ANTRIM PLANNING BOARD MEETING
July 7, 2011
Members & Staff Present: Diane Chauncey (Secretary) David Dubois (Member)
Jesse Lazar (Vice-Chair) Martha Pinello (Member) Andrew Robblee (Chair)
John Robertson (Ex-Officio)
Members & Staff Absent:
Scott Burnside (Member) Stephen Schacht (Alternate) Mike Tatro (Alternate)
Charles Levesque (Member)
Public Attendees:
Scott Kurz Shelley Nelkens Mike Genest Ben Pratt
Steve Campbell Gordon Webber Molly Moore Ron Haggett
John Soininien
Ad Hoc Committee Update
Ad Hoc Committee Liaison, Martha Pinello, had met with the Board of Selectmen ( BOS) to discuss hiring of consultants for the Antrim Utility Scale Wind Ordinance.
The Board of Selectmen (BOS) would like a joint meeting of the BOS, Planning Board (PB), Ad Hoc Committee, and Antrim Wind Energy LLC (AWE) – the BOS had received a letter from AWE requesting a meeting.
Mr. Dubois has continued to develop the draft Utility Scale Wind Ordinance.
Ms. Allen has continued to develop the site plan regulations and definitions.
Carol Ogilvie (Community Development Director in Peterborough) has been contacted and is willing to work with the Antrim Planning Board Ad Hoc Committee.
Mr. Dubois said that he had sent a marked up ordinance to Ms. Ogilvie
The next meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee will be Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 6:30 am.
Mr. Soininien (Antrim Wind Energy, LLC/ Eolian) stated that the State Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) had taken jurisdiction of the Antrim project. Therefore the applicability of the project had changed. He said that he welcomed the opportunity to discuss the concerns of the Town of Antrim with the Towns’ residents. He stated that he was concerned about the potential for confusion with the meanings of ordinance and regulations. He felt that there could be a more streamlined process. He stated that the SEC will oversee the site plan review and will take into consideration SEC precedents that have been sent. He continued that there could be political confusion: what will the SEC do with the project – no guarantees. Mr. Soininien stated that AWE would like to address the concerns. He felt that it was important to avoid
confusion of what the Town wants and what the Developer would like. Mr. Soininien stated that AWE welcomed the opportunity to discuss noise, shadow flicker, etc. and would like to streamline the process by putting it all out on the table, flush it out, and make compromises. He questioned why parallel paths should occur and that AWE should be a part of the process. He further stated that consultants should be engaged after the discussion with the Boards.
Chair Robblee stated that the first step would be to set up a meeting – to hear imput from AWE.
Mr. Soininien said that AWE intended to develop a good project and the intention was to be good neighbors and that his company wished to work with the Town engaging consultants
Mr. Dubois stated that the Board should keep in mind that there were no guarantees that AWE will develop their project and that the ordinance was not just for that project.
Mr. Soininen said that land was already leased and that there was no other place in town that would support a wind facility. He stated that AWE was willing to negotiate.
Mr. Genest stated that a meeting was tentatively set July 18 – the next Board of Selectmen meeting.
Mr. Campbell stated that a collaborative process gave all a voice and that would work for all in the Town of Antrim.
Fundraising Letter
There was a contentious discussion concerning two fundraising letters that had been sent to some Antrim residents. The Chair had been unaware of the letters until he began to receive complaints from residents. The letters had been written independently by two PB members who had volunteered to raise funds for the unfunded SEC legal expenses. The Board had not reviewed the letters and some Board members said that the letters should have been agreed to by the entire Board. When one member received the letter, it was thought to be a draft version. One of the Board members who had written a letter stated that authority had been given to the two members to fundraise and had sent out a letter requesting funds in order to accomplish that goal. The Chair stated that the letters should have been agreed to by the entire Board. He felt that once
again, he did not know what was going on within his own Board. A heated discussion continued. Public attendees expressed their opinions. At the end of the discussion, neither those who agreed with the fundraising letters or those who did not agree with manner in which the letters had been sent were satisfied.
Gibson Pewter
Chair Robblee stated that Gibson Pewter (Hillsborough) was expanding and had been looking for a new site to locate in. The Chair thought that Antrim could be the prefect place for the new business. There was a discussion concerning economic development.
Ms. Pinello made a motion to correspond with Gibson Pewter. Mr. Robertson seconded. By a voice vote, the motion was approved.
Other Business:
Mr. Lazar has received $100. for the legal expenses and has given that to the Treasurer.
At 8:25 PM, Mr. Robertson moved to adjourn. Ms. Pinello seconded. All approved to adjourn - by a voice vote. Respectfully submitted, Diane Chauncey, Secretary of the Planning Board
| 
