Appointees for town boards who have not been sworn in should contact the Town Clerk as soon as possible. Summer hours are 1 to 5 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays and by appointment. Please call 743-3759 Appointees who have not taken an oath of office are not eligible to vote on issues their committees are addressing.

There seems to be a great deal of confusion on who will have the final word on whether the five wind towers slated for West Hill in the Brier section of town will be built. Many residents have been counting on casting their vote in the ballot box to decide the outcome of this proposal. This is not the case. The decision is the sole responsibility of the Zoning Board, not the voters.

MinuteManWind, LLC, the company involved in the wind tower project, must submit an application for a special permit to erect the turbines in town. The application is reviewed by the Zoning Board, who will grant or reject the request. The Zoning Board must publish a notice of a public hearing within 65 days from the time the application is received, recorded and certified by the Town Clerk. After the date of the public hearing, the Zoning Board has 90 days to approve or turn down the permit. The Zoning Board will decide the outcome. Not the voters.

If the Board rejects the application and will not issue the permit, the applicant can appeal. They can also bring the issue before a Superior Court judge if it is felt the ZBA failed to execute their duties within the 90 day time limit. The law favors the applicant.

The only vote the town will have is on the by-law, which could restrict the size of the towers and address other issues the town deems important enough to put into law to protect itself from present and future problems. The by-law must be brought before the voters at a special town meeting. If passed by the voters (and a two-thirds vote is necessary), it must then be approved by the Attorney General before it is a town law. At the present time the by-law is being worked on by the Planning Board. It is very possible that the by-law will not be ready and in place before the application for a special permit is submitted by MinuteManWind.

The topic of choice whenever someone visits or calls the [Town Clerk's] office is, without question, the wind towers. Still, the legal procedure continues to be misunderstood. Residents need to understand that they will not decide the outcome by a vote. Let the Select Board and the Zoning Board know how you feel about the project. The 'pulse of the community' is what will aid the ZBA in its decision. from the Town Clerk