April 28, 2012
Vermont

Brighton Selectmen talk towers

The Orleans Record, orleanscountyrecord.com 28 April 2012

The topic of towers has been on the minds of Brighton Selectmen lately, with the board discussing industrial-sized wind tower parts coming to town on a train, wind measurement towers erected in Brighton in advance of a possible wind farm and a proposal by the selectmen to double the monthly payment paid to Sen. Vincent Illuzzi for the use of his communications tower on Paradis Mountain.

According to the minutes of the April 17 meeting of the Brighton Selectmen, they met with two representatives from Green Mountain Power who explained GMP’s plan to ship the Lowell Mountain wind towers to Brighton by train. There, the tower components will be unloaded, then put on flatbed tractor trailers for the journey to the Lowell wind farm site. The trucking will begin around July 16 and go until about Sept. 16. GMP will be responsible for fixing the roads to accomodate the oversized loads and will be responsible for any repairs that may occur to the roads. Dave Corriell explained the many criteria to be met and the rules that apply. For example, the trucks cannot run while school buses are on the roads, the trucks cannot run in the rain and there must be a minimum of 30 minutes interval in between loads.

The selectmen unanimously approved offering Illuzzi, of Newport, an additional $105 a month payment for the use of Illuzzi’s Paradis Mountain Towers’ cell tower. Currently, Brighton pays Illuzzi $105 a month rent for the use of his communications tower by the Brighton Fire Department, Lyndon Rescue, which maintains an emergency response presence in Brighton, has used the same cell tower in the past to communicate with Lyndon Rescue ambulances and police and emergency vehicles were in the vicinity of Brighton. A hoped for switch to an alternative tower has not provided the complete coverage needed by Lyndon Rescue, so the Brighton Selectmen are offering to double their monthly rent payment in return for Lyndon Rescue’s right to use Illuzzi’s communication tower. So far, Illuzzi has not responded to the offer, according to Municipal Assistant Joel Cope.

During both the April 17 meeting and the April 24 meeting, selectmen debated their response to the application of Seneca Mountain Wind for permission to install four wind measurement towers in the towns of Brighton, Ferdinand and Newark. The towers will help Seneca Mountain Wind determine whether to built a wind farm in the towns of Brighton and Newark. The board is drafting a response letter to be sent to the state of Vermont Public Service Board. The board agreed they will not request a site visit or a hearing on the application for the temporary towers.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/04/28/brighton-selectmen-talk-towers/