Updates

Labels: Local Politics, Money

The proof of any recipe is what it tastes like when it’s all done. Did it turn out the way the cook intended? Does everyone think it’s a success? After last week’s election, it seems virtually inevitable that Cohocton’s hills will be covered with industrial wind turbines by next year in accordance with the controversial “recipe for success” UPC Wind and our elected officials are cooking up for all of us. Now that the majority of our Town’s voters have officially ignored the warnings of critics, the last remaining critic will be the project’s outcome itself.

There’s little doubt that UPC Wind will reap a handsome profit, but will Cohocton get what it bargained for?
- Will the turbines and towers be quiet and unobtrusive, as advertised, or disturbingly noisy (but technically legal) and ugly?
- Whose property values will go up, and whose will go down?
- Will our property taxes actually drop significantly, or have projected tax savings been falsely inflated, only to be minimized by increased costs, lowered school tax subsidies and other factors?
- And, ultimately, will onshore industrial wind power installations like this lower greenhouse gas production or turn out to be scams that are enormously costly to taxpayers and energy consumers?

Frankly, we think the whole wind power scheme is a painfully flawed boondoggle for investors that will end up damaging our Town. We’re grateful for the encouragement many of you have shown in supporting our well-researched concerns over the past 18 months privately, at public meetings, and at the polls. Thank you for your support!

We’ll be taking a low profile from now on but will still be available to talk with anyone in town as things develop. Once UPC’s recipe has been followed and Cohocton’s goose pudding is cooked, we think the lights are going to start coming on, one at a time, in the minds of many formerly ardent wind supporters. In the meantime, please visit us at www.cohoctonfree.com, keep up with our Updates, and let us know what you discover as you begin to taste the pudding.

Labels: Disadvantages, Local Politics

This week's elections returned Cohocton's incumbents to office by a 2 to 1 margin, disappointing but not surprising results for Reform Cohocton supporters. Click here to read Bob Clark's report in the Hornell Evening Tribune.

We would like to thank all of you who have been such an encouragement over the past year as we have sought to bring some balance to the wind power controversy locally. Although industrial wind development seems now to be a foregone conclusion in Cohocton, the ongoing process and consequences of this development remain to be seen. Some of our most important work may remain ahead.

In Howard the outcome of Tuesday's election was similar. However, in many other elections around the state, wind power critics won office as listed below:

Brandon: “We won!”
Burke: “Appears to have our majority now.”
Hartsville: “Steve Dombert won Town Supervisor.”
Malone: “Appears to have stayed in good shape.”
Meredith: “Keitha Capouya is Supervisor-Elect and will have a majority on the Town Council to ban industrial wind. We estimate the final margin of Keitha’s victory will be about 66% to 34% — a LANDSLIDE! And a crushing defeat for industrial wind in Meredith. The four other candidates on our slate all won.”
Perry: “One of our two candidates for the Town Board won the election. Congratulations, Tracy Rozanski! Our candidate for Town Supervisor lost by only about 100 votes to an incumbent who was cross-endorsed by both the Democrat and the Republican Parties. To say that this town is divided over the industrial wind issue is an understatement, but the citizens are waking up!”
Sardinia: “Win. We now have a majority board who will support a strict ordinance and will vote on it early next year when it’s ready.”
Sheldon (Wyoming County): “We lost: town supervisor and two council seats– now three seats are filled with “poor farmers” getting turbines. Same supervisor (Knab); new council member Kirsch, dem chair & getting many turbines.”
Springwater: “Good News for Springwater! Norb Buckley, one of “the good guys”, is our new town supervisor. John Curtiss, another great guy, town council. And Katherine Bush, town council.”

Labels: Local Politics, Regional

And you thought 2 full pages was a lot? Last week’s Valley News had over 3 full pages of advertising for the Cohocton incumbents, including 1 full-page color ad with their obscure “Adopted Budget for 2008” (before the election, no less), another full-page color hatchet job on Judi Hall, and several smaller ads for UPC Wind, etc. After spending more than $15,000 in Valley News ads over the past 18 months, our UPC team is blazing toward the finish line by spending another $800 last week alone. And what do the incumbents want us to know about? How they propose to spend our money next year!

