STARKVILLE – Although the house was stacked against him, local
farmer and lifelong resident Ed Mower stood his ground and spoke at
last week’s town of Stark meeting in support of a project he believes
can only be beneficial to both his family and to the surrounding
community, not to mention the United States as a whole – windmills.
“We need these windmills. I don’t want to see this war between the
schools and town and fire department,” Mower said. “I would like to see
us, as a people, take the lead in solving this problem. I don’t want to
rely on Iraq the rest of my life or have my grandchildren rely on Iraq
the rest of their lives.”
On a more personal, less patriotic stance, Mower said, “I’ve been
farming for almost 50 years. I keep my lands open to snowmobilers, to
hunters. I’ve got to make that farm support me and my wife for as long
as we can.
“Don’t tell me what I can or can’t do with my land,” said Mower, who
prides himself with knowing he was the original proponent of windmills
in this area. “Are you next going to tell me I can’t spread manure
because it smells?”
At the other end of the spectrum, resident Sue Brander warned the
board, “I think you need to know what’s out there, other than what
Community Energy tells you.”
Concerns raised by Brander focused on the human health effects of
low frequency sound, the environmental impact, and tax impact. She
quoted World Health Organization guidelines when recommending setbacks
for towers be extended from 1,200 feet to 1.2 miles. She also suggested
that the decibel level be moved from 50 decibels to 30 decibels.
A third provision she requested called for the protection of
adjacent landowner’s rights by guaranteeing “100 percent of the fair
market value for each adjacent property for a three year time period
after the date on which the wind turbines come on line.”
She also raised concerns about the process of eminent domain. And
lastly, she requested that if the board did not change the setback
requirements, that all landowners within 1.2 miles of the turbines be
included in the buyout provision.
Later, Mower stated that “If they moved the limit to 1.2 miles there wouldn’t be a windmill in New York State.”
Brander also questioned the rumor of a Dec. 31 deadline she had
heard about, but none of the town board members or audience could
confirm or deny a deadline.
Following the meeting, Mower said he was disappointed in the turnout
of people supporting the wind turbine project, which would bring 75
turbines to his community.
Mower also noted that the noise generated from the wind turbines
will be far less than noise generated from the hundreds of snowmobilers
on his property. “How can anyone who rides a snowmobile complain,” he
asked.
The League for the Hard of Hearing, in New York, offered decibel
comparisons listing 30 decibels as a soft whisper and 50 decibels as
rainfall. Fifty decibels was also the range given for a refrigerator,
electric toothbrush and a large office. Sixty decibels was listed as
normal conversation.
“Our area is a perfect place for windmills, it’s not a hill, it’s a
plateau, and people have always known this was a windy area,” Mower
said.
He also said that concerns about ice flying three miles away were unfounded.
When trying to find out what the tax incentive would be, Brander
said that if it were only going to be 10 percent of the tax bill it
wouldn’t be worth it. “You can’t even buy Christmas presents with
that.”
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