Blachut: Reader wants energy use to be reduced in Sun City

Sun City Arizona is a wonderful place, there is no place like it and there is no reason that we do not have more renewable energy in our Recreation Centers of Sun City buildings and a very active water saving plan.

A campus, corporation or community of this size would have an energy management department with a wide range of powers to reduce energy and water consumption. We have many places in Sun City and RCSC where we can reduce energy use and still have the same level of comfort, etc., and also reduce our carbon footprint.

This would be very attractive for prospective people wishing to relocate to Sun City and knowing that our community is saving energy and has a long range plan to save our planet. If we advertise that our community saves energy on all our buildings this would be one more desirable reason to come here.

Presently we have seven years until we reach 2030, a date the United States promised to reduce our carbon footprint by 50%. What has Sun City done? What is Sun City planning to do? Nothing — not even a discussion!

Presently Sun City is planning a new recreation center to be built very soon. Has the RCSC board asked the Architect to even study the feasibility to include renewable energy? No! This is not even in their vocabulary.

What kind of place is this? It is not too late, Mountain View has not been built yet, it would be very easy to ask the Architect to provide a study and cost estimates and let the residents of Sun City decide. Any descent architectural firm in today’s world should have brought this up to the owner, if they did, what did the board say? What is going on? Our residents, I’m sure, would at least want to know the cost and savings.

Again, it is not too late to provide a study and cost and payback. One hundred percent renewable can be added in the planning stage to be part of the structure and electrical system. Grey water piping needs to go in before the floors are poured to separate the grey water from the sewage piping and provide recycled water use.

How can we sell Sun City if we cannot even say we considered renewable in our latest planned building?

The Arizona State University Tempe campus has many renewable energy buildings and covered parking areas. ASU has an office of Energy Management, which looks for ways to save energy and find grants to help pay for them. RCSC should do the same! ASU actually has a “LEED Platinum” building, which saves energy in very outstanding ways, a great example for Sun City. Our campus here at Sun City is basically similar to the campus at ASU. We are both nonprofit and have a great opportunity to operate in energy saving mode.

RCSC does a fine job, the rec centers are beautiful, well kept, well maintained, the employees are friendly and helpful. Why not, we are all retired and enjoying our “golden years.” RCSC must publish the monthly energy and water usage so residents can become aware of the use and cost, and start thinking about the ways to save.

Editor’s Note: We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.