I introduced myself to my town board last night.
They were gracious to me and let me ramble on for well over five minutes. I appreciated that. My ramblings included the heart of my concerns: that local government is dying and that the power of the state is metastasizing and creeping into our day to day lives in rural NY. I expressed to them that I don't want our community to become what Albany envisions, rather I want it to become what we decide. Specifically, I expressed concern that the renewable energy agenda - the "green new deal" so to speak - is an anti-local agenda that uses bribery in the forms of subsidies to cause well-intended local officials to be captured by the state. I spoke of the morality of fossil fuels, and how they lead to the flourishing of human life because they are high density, efficient, abundant, reliable, and until recently - affordable. I even pivoted to the bigger picture and suggested to my local officials that We the People need them to hold the line and recognize that liberty is under assault. It's hard to know if my words meant anything to them. Perhaps not since the audience from the community consisted solely of me and a disgruntled gentleman who showed up to voice unclear grievances and a general dissatisfaction with the board. On a completely different topic, the town justice had just that day emailed his resignation. No details were provided. Part way through the meeting, another woman walked through the door. Everyone there knew her. Apparently, the board had contacted her earlier in the day and asked her to come. She had previously served as town justice and was there to take up the slack for the justice who had mysteriously (at least to me) resigned today. She was "sworn in" by the attorney who was present. They kept calling him, "Peter." At one point Peter became visibly irritated by the disgruntled gentleman who occasionally piped up with a complaint, and during one of his comments he referred to Peter as a "lawyer," at which point Peter interrupted him to let him know he is an "attorney." His irritability seemed a little unnecessary, but who am I to say? Back to the story at hand. The fill-in town justice was "sworn in" on a big book from the bookshelf behind the town board. They didn't have a Bible to use, but that didn't seem to bother them, and they indicated any book would do. I actually had my Bible with me. I should have offered it, but everything happened pretty fast. There were other things discussed... constables that couldn't pass the physical training necessary and the need to use Cattaraugus County Sheriffs as security during court nights. Then came the reason I was there: discussion about the renewables.... I asked permission to ask a few questions of Chris (he was there in a number of capacities, but one of them was as a representative of the planning board). I asked him if there are solar farms on their way in our town. He told me that there is one that has gone through the application process and will soon be breaking ground and one that is just beginning the process (Olivewood - the smooth talking young guy I met at the last board meeting). I asked Chris how many acres were being dedicated to these projects. He told me, "About 15." At that point, the lawyer....oops...attorney....stepped in and spoke up and said, "No. It's more like 9." I have to say... I'm not sure that I believe either one of them. It seems like that is much too small a number and that it wouldn't be worth it at all....but again....I am still learning. In any case, my accuracy detector was alerted that I will need to research this out. I also asked about the decommissioning plan and whether the panels will be recycled as part of the decommissioning plan. I was assured by both Chris and the attorney that a great decommissioning plan has been developed. I'm not sure what great means. I guess this is one more thing I will have to do some research on and see if I can get more specific information. And then came the conversation about Article 10 and Article 7 and the Alle-Catt Wind Farm and how once renewable projects are past a certain size the state zoning regulations override the local ones. They talked about how the County Planner - someone named "Marie" would work with the Yorkshire Town Board to review and update and revise their current zoning codes and how Marie and the County have offered to "guide them through the process" for free. Peter the attorney indicated that either the supervisor of Yorkshire or the supervisor of Freedom would have to become the "point person" to keep track of the invoices and payments using the $50,000 available to hire consultants and prepare as "stakeholders" to go before an administrative law judge in the near future. The Yorkshire Town Supervisor asked if there was a benefit to Yorkshire doing this, and Peter the attorney stated "no" and that he would "ask the Town of Freedom to do it." I timidly raised my hand and asked if I could ask one more question. The board said, "sure." So I asked Peter the attorney if Dustin - supervisor in Freedom - has a wind turbine and transmission lines on his property - wondering if this is in any way a conflict of interest? He told me he had no idea the status of Dustin's property, but that even if he did have turbines and transmission lines, it wouldn't be a conflict of interest as this is simply an administrative process, a paper-pushing sort of thing that they are talking about. He didn't seem too happy that I asked such a question. Perhaps his unhappiness was because it was a stupid question. Maybe it was a stupid question. I don't know enough about the ins and outs of all this. Or maybe it wasn't a stupid question and that is what was so annoying about it. Clearly, I'm an outsider with a lot to learn. But I will keep showing up and asking questions. Someone has to.
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Last month, on a quiet Monday evening, I stepped into the town office building (or whatever it may officially be called) in Yorkshire, NY. I was there to attend the monthly meeting of the town board. I arrived a few minutes late, so the meeting had already begun. I stepped in quietly - but obtrusively since the audience peanut gallery was nearly empty. The only other people attending were two gentlemen, one young and one older. The young fellow was speaking from his seat to the town council members. His words were smooth and confident. I cringed as I discovered that he was there to pitch the idea of a solar farm. One of the council members asked him about the life-expectancy of solar panels. He opened his mouth and said (I'm paraphrasing, of course), "Well, the technology is constantly improving. We are hoping that at some point the life expectancy will reach 40 years. But for now, we are only able to 'guarantee' 20."
I bit my tongue. I wanted to spring from my seat and cry, "Liar! You know as well as I and as well as anyone with access to google that every year the efficiency of the panels decreases. Even suggesting that the technology will improve to 40 years is disingenuous. Just answer the question straight. You hope for 20 years, but every passing year is less efficient than the preceding one." I stayed in my seat and kept my mouth shut. The time to speak was not tonight. This was the night to get my bearings and to show my face. The words will flow later. But not too much later. The smooth-talking young man soon ended his pitch and rose to leave. As he and his older friend turned to go, he noticed me in the otherwise empty room. He approached me with a smile and a business card. I ignored the smile but took the card. Clearly, I had chosen the right night to show up at a town board meeting. The wolves with federal subsidies (a.k.a. bribe money) and state initiatives (a.k.a. orders) are at the door. I have so much to learn about interacting with the town council members. But I know I have to start. My plan? Show up...every single time. Soon I will attend my 2nd meeting. This time, I will speak. Getting started means showing up. |
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