Posted with the permission of The Naples Record, originally published Wednesday April 22, 2009
Prattsburgh Town Board eschews democratic process for intimidation, exclusion
To the editor,
Unbelievable - that was one of several words used by many of he at least 30 people left out of the Prattsburgh town meeting on April 21. The main meeting room was ruled to capacity (45 people). Several people asked town Supervisor Harold McConnell to move the meeting to a place where everyone who came could hear and participate. A motion was even made by Councilman Steve Kula to move the meeting. He offered to make phone calls to see if the school or firehall were available. The motion was voted down by Stacy Bottoni, Sharon Quigley and Harold McConnell.
Is this the democratic process in action or an attempt to intimidate and exclude citizens who came to participate in local government? Many other people came to the Town Hall, saw the situation and left. Perhaps the presence of armed police officers was also meant to scare people away.
There were elderly people standing for over two hours. To really illustrate the injustice of this, the attorney for Ecogen was using an empty seat for his briefcase.
Prattsburgh is in a unique position to "do the right thing" rather than be bullied by Ecogen and its representatives. Real concerns regarding health, safety and finances have consistently been ignored by the majority of the board.
One councilwoman in particular should be noted for her comments. She was very concerned about someone receiving a water bill she felt was unfair. She read a well prepared statement describing the situation and her opinions regarding the issue. In the more than two years that I've been attending these meetings this was the only time she has spoken more than a few words. The issues of the health and safety of Prattsburgh citizens poised to live under industrial wind turbines haven't been enough to invoke a full spoken paragraph from this woman. Aren't board members supposed to represent all the citizens of the town?
People in Prattsburgh and surrounding areas - please attend board meetings and do whatever research you need to do in order to see how business is conducted here. It's unethical, disrespectful, disturbing and yes, unbelievable.
Stephanie Lipp,
Prattsburgh
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