When Interests Collide With Principle

It will be interesting to see where the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce comes down on the issue of a wind energy manufacturing facility coming to Cumberland. The placement of factory jobs comes as welcome news to the city and region. John Condego, a descendant of Italian immigrants, sees wind energy construction in the United States as a new declaration of independence from both foreign oil and manufacturing. The benefits of both wind energy and new jobs have been touted as positives in the location of this concern to the region.

But what about the wind energy opponents? Kolin Jan, president of the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce in a letter to the West Virginia Public Service Commission last January argued that "wind energy is not clean, it's unreliable, and causes environmental harm." He believes that reliance on wind energy would produce "rolling brownouts." Jan also referred to those backing the projects as "greedy developers." Obviously Jan opposes wind farms in principle. Where will he stand on a facility that manufactures crucial parts for them?

It will be interesting to see if the Allegany Chamber of Commerce enthusiastically supports this most recent, positive development.

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I do agree with wind energy opponents in one area. This industry must be able to eventually stand on its own two feet without subsidies. That being said, its establishment comes with the hefty price of retaining lawyers, commissioning studies, and jumping through every hoop required by state, local, and federal law. In America you cannot even just build a shed in your backyard anymore without checking the environmental impact.

Jan compares the subsidies given to wind compared to those of coal. That is a valid point. However coal established itself in this region during a time when the government required of the company almost nothing to commence operations. If wind farm companies had the same option, they may have been able to stand on their own from the beginning. Regulatory costs burden the system to the point that innovation is much more difficult than it was a century ago.

As far as I am concerned, I want to see both wind farms and coal fired plants under construction in West Virginia. This would bring down costs for West Virginians while putting more of us to work. Coal should always form the backbone of the grid. A combination of wind, solar, and hydroelectric power should form the supplement.

Too Much Water! A Plea to the City of Keyser. Also, Region Inadvertantly Slammed By Marylander

Contrary to the expectations of some folks in leadership positions, many property owners in and around Keyser got more than their fill of water. Storms repeatedly slammed the area, dumping several inches of water in a short period. Many homeowners who have never seen this problem before were cleaning out their basements. Kudos to Eric Beeman who singlehandedly cleaned out the major mess in the basement of Calvary United Methodist Church.

How many homes were affected? Hundreds? We don't know. If a lot of them were like me, they foolishly left clothing, books, magazines, etc on the floor to soak up water. The humid and warm days that follow guarantee that unhealthy mold will develop.

Keyser is proposing a cleanup in August. I suggest that the health hazard created by so many flooded basements constitutes a reason to act sooner. If possible, bump up the clean up day to July and rent a truck to pick up from the elderly and destitute that would never be able to get their own vehicle. I wonder if the county health department could get an emergency grant to assist the entire county.

Next rally the churches. Calvary United Methodist has a working youth group in town now. Mobilize them and Habitat For Humanity to help the elderly, disabled, and otherwise unable to clean out their basements. I am telling you, if you have a basement full of papers, wood, cardboard, clothes, etc, it is almost an overwhelming chore for a healthy man in his prime. Imagine a single mother, an elderly man, or a person in a wheelchair, trying to lift eighty pound bags of wet material.

If we do not act, we definitely run the risk of having larger numbers of sick children and elderly.

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Speaking of water issues, Kolin Jan of the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce was quoted in the Cumberland Times News recently while discussing the subject. In the past some have speculated that the region might be running out of water even in the midst of floods. Jan made a comment that was definitely not meant as a vicious slam on the region, but demonstrated some level of misunderstanding.

Kolin Jan mentioned, "he discounts the notion that, as the area’s population as decreased from its peak over the past 20 years that there’s plenty of water. Lifestyles have changed, he said, and people often take two showers a day when “back then, a Friday night bath was a big deal.”"*

Amazing, simply amazing. I started spending a lot of time in this region about seventeen years ago. My wife's family bathed daily even way back in them there uncivilized days and I am sure they were not unusual even though they were living on the cusp of poverty.

He could have said that people wash their cars more often, or are more likely to baby and coddle their yards with regular watering. Both are true and both require more water than showers. But he "went there" and made a statement based upon stereotype, not truth. Like I said, it was not meant to be a slam based upon mythical perceptions of people in this region. But he did say it and he does seem to believe it. I wonder if he also believes that people around here just figured out that being photographed does not steal your soul?

* Cumberland Times News, "Marcellus Shale forum at Frostburg about water, not money" by Kevin Spradlin, June 21, 2009

A response to yesterdays Windmill blog from Kolin Jan

I received the following e@mail from Kolin Jan on yesterdays blog. It had many attachments with it, some were from unknown sources and some known, but all left out vital information on making an informed decision on the proposed windmills. I thought I would share Kolin's letter with you and my response.

