Wind War Rages On
The Caledonian Record|Sky Barsch|November 23, 2007
The war over wind raged on this week, as the Barton area's Ladies Improvement Society pressed the Barton Select Board for any means to stop commercial wind development in town. Though no commercial wind projects are being proposed for the Orleans County town, the 10 or so women who attended a Monday night select board meeting want to ensure that stopgaps are in place in case a project should be proposed. The group doesn't even want wind developers to drive heavy trucks through Barton for other projects. ...Selectmen, however, told the group that a community-wide discussion will have to happen on the issue, because there are many in town who support renewable energy.
The war over wind raged on this week, as the Barton area's Ladies Improvement Society pressed the Barton Select Board for any means to stop commercial wind development in town. Though no commercial wind projects are being proposed for the Orleans County town, the 10 or so women who attended a Monday night select board meeting want to ensure that stopgaps are in place in case a project should be proposed. The group doesn't even want wind developers to drive heavy trucks through Barton for other projects. ...Selectmen, however, told the group that a community-wide discussion will have to happen on the issue, because there are many in town who support renewable energy.
BARTON -- The war over wind raged on this week, as the Barton area's Ladies Improvement Society pressed the Barton Select Board for any means to stop commercial wind development in town.
Though no commercial wind projects are being proposed for the Orleans County town, the 10 or so women who attended a Monday night select board meeting want to ensure that stopgaps are in place in case a project should be proposed. The group doesn't even want wind developers to drive heavy trucks through Barton for other projects.
Their call for action comes in the form of a successful recent petition drive which asks that the town plan be changed to ban commercial and industrial wind power. The drive is in response to a large wind project planned for …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]BARTON -- The war over wind raged on this week, as the Barton area's Ladies Improvement Society pressed the Barton Select Board for any means to stop commercial wind development in town.
Though no commercial wind projects are being proposed for the Orleans County town, the 10 or so women who attended a Monday night select board meeting want to ensure that stopgaps are in place in case a project should be proposed. The group doesn't even want wind developers to drive heavy trucks through Barton for other projects.
Their call for action comes in the form of a successful recent petition drive which asks that the town plan be changed to ban commercial and industrial wind power. The drive is in response to a large wind project planned for nearby Sheffield.
Though the petition is a matter for the Planning Commission, which is in the process of updating the town plan, the Ladies Improvement Society attended Monday's select board meeting to discuss their concerns and make sure the correct process is being followed. But despite the board's best efforts to limit discussion, the evening turned into a debate of sorts over whether industrial-scale wind is beneficial or not.
Selectmen, however, told the group that a community-wide discussion will have to happen on the issue, because there are many in town who support renewable energy. Though they don't have the passion the anti-wind group has and don't attend meetings, there are many who don't want to see wind banned, select board Chairman Robert Croteau said.
Additionally, the issue is in the hands of the planning commission at this point, and is not yet a select board matter, Croteau said.
Planning commission Chairman Jay Dudley attending the meeting said the commission is discussing putting two items on a future ballot: a question on whether to ban commercial and industrial wind (in response to the ladies society petition) and a question on whether to include language that specifically includes windmills in the town plan. Whatever won voter approval would be included in the new town plan.