Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Howard town board members fear full disclosure by Art Giacalone ESQ 1/26/07

Bill Hatch, Bob Palmer and Lowell Smith are Howard town board mem­bers who voted in February 2006 to adopt a wind energy facilities law authorizing the town board to approve WEF permits for industrial-scale wind turbines. Standards and setbacks contained in the law are so weak that Howard Wind LLC and Everpower will be able to construct 492-foot tall turbines without meaningfully protecting town residents.

Hatch, Palmer and Smith are also landowners who will earn large annual revenues from wind turbines on their private properties if Howard Wind's pending application is approved. A letter from Everpower tells prospective "participating landowners" that they could expect pay­ments of between $14,000 and $18,000 per year for each wind turbine. The typi­cal agreement lasts between 15 to 30 years.

In November 2006, state Supreme Court told the three elected officials to fully dis­close their "financial rela­tionship" with Howard Wind, including the extent to which they "will financially bene­fit" from the approval of the pending application. They have failed to make the dis­closures, and have adopted a new strategy. On February 14,2007, they intend to amend Howard's existing WEF law to transfer the power to grant WEF permits to the town Planning Board. There's a problem, however. The same town board mem­bers who have so much to gain financially if Howard Wind's proposed project is approved are the ones who hand-select the Planning Board members.

The public deserves full disclosure, not self-serving officials intent on "having their cake and eating it too."

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