LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]


Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Resident asks V-C to terminate windmill lease 

Credit:  By Mike Spencer, Of The Enterprise staff, Leelanau Enterprise, leelanaunews.com 15 January 2012 ~~

A resident has asked the Northport Village Council to terminate a wind turbine lease it made with private investors seven months ago.

In a 20-minute presentation, Ron Schobel listed five reasons for voiding the June 9, 2011, agreement, including the lack of a wind energy ordinance and a bond from the investors. He also asked the council last Thursday to address 11 other items, including removing Bill Collins, one of the LCE investors, from the Village’s Planning Commission that issued the special use permit on Nov. 16.

Fred Steffens, Village Council president, said the council would take Schobel’s requests under advisement. No other comments were made.

Schobel thanked the council for listening to his concerns and asked that he be notified when his requests would be considered.

“I would like to be notified when those motions will be acted upon so I may attend and take notes and effectively submit it for legal review,” Schobel said.

Schobel, who believes the sewer plant was built too big and placed a heavy burden on the village taxpayers, said he did not want the windmill to become a liability too.

The five-points Schobel gave for terminating the lease were:

• It does not require the lessee to provide a bond to cover costs of dismantling and removing the wind turbine or returning the site to its original condition.

• It only provides $1 million liability insurance when damages could easily exceed that amount.

• It has risks and the economic benefits have not been publicly disclosed and evaluated.

• There is no wind energy ordinance to govern the installation and operation of a commercial wind turbine.

• The windmill atop a 200-foot hill, towering 375-feet over the shoreline will be a blight and is not in character of a rural lakeside village.

Schobel also listed 11 other things he would like to see the council do, starting with the publication of all 15 investors.

“This process is feasible and could eliminate appearance of impropriety,” said Schobel, asking for council members to declare their interests and any known to them by members of the Northport Leelanau Township Utilities Authority (NLTUA).

Schobel also wanted to know the NLTUA’s involvement in the wind turbine project and whether it signed the agreement or if NLTUA agreed to let the village act on its behalf. He asked for facts showing how Northport would benefit from the turbine project.

Schobel requested a moratorium on future wind turbine projects until an ordinance could be adopted controlling them.

“The benefits of a tight wind energy ordinance not only protects the people and the local government, but it also governs what may be an onslaught of wind energy investors trying to make a profit via small governing entities like Northport,” Schobel said.

The 11th point called for the council to make a motion to remove investor Collins from the Village Planning Commission.

“Failure to do so also constitutes impropriety and a dereliction of duties,” Schobel said.

The Planning Commission did vote at its regular meeting on Jan. 3 to hold a public hearing on a new wind energy ordinance on Feb. 7.

Source:  By Mike Spencer, Of The Enterprise staff, Leelanau Enterprise, leelanaunews.com 15 January 2012

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon