February 23, 2019
Letters, Michigan

Reader claims ‘no’ vote on moratorium was tyrannical

Huron Daily Tribune | February 23, 2019 | www.michigansthumb.com

In regard to the Feb. 12 board of commissioners, meeting Steve Vaughan stated: Moratorium means nothing. It might make you think you have more time. He also said the planning commission has plenty of time to complete the wind ordinance.

Plenty: the state of being sufficient and in abundance. Anybody could count the days remaining before the existing moratorium expires. There’s not enough time to schedule a planning commission meeting and finish updating the ordinance and advertise for a minimum of 15 days prior to holding a public hearing and then finish approval by the planning commission and then go to the board of commissioners. This would leave Huron County open for business to wind developers, and here we sit with a highly deficient wind ordinance. How irresponsible.

Imposing a moratorium is reasonable and necessary. The no vote on the moratorium was tyrannical. One hundred percent of the public comment was in favor of extending the moratorium. Despite the public outcry, the board of commissioners had no discussion on the most divisive issue Huron County has encountered in 40 years. Just vote the moratorium down, never mind the May 2, 2017, vote that was a clear mandate that the people overwhelmingly do not want more wind turbines littering the landscape. Never mind class action lawsuits, picketing and demonstrations. Citizens packing board of commissioners and planning commission meetings means nothing.

The board of commissioners was issued a mandate by the voters on May 2, 2017. Babcock, Bodis, Vaughan and Talaski ignored it. Are they guilty of nonfeasance in public office? Nonfeasance: the nonperformance of some act that one is legally bound to perform. Should these four commissioners be recalled? Obviously, these four fail to understand their duties as representatives for the public and the word mandate. Mandate: in politics, an instruction from electorate to its representative expressed by the result of an election and/or an authoritative command or an order.

Robert Gaffke

Bloomfield Township

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2019/02/23/reader-claims-no-vote-on-moratorium-was-tyrannical/