Do our incumbents have anything but spending money on their minds?
- Well, yes, they have wind turbines. Getting them up as fast as possible before the court can act and even before a valid PILOT agreement is in place. Can you believe that all this spending and talk about more spending is still just based on promises?
- What can an ordinary citizen do? Come out on November 6 and vote Row E for the Reform Cohocton Slate:

Judith Hall, Town Supervisor
Cesare Taccone, Town Councilman
Stephen H. Trude, Town Councilman
Dr. Frank "Stoner" Clark, Town Justice
Bonnie Palmiter, Town Assessor
Rebecca Conard, Town Assessor
Blair Hall, Town Clerk

This Tuesday Cohocton voters have the opportunity to elect a team of leaders who haven't been bought by UPC Wind, a group of men and women who are prepared to ask the tough questions and get our Town back on track again. Review the Reform Cohocton platform and slate of candidates at www.cohocton.net and then go to the polls and vote for leaders who aren’t dazzled by UPC’s money.

Labels: Local Politics, Money

Labels: Local Politics

Jane Towner greeted me outside the UPC office yesterday afternoon as I was leaving the Post Office:

"Dr. Morehouse, I want you to know that we don't pay for political ads or Wayne Hunt's articles in the Valley News. I know you have concerns."

For those who don't know, Jane Towner was designated UPC's "Project Community Relations Representative" in August. Her statement begs the following questions and comments:

Who is "we"? Canandaigua Power Partners I? Canandaigua Power Partners II? Cohocton Wind? Dutch Hill Wind? The UPC Community Relations office? The UPC Construction office? UPC Wind Partners LLC in Massachusetts? Some other branch of UPC?

Who pays for the YES Wind Power group's expenses, including its Valley News ads?

Were Gerald Moore's and "Gramps" Drum's half-page, full color ads (and numerous others like them) "political" or paid for by the YES group or UPC directly?

If UPC (out of one or more of its many pockets) financially supports the YES group and donates to the incumbents' reelection campaign - none of which is presumably illegal - and then these groups run ads in the Valley News, like Wayne Hunt's ads, who has actually "paid" for them?

How have pro-wind people in Cohocton consistently been able to outspend their critics 3 to 1 for over a year and a half, when these critics are supposed to be so rich?

When the glove moves, it's the hand behind it doing the moving, Jane.

Labels: Local Politics, Money

It’s amazing how money talks. Last week’s Valley News contained nearly 2 full pages of slick ads promoting the Cohocton wind projects, almost all of it in full color. There were 3 half-page color ads, one with a picture of “Gramps” Drum on his tractor, another with the Larrowe House, and a third flag-draped political ad for the incumbent slate. In addition, UPC had its usual office notice, and Wayne Hunt sounded forth again. Who do you think paid the $500+ that these ads cost? “Gramps”? Wayne? Jack? Cohocton citizens?

Has UPC bought the entire Town with its cash and promises?
- Only a court case and one small election stand between UPC’s supporters and the unobstructed fulfillment of their plans.
- Fortunately for all of us there is still a glimmer of hope that sound reason and prudence will win out in the end.
- Pray for wisdom for Judge Marianne Furfure and come out on November 6 to vote Row E for the Reform Cohocton Slate:

Labels: Local Politics, Money

A major factor that members of the Cohocton YES Wind Power group point to when they proclaim that supporting UPC's project is a "no-brainer" is how much money they and the Town have been promised by the developer. Two kinds of money are promised: leasehold payments (private) and PILOT or Payments In Lieu Of Taxes to the Town (public). The project proposed 1.5 MW turbines when leases were first signed, then 2.0 MW turbines last year, and now 2.5 MW turbines. UPC Wind stands to make 67% more money from each of the larger turbines. Is this increase being shared with leaseholders? Each leaseholder knows the deal they got, leaving the rest of us in the dark.

But what about the proposed public PILOT money?
- First, even though we have a preliminary "Host Agreement" in place, the PILOT agreement apparently remains unfinished, so we really don't have anything but words in the air.
- Has anyone in our current Town administration even thought about computing how much UPC Wind would pay if they were taxed straight out as an electric utility? How can we judge any proposed PILOT without knowing what to compare it with?
- The school tax problem: we've just gotten a report from UPC's project in Mars Hill, Maine, indicating that half of their PILOT money has been lost through reductions in school tax subsidy. Have we computed this loss locally?
- The City Council in Lackawanna (Buffalo) has just discovered that it can tax future “phases” of UPC Wind's "Steel Winds" turbine project at the full rate, and last week they unanimously passed a law that would authorize them to do so.

