Look before leaping into ARC deal
The Barnstable Patriot | www.barnstablepatriot.com 10 August 2012
Editor’s note: The following letter was addressed to the Yarmouth Board of Selectmen.
I write to ask that you not take any action to support the purchase of the Aquacultural Research Corporation, such as raising licensing fees for shell fishermen, until there has been time for gathering information about the ARC’s pending construction of the 242-foot wind turbine in sight of the Gray’s Beach recreation area.
The ARC was denied permission to place a wind turbine on this land just across the water from Gray’s Beach by the regional Old King’s Highway Commission appeal. Although a newspaper article stated that that ARC had stopped pursuing the turbine, in fact they have an active lawsuit against the regional Old King’s Highway Commission and have brought in a new team of attorneys from Boston.
ARC is seeking to overturn the OKH decision in court and build the turbine. After the proposed buy-out of ARC by Barnstable County, ARC can still put up the turbine, with major detrimental impact to the Gray’s Beach recreational area. There are health concerns such as our beach goers looking into the sun flicker from the blades for long periods, and concerns such as reported by residents in Falmouth with noise, vibration and light from a similar wind turbine.
Gray’s Beach is a beautiful conservation area, enjoyed by hundreds of residents and visitors because of its quiet, natural beauty, a small beach especially for families with young children, and the boardwalk is a favorite place for weddings and sunset watching. The loss of value to surrounding Yarmouth residents’ property is also a concern.
Would you please consider waiting to approve shellfish fees and not signing off on any agreement for ARC which includes a wind turbine on the beach? Would you consider asking our town administrator for some input from the department heads of affected departments such as beaches, health, conservation in addition to input from the shellfish department, so that all potential impacts can begin to be considered before any final decision is made on assisting ARC’s purchase?
Judith Recknagel
Yarmouth Port
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/08/10/look-before-leaping-into-arc-deal/