle patrols for our police, but our problems are mostly traffic related and it’s hard for a policeman on a bike to chase down a car,” Mr. Kostbar said. “I’d also like to continue to see more trees planted and rehabbing the trees along our streets.”
   Mr. Kostbar said he’d love to see organizations like the post office move toward hybrid vehicles, because it’s extremely energy efficient for slow moving vehicles. He said currently there aren’t any vehicles in the borough that fit into that category. But in the future as borough vehicles need to be replaced, he said the council would look into hybrid possibilities, particularly with the rising cost of fuel.
   Mr. Kostbar said changes in the economy with the rising cost of energy could open up new possibilities for grants.
   ”We’re fully aware of energy costs and we got hit very hard with the rise in fuel cost,” he said. “We have to see what’s going to happen. We may see different programs come online to help with energy costs. Hopefully the cost of fuel puts that on the radar of people who give grants and we need to keep on the lookout for those. Hopefully, technology will continue to improve and make solar power more affordable and cost efficient. But we’ve looked into that in the past and it wasn’t cost effective. We can’t take a chance and get ourselves into something that could hurt our budget.”
   Ms. Ludas, 59, is a third-grade teacher in Fords and served on the Library board of trustees for eight years. She said Jamesburg has already taken small steps toward being more energy efficient and needs to continue to explore those possibilities in the future.
   ”We’ve already started on a small scale by using LED lighting for our town Christmas tree and that’s a start,” Ms. Ludas said. “We can look into using LED lights in our streetlights if that’s possible. We also encourage recycling throughout town and need to continue to do so. Solar power is also a good option. We need to look into that in the future for our municipal buildings.”
   Ms. Ludas said that hybrid vehicles are too expensive currently but the borough needs to look into other options to offset the cost of fuel.
   ”We need to conserve the energy in the municipal vehicles we have by consolidating trips and by not taking as many trips per day,” Ms. Ludas said. “It’s important for Jamesburg to be cost effective in every area. All municipalities should be more careful.”
   Ms. Ludas said the benefit of green energy alternatives goes beyond saving money, and also extends to the environment.
   ”New Jersey is known as the Garden State and we want to keep that,” she said. “It’s important for future generations to be cost effective and energy conscious, to save money and save the planet. Every little bit helps and every municipality should work towards that.”