In two weeks Cohocton voters will have the opportunity to elect a team of leaders who haven't been dazzled by UPC Wind's sales pitch, a group of men and women who are prepared to ask UPC the tough questions and negotiate a deal that makes better sense for all of us. Browse our Updates, visit our main site, review the Reform Cohocton platform and slate of candidates, and come out on November 6 to vote for leaders that count.

Labels: Local Politics, Money

Week by week, UPC Wind’s involvement in Cohocton becomes more blatantly evident in The Valley News. Last week they took out nearly 2 full pages of ads under several guises in their continuing effort to promote their project before next month’s election. One was a half-page color ad by UPC pledging to “Save our town!” and extolling the “beauty” of its promised “new jobs!” “prosperity!” and “opportunity!” Another was a 3/4-page ad by Wayne Hunt with quotes from Judge Furfure’s recent court decision. Apparently the Judge felt that “Local Law #2… was not the first step of a larger project” nor were “changes made by Local Law #2… made at the request of project applicants as a preliminary step to this project.”

Where was Judge Furfure when Local Law #2 was made?
- Obviously nowhere near Cohocton where the picture was quite different. Without UPC there would have been no Local Law #1 or #2. Our Comprehensive Plan has no place for wind turbines at all.
- Throughout the entire process it’s been clear that our elected and appointed officials have had one goal in mind – working with UPC to craft a legal framework that would permit their project.
- UPC’s enormous Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) came on the heels of Local Law #1, and its even bigger SDEIS came almost instantly after Local Law #2 was passed and, oddly enough, fit its provisions precisely the way a hand fits into a carefully tailored glove. “Hearings?” Who were our leaders listening to?
- One reading of Local Law #2 should convince any sceptic that it was written by attorneys, not local politicians. And who paid the attorneys who wrote it? Hello? Is anyone home?

When a glove moves, it’s the hand behind it that makes it move. Unfortunately, Judge Furfure just looked at the glove and ignored the hand. We still have a chance in this fall’s elections, however, to turn the tide of deception that’s been overtaking our town. Browse through our “Updates,” review the Reform Cohocton platform and slate of candidates, and then help us get out the vote for people who can see through this whole ruse.

Labels: Legal Issues, Local Politics, Process

Steve Trude, Reform Cohocton candidate for Town Board, has raised a serious question with our Town Assessors about the tax status of the UPC Wind project. A copy of his letter follows:

Dear Ms. Damboise, Mr. Densmore, and Mr. Domm:

SCIDA has not approved a PILOT for the UPC/CPP/CPPII Projects. The developer has taken the risk of starting construction without building permits. As with any building construction that does not have “special exemption”, the value of the entire project is subject to industrial tax assessment.

These UPC industrial machines, if built, reside on land of several Cohocton property owners, who supposedly have lease agreements with UPC. A host agreement between the Town of Cohocton and the UPC developer does not cover the independent tax jurisdiction of the Cohocton - Wayland School District and the County of Steuben.

Without a valid PILOT, it is legally required that such a project must be assessed at full value and applied to each of the individual property accounts where any portion of the project is erected.

Every tax payer in the Town of Cohocton has a financial interest in the consequences of the proper tax assessment that your board will assign to each of the leaseholders property. Your board has a fiduciary responsibility to compute a market cost value for assessment of this industrial project, publish your determination and adjust the tax rolls accordingly.

A PILOT exemption cannot be approved after the fact. It has been publicly acknowledged by UPC that the entire project has a cost in excess of $150,000,000. There is no agricultural exemption for an electric utility, which UPC was granted by the Public Service Commission. NYSEG and Frontier are taxed in this manner, so must UPC.

Although it is recognized that the aforementioned circumstances are perhaps unusual as a normal course of business for your office, never-the-less it falls well within the realm of your responsibility and mandate. How you knowingly and intentionally go forward at this point with required and necessary decisions is now the question and will be monitored closely in and for the public interest.

In the interest of full disclosure, the Cohocton Assessment Board should release their full tax value assessment for the UPC Project before the 11/06/07 election.

Click here to view a PDF copy of Mr. Trude's letter.

Labels: Legal Issues, Local Politics, Money

As excavation proceeds on Dutch Hill, Cohocton’s air is starting to fill with the crowing sound of YES supporters. How wonderful UPC’s out-of town workers are, we’re told. How marvelously things will “stay the same” (while they change dramatically) UPC trumpets in The Valley News over a picture of Larrowe House, the Town Hall they’ve just bought with their PSC mitigation money and promises. In spite of increasing opposition, both locally and regionally, the obstacles seem to be falling one by one. Only a court case and an election stand in the way of what might be a triumphant victory for leaseholders.

