“I don’t perceive this to be a metric that we can say, ‘If it’s over 52% we can do it,’” said Councilmember Patrick Keane, who also sits on RPU’s board. “But it is an important influence.”
Keane said he anticipates there will be some “community angst” over the decision, as city officials will have to be mindful of increasing costs for property owners at the same time as following residents’ wishes to adopt more environmentally friendly energy practices.
Keane said he’s also concerned infrastructure and energy contract costs may increase regardless of what steps Rochester takes.
“[Then] I’ve done nobody a favor by holding off and I just bothered a bunch of people who think we reneged on our sustainability commitment,” he said.