Press/Media Release - Cohocton Planning Board to vote on Special Use Permits for UPC Project

PRESS RELEASE

8/2/2007 3:09:57 PM

THE LARGEST NEW INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN STEUBEN
COUNTY IN THE LAST FIFTY YEARS,
COSTING APPROXIMATELY 250 MILLION DOLLARS
IS A QUESTIONABLE AND CONTROVERSIAL GIGANTIC WIND TURBINE COMPLEX TO BE SITED IN COHOCTON, NEW YORK

At 7:30 PM tonight in the town of Cohocton, New York, the Joint Town and Village Planning Board will likely approve the issuance of Special Use Permits authorizing the construction of a questionable and controversial gigantic industrial wind turbine complex to be sited on the pristine hill tops of this rural farming community. A significant number of the proposed fifty 423 foot tall massive turbines, each with a blade wing span wide enough to easily fit a giant 747 aircraft between the tips, will be placed near permanent and seasonal residences.

A petition signed by almost 30 percent of the taxpayers of the town requesting a six moratorium was filed under a sworn affidavit last November with the Town Board and the Planning Board. The Town Board, Planning Board and Town Supervisor Jack Zigenfus stonewalled and consistently refuse to consider and hear the concerns of over 240 concerned property owners who were signatories. The Boards only response was to adopt a resolution prohibiting citizens from speaking to their elected officials at Town Board meetings. That action arbitrarily and capriciously took away a privilege extended to all citizens of the town for over 200 years.

There is so much suspicious smoke surrounding this proposed project, many concerned groups and individuals strongly suspect the fires of greed and corruption burn strongly beneath the surface at the expense of the health, safety and welfare of not only Cohocton’s residents, but all US citizen taxpayers.

If given the chance, strong opposition to the proposed project can be expected to be heard at tonight’s meeting to be held at 7:30 PM at the Hatch Hose Fire Company in Atlanta, New York.

The critical question for all of us is: are we fighting a dependence on foreign oil by turning over control of the national power grid to foreign owned companies?

F. Jeffrey Goldthwait, JD