But if UPC succeeds, who will the winners and losers be?
- UPC Wind and its investors will clearly be the biggest winners. They’ll be able to take their entire $250,000,000 project as a tax write-off, account for another half of that in tax credits, and rake in over $13,000,000 a year in energy sales while rewarding our Town with remarkably low payments in lieu of taxes.
- NYS energy consumers will clearly be losers because they (we) will be paying an additional $134,000,000+ in energy surcharges over the next 20 years for the inflated cost of wind energy.
- Leaseholders will be winners and losers. They’re being promised fairly small annual lease payments (anything may be better than nothing), but they’re going to be surprised at how much of the scenery, peace and quiet, and integrity of their land they’ll lose.
- Non-leaseholders probably stand to lose the most: in property values, beauty, tranquility, social standing, and the total eclipse of local politics by a well-financed outside industial developer.

Truth stands in the balance. Is wind energy the wave of the future or a passing fad and economic scam? Only time will tell the whole story. In the meantime, YES people are ready to cast our Town to the wind. We desperately need some checks and balances in local government - people who will take a fresh look at everything that’s been done and make sure it’s right. Browse our “Updates,” check out our main site, review some alternatives at Reform Cohocton, and then help us take back our Town this November.

Labels: Local Politics

The Ironworkers’ Business Agent in Rochester, Mike Altonberg, is one of the latest people locally to have his eyes opened up to the deceptive business practices of UPC Wind. Many of us have been seeing their lies quite clearly over the past 18 months, while others continue to swallow lie after lie without even blinking their eyes. They continue to believe that UPC Wind is a company who will hold to their word, even when they have violated it over and over; that Chris Swartley is a man of ethics, even a prophet, not an industrial salesman of con-man proportions; and that UPC’s promised PILOT payments are fair and just, not thinly disguised political bribery.

What lies are we talking about?
- That their turbine projects are agricultural enterprises (“farms” not industrial installations), built by a private firm that would never claim to be a public utility (unless it was to their advantage).
- That they are entitled to bribe our town with depreciated PILOT payments because their projects are supposedly “green” instead of paying taxes proportionate to the projects’ earnings.
- That their projects will be quiet (based on patently fraudulent noise studies by Hessler, et al), not disruptive to the environment, and visually unobtrusive.
- That they will seek and obtain individual building permits for each tower before starting any construction, giving landowners the right to work out siting problems unit by unit.
- That their projects will be constructed by local workers, etc…

How can local people be so blind? Unfortunately, at least one Finger Lakes town will probably have to fall prey to this kind of corporate deception so that everyone in the region can see the results and keep the wind developers out of their area. It’s sad that Cohocton may prove to be the “forerunner” in this way. Can’t we wait and let someone else take the fall? Our hills, sky, and wind won’t go away. Let’s take back our Town this November. Browse through our "Updates," check out our main website, visit Reform Cohocton to review your options, and then help us recall Cohocton from the brink.

Labels: Local Politics, Process

Last week Cohocton Republicans came out to the primary polls in record numbers to vote for this fall’s Republican ticket. For the first time in years voters were given an alternative, and a slate of seasoned and well-financed incumbents was opposed by a group of fellow-citizens with a different vision for Cohocton’s future. Prior to the election, wind power enthusiasts derided Reform Cohocton supporters as a small fringe group, a “dedicated dozen” of negative souls. Thank you, voters, for demonstrating that serious opposition to doing business the “YES” way exists, even in Republican circles.

What did our incumbents do to lose your support?
- They grossly twisted the facts about recent lawsuits and tried to shift the blame for our current legal liability from themselves to those who are working hard to hold them accountable.
- They hurried the timetable of negotiations with UPC Wind and then tried to make us all believe that everything was done and in order when, in fact, the deal isn’t really closed yet.
- They tried to falsely malign the reputations of fellow citizens.
- They even resorted to thinly veiled bribery by waving promises of unearned money in our faces and then prematurely offering estimated property tax reductions just prior to the primary.

Fortunately, a couple of serious court cases, unfinished negotiations with SCIDA and UPC, permit issues, and a general election in November still stand between the incumbents and their plans to sell our wind resources for a song and let UPC rip up our woods and farmland as they turn our entire town into an industrial wind power plant.

Our current leaders are sadly mistaken. We need people leading us who can tell the difference between right and wrong. Now is the time for citizens of all political persuasions to wake up, come forward, and help us correct a process that’s gotten completely out of order. Please visit us online, pray with us for wisdom and justice to prevail, and join the struggle. It’s not too late!

