The meeting on Thursday, October 26th on the proposed by-law addressing wind towers in Savoy drew a respectable audience, but hardly the amount of interest one would have expected considering the importance of the subject. Eric Krutiak served as Moderator while Planning Board members asked and answered questions, hoping to gather helpful direction from the comments offered by residents and others. The by-law has been in the works for at least two years and a final draft should be ready to put to a vote within four or five months, according to Planning Board Chair, Jamie Reinhardt. The passage or defeat of the by-law at a town meeting is the only vote the residents will have on the windpower project. It requires a two-thirds vote [in favor] to pass. Height, sound, lighting, set-back from property lines, monitoring, maintenance, liability insurance,safety considerations, emergency problems, emissions, construction, abandonment or decommissioning, are all part of the issues the by-law will address. The terms and conditions of the by-law will provide standards and requirements for regulation, design and construction of the turbines. "With this by-law, the town Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and other governing officials can establish reasonable terms and conditions." The Planning Board has been working with advice from the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and models of by-laws that have been written for other area towns to establish our own by-law.

The audience appeard to be well represented by both advocates of wind power in town and those who oppose any such project. Don McCauley and Steve Wiseman of Minute Man Wind, LCC, the Waltham based company looking to put in the turbines, took notes during the hour and a half long meeting, but did not speak openly to the crowd. The audience was asked to keep all questions and statements focused on the by-law only. Personal opinions, arguments for or against the project were discouraged. For the most part, everyone cooperated. A second meeting planned for the first week in November was considered unnecessary. The Planning Board felt the responses from the residents and others attending this meeting had been enough for them to finish their work on the by-law and that pretty much everything that could be said about it had been said.

Many residents in town are under the impression that there will be a ballot vote on the wind turbines. This is not the case. The by-law will be presented to the voters at a town meeting. Voting will take place by the raising of hands or (if requested) a secret ballot. A two-thirds majority is necessary to pass the by-law. If passed at town meeting, the paperwork on the by-law, a certification of the final vote, and all pertinent information, is sent to the Attorney General by the Town Clerk for approval. If the by-law is approved by the Attorney General, the Clerk is notified of the decision and this notification must be posted at various places in town or published in the local newspapers before officially becoming a law of the town. It is a lengthy and complicated process. If the by-law fails to pass at town meeting, the developers can submit an application for a special permit to proceed with the project. This also is a lengthy process with time restraints. The responsibility to decide on the special permit rests with the Zoning Board. There will be a public hearing on the project which is meant to help the Zoning Board make a decision on whether to grant the permit or not, but the town will not have a vote. A by-law in place, voted on by the town, is a way the residents of this town can control such a project. Residents are urged to learn as much as they can about this process and what it will mean to the future of Savoy. from the Town Clerk