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Gary,
From something you wrote today it appears you have bought into the US WindForce propaganda....especially the part about jobs. Here are several emails that might help you discover the rest of the story on this issue. The jobs are very temporary.....check out what has happened at other locations....and the advertised permanent jobs are inaccurate. Industry-wide you can expect one permanent job per 10-13 turbines (ask Jim and Joe to prove to you otherwise). I care about the environmental impacts, but what I care more about is the science behind the turbines, and how ineffective and expensive they are.
I don't blame US WindForce for taking advantage of what an uninformed Congress has allowed; after all, we're a capitalistic society. I'd just like these guys to tell the whole truth for a change and answer some basic questions in a public arena. r/ Kolin

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Kolin,

You don’t know me very well. I have been a student of Wind Energy most of my life. In grade school and high school I did science fair projects in generating electricity from the wind and won many awards up to national levels, including awards from Fortune 500 companies for my research. I have personally visited the large windfarms on the west coast and stood beneath those at Tehachapi Pass. My family generated electricity from the wind as far back as the 1930’s on their farm. I’m not some Johnny Come Lately to wind energy. I have done my own research both literal and empirical.

The information that you forwarded to me is mostly propaganda and misleading. It is not independent information you are disseminating as the truth, it comes from the anti-windmill, anti-growth faction. That being said the information coming from US Windforce is going to be favorable to their side of the issue. That is why I do not rely on the information from either source, but do my own research. My 30 years of study and experience with wind energy does tell me that US Windforce’s information is much closer to the truth than the true propaganda you just forwarded to me.

Sir, it is you relying on propaganda from only one side and distributing it to an uninformed public. I am not uninformed on this issue and I am not a NIMBY. I want to see growth in my community. I want to see jobs brought to my community. I know that you are not from here, but I think you have been here long enough to realize we are not bunch of Hillbillies. The stereotypes of West Virginia are not real. We are an educated people that can think for ourselves.

You state you want to see US Windforce answer questions in a public arena; they do the first Monday of every month. In the forum they answer most of the questions on the spot, if it is something that needs detail and cannot be answered off the cuff, then they defer it to a later meeting. They are hiding nothing as you imply with your statement. Those meetings are public and open to those that wish to attend.

I suggest you do some research of your own instead of relying only on information from the anti-wind, anti-growth loons.


Respectfully

Gary Howell

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NIMBY = Not in my backyard

Cleaning Up

Last Thursday's meeting of the Mineral County Clean Up Committee showed major differences between the two sides over the proposed future ordinance.

The basic difference lies in the scope of the law to be written. Gary Howell and others have argued over a period of months for a tightly written and strictly defined law. The ideal law for the Howell side restricts the power of government. If a structure or the condition of a property affects the health and safety of neighbors then the county ought to have the authority to act. Just having a property that someone deems as "junky" should not be a basis for government action.

The law must respect the basic rights of property owners. It must not encourage using the government for the purposes of harassment. Substantial penalties for noncompliance, up to $100 per day, have been suggested. This penalty could violate the US Constitutional prohibition on excessive fines. It certainly would prevent most honest citizens from using a natural right of appeal when they might have a legitimate issue with enforcement. Any major fine ought not be assessed until the entire appeals process has been exhausted. Protections for the disabled, poor and elderly must be specifically included.

The opposing side calls for a broadly based law that assigns more power to the county government. Additional powers come from the construct of the law that leaves such terms as "overgrown vegetation" undefined. Without strict guidelines, such issues become very subjective depending upon the attitude of investigators and the Enforcement Board. Committee member Kolin Jan even suggested that when the appearance of a property offended a businessman from outside the region, that he ought to be able to file a complaint against the owner, citing an "adverse effect" on economic development. How many of us have properties that would meet the aesthetic standard of a big city businessman?

Another issue lies in the well-known fact that politicians do not always act in accordance with ethical standards or even the law itself. Members of the committee denied that reasonable and honest public officials would ever abuse this law. And they would not. Mineral County's current officials are honest and trustworthy people, but they will not always be in office. The history of West Virginia demonstrates that all too often, elected officials do not follow the law. West Virginia elected officials have been known to take bribes, misappropriate federal and state funds, commit voter fraud, intimidate witnesses, one even bit a citizen in the nose. With this record, citizens are wise to prevent much power from falling into government hands.

The cold fact is that those that want broad powers and sweeping language in this ordinance could win unless the public speaks. Citizens concerned about their rights need to inform committee members such as Gary Howell that they want their rights protected. Additionally, they need to let the county commission know how they feel. This government body will have final say over the creation of the law. I know a lot of folks are worried about this, they need to speak loudly and often between now and teh next meeting. Make your voice heard.