Labels: Local Politics

A reminder from Reform Cohocton:

Be sure to vote in the Republican Primary at your normal voting place - Town Hall, Cohocton and Court Office, Atlanta - NOON to 9:00 PM Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007.

• Robert C. Strasburg II – Town Supervisor
• Steven M. Sick – Town Council
• Cesare F. Taccone – Town Council
• Blair Hall – Town Clerk
• Dr. F. Stoner Clark – Town Justice
• Christina Brautigam - Town Assessor
• Rebecca Conard - Town Assessor

Labels: Local Politics

UPC Wind arrived in Cohocton 5 years ago with a bright new idea: “Let’s help save the planet from global warming and make a boodle of money in the process.” Quietly and privately they went about signing up interested leaseholders and local politicians until they had the makings of a wind farm. Then in April 2006 they sprung their project, almost full-blown, on our unsuspecting community, precipitating a struggle for truth and loyalty that has divided our once-peaceful town into bitterly opposed camps. This is the legacy our current leadership is leaving us - division, not prosperity.

How did we get this way, and what can we do now?
- Jack Zigenfus showed us how we got here in his Valley News ad last week: he took his cues from powers above him, not from the electorate below, revealing a seriously misplaced sense of loyalty.
- Our current leaders decided what to do before bringing it to the general public, then steadfastly refused to receive any input.
- Reconciliation, compromise, mediation, and preserving the social integrity of our community have consistently been sacrificed in favor of perceived economic benefit – money, in other words.
- Contrary to their public claims, this is not “REAL” leadership; this is painfully divisive, willful pride and arrogance.

This fall we have our chance to elect a team that’s committed to the entire community, not just wind power supporters. These are folks like you and me that would like to see Cohocton come to a united decision.

Examine the qualified slate of candidates being put forward by Reform Cohocton. Then cast your vote in today’s Republican primary (polls will be open Tuesday, September 18th, from noon to 9 pm). Help us elect a team this fall that’s dedicated to the principle of unity our hearts are all pledged to: One Town, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all!

Labels: Local Politics

On August 22 UPC Wind sent out a letter from John Pelczar, Construction Manager, to all the citizens of Cohocton which started out by saying, "UPC Wind has been working with the Cohocton community for almost five years to develop the Cohocton and Dutch Hill Wind Farms. We are happy to announce that the design and approval process has come to an end." (emphasis added)

Mr. Pelczar went on to claim that "Over the past few weeks the Town Board approved its agreements with UPC Wind, the Planning Board approved the Cohocton and Dutch Hill Wind site plans, and the Code Enforcement officer issued our building permits. These agreements guarantee the Town of Cohocton $11.5 million dollars over the next 20 years, $3.85 million of which will come to the town in the first four years. Our agreements also guarantee $150,000 for the renovation of the Larrowe house." He concluded by introducing Jane Towner as UPC's Project Community Relations Representative.

What's the problem here? Well, 1) the agreements aren't complete; 2) promises should never be confused with guarantees; 3) nobody in Town seems to be able to come up copies of the building permits; and so 4) the process really hasn't "come to an end" yet. All of this is just UPC filling the pre-election air with more self-serving wishful talk, talk that resembles lying.

A parting question: if the incumbents regain political office and Jane Towner is UPC's "Project Community Relations Representative," who will look out for the interests of citizens who run into problems with UPC? Talk about putting a group of foxes in charge of the hen house!

Labels: Local Politics, Process

Today's Hornell Evening Tribune ran an excellent article by Bob Clark reporting on last night's Reform Cohocton candidate night that starts out

Wind power topped a Reform Cohocton town hall-style forum Tuesday night.Congressional candidate Eric Massa and Reform Cohocton candidates answered questions from a crowd of more than 60 Cohocton residents at Cohocton Elementary School. Wind power and turbines dominated the meeting, with every candidate and Massa speaking about the issue.

Bob goes on to quote Jack Zigenfus' empty excuses for why the incumbents boycotted the event. Click here to read the entire article.

Labels: Local Politics

By now we’re all reading glowing reports from Cohocton’s current leaders about how much they’ve been doing for all of us these past several years. But have you taken time to watch your tax bill lately? Some of us have been noticing pretty dramatic annual increases, even 10% or more, but nothing quite like what’s just come in the mail. With the new “reassessment” our tax bill has just gone up 31% since last year! What about yours? Maybe your family is on a favored list, and your taxes have actually gone down. But what about the rest of us?

