Hammond board should leave wind decision to taxpayers
As a taxpayer in the town of Hammond I am very disturbed about how the issue of industrial wind turbines in our town will be decided. There are five members of the Hammond Town Board. Two of these five — Councilman Russell Stewart and Deputy Supervisor and Councilman James Pitcher — who have already signed consent agreements with the developers of these proposed turbines are stepping aside and not voting on this issue. I applaud them both for rescinding their voting power on this very important issue. By doing so, they both show the respect they have for the town of Hammond with the realization that they will profit from these wind towers to be placed on their available land.
On the other hand, the remaining town board members, Councilman Ronald Tully II, Councilman James Langtry and Supervisor Janie G. Hollister, are retaining their right to cast their votes on this issue. These three remaining town board members have a potential conflict of interest here, as they all either directly own property, or have relatives who own parcels of land (or both), in the town that falls within Hammond's wind overlay zone that are large enough to erect many of these proposed turbines. Mr. Langtry's Farm actually borders the farm hosting the most recent wind test tower that has been erected in Hammond. Coincidentally, Mr. Tully's father-in-law, James Gleason, happens to be the code enforcement officer for the town of Hammond, and the Gleason's own approximately 104 acres of land adjacent to Mr. Tully's home, also falling in the wind zone. I have nothing personal against any of the board members, I am just stating facts.
The board members say they will base their decision on "what's best for the town." In my opinion, what's best for the town of Hammond is for these three board members to admit the potential benefits that they or their family members could receive in the near future from their "unbiased decision," and rescind their vote and turn this issue over to all resident and nonresident taxpayers of Hammond.
Michael Savage
Elma