Fireworks at the Health Department

Thursday evening the Mineral County Clean up Committee met. Repeatedly discussion erupted into fireworks.

One argument erupted over the proposed use of Raleigh County's derelict and junked property ordinance as a template to be adjusted to Mineral County's circumstances. Gary Howell pointed out that Clyde Burdock consulted the state Attorney General and was told that ordinance contained multiple flaws. Others argued that the ordinance conformed with the state code. Raleigh County also has adopted some of the most restrictive laws in the state concerning citizens' property rights, which includes the taking of private property through eminent domain. Howell proposed that the proposed Mineral County ordinance conform as much as possible to that of Keyser town laws on the same subject. This would reduce confusion for those owning property inside and outside city limits. Kolin Jan at one point asked of Gary Howell what was wrong with the Raleigh County ordinance. Howell responded that it would have the ultimate effect of depriving poor citizens of rights and property.

The motion to use the Raleigh County ordinance as a template failed to carry, sparking frustration among some. Mineral County Commissioner Wayne Spiggle, who abstained from voting, refused to be drawn in when asked by Rev. Daniel Stemple to vote after the votes had been counted. It could have been construed as a conflict of interest and also would have violated parliamentary procedure. Kolin Jan asked Howell why he objected to using the Raleigh County ordinance as a base. Howell replied, the use of Eminent Domain to take private property from low and fixed income land owners that can not afford to comply is wrong. Eventually the committee agreed to use a power point presentation to compare the Raleigh County ordinance, the West Virginia State Code, and the Keyser city laws. Using these examples, the committee could then break down the laws and create a workable and fair ordinance for the county.

Other discussions centered around an ordinance for the legal length of lawn grass in the county. Joe Zacot, and Gary Howell objected strongly to an ordinance for a legal standard for grass length of 1.5 inches proposed by David Isenberg. This led to some attempts to define a farm to exempt them from the 1.5 inches, until the entire discussion was shut down. Such definitions could be problematic as some small property owners bale hay off as little as a few acres for extra money.

The main issue preventing productive work by this committee is the low tolerance for disagreement. All too often voices were raised due to simple opposing points of view. In an atmosphere with angry voices and statements bordering on personal attacks, real progress will not happen. All need to remember that to craft a good law requires time and effort. When people's property and livelihood are in question, care must be taken to get it right. Rushing the matter through will result in bad law. At this point no one is hurt or threatened by junked cars and dilapidated buildings. There is plenty of time for the committee to make sure it does right by the people of Mineral County.

Water pressure concern at Mineral County Planning Commission meeting

Residences of the Fort Ashby area voiced their opinion to the Mineral County Planning Commission on Thursday night. Ashby Crest subdivision located near Painter Hollow Road could add up to 35 additional homes on what locals call an over taxed water system. One local resident stated he only had 8 psi of water pressure at his home.

The subdivision received all proper permits from the Frankfort PSD to hook on to the water system, and were aware of the pressure problem. The developer said he would be installing a booster pump for the subdivision, so the new homes would not experience the same water pressure problems.

County Health Department official A.J. Root said that the PSD was required to provide at least 20 psi of water pressure. Planning Commission President Clyde Burdock conferred if he lived in that area he would not put up with 8 psi of water pressure, and suggested that the people contact the state Public Service Commission.

Kolin Jan felt that the planning commission should not approve the subdivision. County Planner Scott Clay informed the commission that the developer had met all the requirements for the subdivision, and that this developer had presented the most complete plans he had seen going well beyond anything required by the code. He went on to state, "the Planning Commission could be sued if they did not follow the law", as Mr. Jan suggested. Clyde Burdock followed by saying the Frankfort PSD is at fault if they approved the permits without doing the proper checks and inspection.

Several citizens stated they had no complaints with the developer, and wanted the growth as it would help their property values. Their main concern was the lack of water pressure and a fear that the subdivision could aggravate the problem.

Also at the meeting Frank Roleff pointed out that at the June Planning Commission meeting the Planning Commission stated that when the County Commission made new appointments they should try to give equal representation to the different areas of the county. At the time of the June meeting the north end magisterial district had 4 members, the Keyser area district had 2 members, and the southwest part of the county had 3.

With resignation of Mr. Welch from the north end prior to the June meeting, the Planning Commission suggested that 3 persons from the Keyser area be appointed or re-appointed. This would have given fair and equal representation to the planning commission from all parts of the county with an even split of 3, 3, and 3. Mr. Roleff went on to point out that this recommendation was not followed and the north end now has 4 members, the southwest 4, and Keyser district only having one member, and he felt the different areas of the county were not fairly represented.