Controversy over a proposed compressed natural gas (CNG) station in DeFuniak Springs, Fla., is bubbling among officials and the public following the city council's recent decision to move forward with the project.
The council voted 3-2 in the affirmative to accept a $1 million bid from refueling infrastructure developer Patriot CNG, according to coverage from local media source The DeFuniak Herald.
Before the vote and decision, the council debated positions for and against the project, and members of the community also chimed in. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the overall cost of the project was a central issue.
‘It's a million dollars, and that's more than we bring in [through] taxes every year,’ the Herald quoted Councilman Mac Carpenter as saying. ‘That's the magnitude of the decision we're making. We're spending more than one year's worth of tax receipts hoping this will work out.’
Carpenter voted against accepting the bid, but the Herald noted that his objection was not to CNG itself – just the cost. However, fellow council member Henry Enni – who also voted against the measure – said that the CNG station was a ‘pie in the sky’ idea for DeFuniak Springs.
Read the Herald's full article here.
