By Jason Graziadei, I&M Senior Writer, The Inquirer and Mirror, www.ack.net 15 March 2012
When Town Meeting voters settle in for the highly anticipated debate over the proposed Madaket wind turbine later this month, they will be doing so without several key pieces of information.
The precise wind turbine model and its manufacturer will not be known before Town Meeting because the town has been advised to secure funding for the project before putting it out to bid. While that is the sequence followed for most major capital projects, the strong opposition to the Madaket wind turbine project has used the lack of specificity as a talking point in arguing against the project, citing “unknowns” that would only be discovered through the procurement process.
Without a clear indication that Nantucket voters support the installation of a wind turbine and are willing to appropriate money for the project, potential bidders would have little incentive to spend the time and money to respond to the town’s request for proposals, or RFP, according to project consultants.
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