A contingent of opposition soaked up the first 90 minutes of a public workshop on the proposed wind turbine project in Barrington on Tuesday night.

One by one, residents, some of whom were members of the group Citizens Wind Watch, approached the microphone at the front of the Barrington High School auditorium and reeled through questions and concerns about the project while some offered reasons the town council should not support building a wind turbine on Legion Way. Waterfowl, property values and buried landfills topped the opposition's remarks.

Eventually, other people were given the chance to speak.

Some said they supported the project, others said they wanted more work to be conducted by a professional third-party consultant and a few said it was wrong for residents to attack members of the Committee for Renewable Energy for Barrington, which offered a recommendation to accept a bid from Lumus Construction to build the turbine at Legion Way.

CREB members sat in the front row of the auditorium and listened to the speakers for more than two hours, but were asked not to comment on individual remarks until later in the meeting. According to town council member June Speakman, CREB members did not have the opportunity to address all the points because it was getting late and instead a second workshop will be held allowing them to respond. Ms. Speakman said a third workshop would be held at some point in the future where the council could comment on both residents' remarks and CREB's responses. No dates have been set.

What people said

Among the early speakers was Richard Frary. The long-time Broadview Drive resident - 42 years in the neighborhood - said he had appreciated all that came with living near Brickyard Pond, the body of water abutting the proposed Legion Way site.

"We've enjoyed the pond and all it has to offer," he said, adding that he was involved in the 1992 URI watershed project that monitored the health of the pond. He said the environmental impact on the pond from a turbine worksite, should it be approved, would be damaging to the wildlife in that area.

"I think the town council effort to put up a wind turbine should be abandoned," Mr. Frary said.

Robert LaChance, a Kirby Street resident, followed with more remarks about the birds at Brickyard Pond.

"When I first heard about the proposed wind turbine project at the high school I had some doubts," he said. "When the site changed to Brickyard Pond, I thought the problem we might have will have to do with wildlife. That area is teaming with waterfowl."

Residents pointed to a recommendation posed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which was also cited in CREB's health and safety report. It states: "Avoid placing turbines in documented locations of any species of wildlife, fish or plant protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act; Avoid placing turbines in known bird migration pathways or in areas where birds are highly concentrated, such as wetlands, state or federal refuges, or riparian areas along streams, unless mortality risk is low..."

"We just want to speak for the birds, that's all," said Mr. LaChance.

Candleberry Road resident Ron Russo voiced concerns with the contractor recommended for the project, Lumus Construction, and the manufacturer, Elecon. He also questioned the setbacks being suggested for this project - 1,000 feet. He contrasted them to the setbacks used in some European countries, which were reportedly around 5,000 feet.

Paul Forte brought in a package of energy efficient light bulbs in order to hammer home one of his points. He asserted that by switching a portion of each residents' lights over to fluorescent bulbs, taxpayers could realize similar savings to those proposed with the wind turbine. He also said that property values will be negatively impacted for those people living close to the Legion Way site.

"Barrington will be an example of this bad idea," he said.

Other people followed Mr. Forte and spoke about the noise issues associated with wind turbines, alternative approaches to saving money for the town, zoning regulations implications and the need for third-party consultant work.

At around 8:30, some supporters approached the microphone. Two high school students said they thought the project would be a good addition to the town, and resident Ann Strong said she wanted the oppositions' questions to be answered by an outside consultant so that the project can move forward.

Cynthia Giles, a Governor Bradford Drive resident, said not only does the town need to find a way to harness the power of wind energy, but they also need to fully invest in other renewable energy sources and implement staunch conservation measures.

No change

Despite all the comments, the majority of council members said the workshop did little to sway their thoughts on the proposed project.

"Most of that information has already been brought out," said council member John Lazzaro. "I'm still researching this. In the end, I will do what I believe will be right for the citizens of the town of Barrington."

Ms. Speakman said she too had heard most of the issues and concerns previously.

"Nothing I heard last night was new," Ms. Speakman said Wednesday morning, "therefore my position remains the same. My position is that I would like to see hard wind data taken at the site before I make my decision to vote yes or no on this project."

Councilor Dr. Jamie Schwartz said the technical questions of the project have not yet been answered, forcing councilors to rely too heavily upon opinions. He read a statement to the group gathered at the workshop.

"The timetable forced us to look at shortcuts in evaluating siting," stated Dr. Schwartz's written comments. "We have not had time to pass a siting ordinance to guide us in site selection. And it remains a question whether or not a (wind turbine generator) is a governmental proprietary function that allows us to override zoning. So we really only have our own opinions to guide us as to whether the site is appropriate. It concerns me that a council of five must decide, without formal guidance, whether a WTG should be erected on the shores of a wetland, in an environment that many value for its serenity, in a migratory bird zone, and in a location where the nearest house is 1,010 feet away."