What is going to happen to our taxes?
- Will they go down under the current administration if we get promised cash infusions from UPC Wind? No guarantees here.
- Who will review the recent reassessment, noting carefully whose taxes went up, whose went down, and why? The same people who were in charge of the reassessment process? Not on your life.
- If a chunk of cash rolls into our coffers in 2008, who’s likely to vote themselves a handsome pay raise? New folks, or some proud incumbents who think they’re worth a hearty pat on the back?
- Who will have the courage to tackle the thorny fiscal problems we’re facing? The people who created them? Highly unlikely.

Right now we have a painfully polarized group of leaders that can only think about rewarding windmill supporters and making life difficult for the rest of us. We need new people in office who can examine our tax situation fairly, not the same YES folks who, perhaps sincerely, keep misleading us deeper and deeper into liability.

Elections in Cohocton have often been decided in the Republican primary races, coming up on September 18th, but this year may be different. Review the qualified slate of Reform Cohocton candidates online at www.cohocton.net. Then come to the Cohocton Elementary School on September 11th at 7 pm for the Public Candidate Forum, pray with us for wisdom and justice, and let your voice be heard!

Labels: Local Politics

This fall Cohocton voters will have their first chance to express their opinion about UPC Wind’s $250,000,000 windmill project at the polls, even if it’s indirectly. So far, our incumbents have carefully kept the whole matter out of the hands of the electorate, refusing even a nonbinding referendum. Local leaders in Webster, NY, on the other hand, recently put their town’s proposed $15 million community center proposal before the voters, only to see it defeated. Webster Town Supervisor Ron Nesbitt responded to the vote by saying, “Scaling down the project may be the best bet to gain the public's approval.”

Do our incumbents want the public’s approval?
- They sure do! But their tactic is to say YES first and then wave money at us all without even giving us a chance to look at the carefully crafted promises that are behind all this supposed money.
- In the meantime, we’ve been told that construction is going to proceed, even though valid building permits haven’t been issued, fees haven’t been paid, bonds haven’t been secured, the PILOT agreement hasn’t been ratified in Bath, etc., etc.
- Yes, they would like you to approve a project after they’ve gotten us all so deep into the building process that there isn’t any way out but to try to clean up the mess. This is the YES way.

Even if cleaning up the mess is all we’re left with, however, it’s a task that’s going to need new leadership, people who will trust and respond to the electorate. We need a new group of people who can ask UPC Wind the tough questions and hold the line with them, not the same YES folks that got us into this pickle in the first place.

Elections in Cohocton have been traditionally decided in September’s Republican primary races, which are coming up very soon. Examine the qualified slate of candidates being put forward by Reform Cohocton, come out to the Public Meeting being held on September 11 from 7-9 pm at the Cohocton Elementary School, then pray with us for wisdom and justice to prevail and let your voice be heard!

Labels: Local Politics

When voters were polled in Webster this month after voting down a proposed $15 million community center, one voter was quoted in the Democrat & Chronicle as saying:

"We don't need to build a monument to our town supervisor. Money is like drugs to politicians — they can't get enough, and they can't spend it quick enough."

Click here to read the whole article.

Labels: Local Politics

Jim Pfiffer has just written an article in the Elmira/Corning Star-Gazette in which he wonders about claims that windmills could become a tourist attraction in Cohocton. Here's part of his report from Tug Hill:

Gordon Yancey of Martinsburg, N.Y., (about 55 miles northeast of Syracuse) owns Flat Rock Inn on Tug Hill, where 195 nearby windmills spin in the breeze, make noise, throw ice from the blades in winter, and drive away the snowmobile and ATV riders who are his main customers.

The 400-foot-high towers don't attract tourists, but instead lure rubberneckers, Yancey says. "They drive up the road, look at these things, get out of their cars and take some pictures and then drive away." Yancey says. "They don't stay and spend their money here."

Curious people may find the windmills interesting the first time they see them, Yancey says. "But by the second and third time, they realize how truly ugly and distasteful they are," Yancey adds. "They have marred and destroyed the serenity and beauty of the rural landscape. It's no longer a wilderness area, but an industrial plant."

Will tourists ever be drawn to Cohocton to see the windmills? Probably for a while to see what a project looks like so they can go back home and lobby against the wind developers who are trying to invade their area. However, once everyone has seen the ugly industrial clutter that they really are, most tourists will undoubtedly be spending their time (and money) elsewhere.

Labels: Local Politics, Regional

In an article published in yesterday's Corning Leader, Mary Perham writes:

The 2007 election season has developed some new twists and turns with a large field of candidates successfully submitting independent designating petitions to assure themselves a spot on the Nov. 6 ballot. The petitions, submitted to the Steuben County Board of Elections last week, allow candidates to run for office without endorsement from official parties. The number of signatures varies, depending on the number of voters registered in each municipality in 2006. A number of competitions are shaping up in several towns stirred by issues ranging from comprehensive plans to wind turbines.

In Cohocton, the construction of a 51-turbine farm in the town is slated to begin this year. Opponents have one lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court and another under appeal. The group said Wednesday more will be filed soon to prevent construction. However, as political candidates, the wind farm opponents do not mention the wind project as an issue on their Web site. Instead, the political newcomers aim to oust all current town officials, charging them with incompetence and mismanagement.

The group has fielded a full slate of Republican candidates for the primary, facing incumbent Town Supervisor Jack Zigenfus, Town Clerk Sandra Riley, Town Justice Hal Graham, Highway Superintendent Thomas Simons, and town assessors Mark Densmore and Joanne Damboise. In addition, eight Reform Cohocton candidates have filed designating petitions to compete in November, as a back-up to the primary battle.

Click here to review the Reform Cohocton Platform.

Labels: Local Politics

We've been able to get a copy of the 50-page "Host Community Agreement" Jack Zigenfus signed on behalf of the Town almost 2 weeks ago.

The document starts with an introduction in which we are told upfront that the "Agreement" is with "Canandaigua Power Partners, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company." Why on earth does an international wind company with US home offices in Massachusetts need to do business in NY through a Delaware LLC that is conveniently out of legal reach?

The Agreement then goes through 6 full pages of legal definitions, followed by 36 pages of legal contingencies, and concludes with several signature pages and a projected payment schedule. Copies of several critical underlying agreements referenced in the document aren't available yet. These include 1) a "PILOT Agreement" with SCIDA (won't be ready for a month), 2) a "Host Mortgage," 3) a "Road Use Agreement,"4) an "Oversight Agreement," 5) and a "Security Agreement," among others.

One interesting clause (Section 29.1.1.) reads as follows: "at the Company's option, the Company may terminate this Agreement at any time, by written notice to the Town (the date of such notice being the "Termination Date"), delivered on or before September 1, 2008."

We firmly believe that the electorate should and must be included in any decision-making of this magnitude and that construction should be delayed at least until all documents pertaining to any proposed Agreement are made public and citizens can express their will in this fall's elections. Click here to read the entire "Agreement" as it currently stands.

Labels: Legal Issues, Local Politics

We've just received a letter from the Town Board, dated 8/15, heralded by an ad in this week's Valley News, and apparently mailed out to all Cohocton residents, in which our elected officials announce in glowing terms "that the final agreements have been signed to allow for the first Wind Power Project in the Southern Tier of New York State" and that "there will be approximately 50 wind turbines generating 2.5 Megawatts each of clean renewable energy in the Town of Cohocton."

The letter confesses (boasts?) up front that they've been working the proposed project for "the past few years" even though most of the town's citizens were not made aware of their plans until April 2006, well after the last election in which voters could have expressed their sentiments. Then, after telling us about the financial windfall they think their "agreements" will bring to Cohocton, they go on to tell us that they really haven't figured out what to do with the promised money.

It seems clear from the letter that our current administration is deeply committed to getting UPC's project well into the construction phase before the voters can express their will in this fall's election. Whatever happened to truly representative government in our Town?

We'll post a copy of the Agreement our town leaders have just signed as soon as we can obtain one. In the meantime, click here to read their letter, and then visit Reform Cohocton to consider some alternatives.

Labels: Legal Issues, Local Politics

Apparently Canandaigua Power Partners, LLC (CPP) and Canandaigua Power Partners II, LLC (CPP II), which are wholly-owned subsidiaries of UPC New York Wind, LLC, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UPC Wind Partners, LLC (UPC Wind) are convinced that they can buy Cohocton. And the main reason for their confidence can be found in a group of incumbent elected officials who apparently believe that Cohocton can and should be sold to the highest bidder. We’ve all just been told that, after months of negotiations, our Town leaders have entered into a 100+ page financial agreement with UPC Wind to sell the town for $10 million, to be paid over the next 20 years. During that time, in return, UPC Wind can and will do whatever it pleases with our town’s character, viewscapes, and politics.

What’s the problem with that?
- First of all, we don’t need UPC Wind’s money. Money is always nice, of course, but there is a difference between desire and need.
- Second, this is “funny money” that’s being put forward on a series (100+ pages worth) of carefully contingent promises.
- Third, there are already several layers of LLCs (Limited Liability Corporations) between the investors, their promises, and the Town. Many more will come over the next 20 years, so that by the time the cheating becomes obvious to everyone the originators of the scheme will already have taken their money and run.
- Fourth, what’s $10 million over 20 years in a project that’s going to cost $250 million, give or take, up front and reap its investors countless millions more in earnings and tax breaks? This is a deal?
- Fifth, sixth, seventh… the list can go on and on…

Who are we kidding? By now UPC Wind must be laughing all the way to the bank. The rank deception and corruption of local politics that have characterized this entire process will only continue to accumulate unless men and women of good will rise to the occasion and take back our Town this fall. Visit us our main website, check out our “Updates” section, and then help us recall Cohocton from the brink.

Labels: Local Politics, Money

From the beginning, the idea of constructing a massive industrial wind power plant in Cohocton has been put forward as an environment gift, an unobtrusive enhancement of the rural countryside that will generate an endless supply of nearly free electricity without producing any CO2, a "totally green" project that has nothing but benefit - a "no-brainer" in YES! Wind Power's words. Can you believe that something so pure and good could actually bring something else that's green into town?

YES, indeed! Greenbacks, lots and lots of them!
- The green bottom line: We're about to be told just how much we might be paid for being so virtuous. It all depends, of course, but…
- We're going to get so much money, the story line goes, that even Scrooge McDuck will be jealous. Like Scrooge, we may have to get bulldozers to push the piles of cash around in our warehouses.
- Money for the schools, money for the Town, money for SCIDA, money for you and me in tax savings and leasehold payments.
- Bundles and bundles of cash, millions and millions of dollars, will come flooding in from our marvelous machines, just like the prophet Chris foretold when he first came to our little kingdom.

While all this promising is going on, many of us are receiving letters from the Harris Beach legal firm, which has been serving as counsel for the wind industry locally but in this case it is working for a group of litigants who are suing "Columbia Natural Resources, Inc., Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation, Columbia Energy Group, Columbia Energy Resources, and all their predecessors, successors, subsidiaries and parents, including but not limited to Columbia Natural Resources, LLC, Chesapeake Appalachia LLC and NiSource, Inc." for nearly $2,000,000 in gas royalties that we've been cheated out of.

Who really thinks UPC Wind Partners LLC, Canandaigua Power Partners I, Canandaigua Power Partners II, etc., etc. will be any more honest? Visit the Promises section of our main website, check out our "Updates" section, and then help us call our bedazzled neighbors back to reality.

Labels: Local Politics

250 Million Dollars is a lot of money. That’s the truth. It’s also a fair estimate of how much UPC Wind’s proposed industrial wind power project(s) will end up costing. The questions Cohocton’s citizens and leaders need to answer now are these: What else is true about UPC’s project(s)? and What influence does this amount of money have on people’s perception of the truth? As we all know, Truth often speaks in a still small voice. Money talks too, usually more loudly.

What is money saying in Cohocton these days?
- That UPC Wind and its outside sponsors can open a nice office, fund a staff, and conduct an expensive 2 year long public opinion campaign before they even turn an honest buck.
- That some people in Cohocton are already getting paid quite a bit, and a LOT more money will be “coming soon” (we just don’t have any PILOT or host agreements to “prove” it yet).
- That an enormous industrial wind turbine installation is really a quiet and unobtrusive farming enterprise.
- That we have 2 medium-sized projects here, not one huge one.
- That “supporting” civic groups and youth organizations publicly with outside campaign money indicates genuine caring.
- That Cohocton can help “save the planet” etc., etc.

Come on, neighbors. It’s time to wake up and follow the money trail a bit further. Who are we kidding? Who’s on the UPC payroll in town, both over and under the counter? When the facts finally come out (and they will), some folks might be very surprised. Others won’t.

Do you want to know the truth or would you rather press on and bear the consequences? Remember the time-honored warning that “all that glitters isn’t gold” and don’t let yourself be misled by money with all of its vain promises. Check out our main website, browse our “Updates” section, and then contact us to find out how you can help get out the vote this fall for people who will examine the facts more carefully and genuinely listen to all of us. Thanks!

Labels: Local Politics