Wednesday, October 3, 2012
The key issues that are driving local elections
As we look ahead to November’s elections, Middletown Patch is devoted to bring you the information you need about every race in town. Here's our start on the key issues that have come up so far in local campaigns: Ban-the-Bag Middletown was the first town approached an environmental advocacy group, Surfriders International, to request a ban on plastic bags. Although council voiced support of the idea, they stopped short of proposing a change to local law. On Monday Oct. 1, the town of Barrington passed an ordinance that restricts plastic bags in retail establishments. Should Middletown reconsider a ban on plastics? Wind Turbines On Sept. 17, Middletown passed an ordinance that restricts wind turbines after Councilor Chris Semonelli said…
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
After eight months of debate, council voted to pass the wind turbine amendments that will restrict usage in Middletown
Last night, Middletown town council passed an ordinance that would restrict the placement of turbines in Middletown. The motion passed 4-2, with councilor Edward Silveira absent and councilors Richard Cambra and Barbara VonVillas opposed. The motion to draft the ordinance was approved in February after Councilor Chris Semonelli said residents on Mitchell’s Lane complained of flicker, shadow and noise distractions. One of those residents, John Byrne, has since stated that his comments were misrepresented and he never complained to his neighbor about the turbine. “I opened our discussion by stating the fact that I do not have a problem with the two turbines across the street,” wrote Byrne in a letter to the editor. A previous …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
The third wind turbine in town and fourth on Aquidneck Island is turning its blades and generating electricity, after being constructed by a Middletown-based company.
- BUSINESS
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Tuesday, May 8, 2012
The Hodges Badge Co. wind turbine might have seen like a stagnant, steel maypole for the past few months, but as of Monday morning, the giant in the sky began to finally turn its blades. "I am pleased to report that our turbine is up and running as of this morning," wrote Hodges Badge President Rick Hodges in an e-mail Monday of the turbine built by Middletown-based Rhode Island Wind Power. "Actually, it was ready to run last Friday, but there wasn’t enough wind to turn the blades over the weekend. "I expect that there will be a few more shutdowns as we resolve some teething issues, but it will generally be in automatic operation going forward, meaning that it will turn into the wind by itself, and start and stop as the wind comes and …
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Tracie Spooner said the turbine on Mitchell's Lane drove her out of Middletown.
The following is a letter to the editor from Tracie Spooner, a lifetime resident of Middletown who said she moved away because of the wind turbines. The Middletown Town Council recently proposed an ordinance that would restrict the placement of turbines in Middletown. Once the ordinance has been drafted by the administration, it will go before a series of public meetings and the council will vote to approve it into law. Dear Editor: I have read a lot of negative comments recently directed towards the town council and specifically Councilor Chris Semonelli regarding the decision to restrict wind turbines in Middletown, and I felt that I needed to address this topic since I have had my own personal experiences with the wind turbines on …
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Town administration has already begun drafting modifications to an ordinance that will restrict wind turbines to agricultural uses only.
During the previous town council meeting, held on Feb. 6, Councilors Bruce J. Long and Town Council President Arthur Weber proposed the town hire a firm to analyze information regarding wind technology. Data on wind turbines is required in order to amend an ordinance that would restrict wind turbine usage, a motion council approved during that same session. At that time, council requested that Town Administrator Shawn Brown look into the existing information available on wind technology and provide a recommendation if the outside firm would be necessary. During the following town council meeting held on Tuesday evening, Brown stated that hiring an outside firm is unnecessary. “I believe there are sufficient resources available to amend …
Monday, February 20, 2012
Town councilor Christopher T. Semonelli submitted this letter on why he supports the recently passed resolution to amend the zoning ordinance that would restrict wind turbine placements.
- GOVERNMENT
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Monday, February 20, 2012
I have been involved with wind turbine discussions since my first term, in fact I stopped the fast moving wind turbine approval freight train, with the assistance of others, then to the disappointment of a lot of colleagues. While I did not want to certainly see a large unit in Middletown, I tried to keep an open mind about smaller units, but lacked the tools and data to evaluate the impact of a unit on their neighbors, that is until recently. After reviewing the submittals to the recent Middletown wind turbine survey I noticed one submittal submitted by the neighbor of the wind turbine unit on Mitchell's Lane. I called them and asked for time to discuss their comments and invited council President Weber and Vice President Long to the …
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Middletown Town Hall
350 E Main Rd, Middletown, RI
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Thursday, February 9, 2012
Town Council member Barbara A. VonVillas was the sole opposing vote to Monday's call for a ban on all wind turbines in Middletown except for agricultural use.
- OPINION
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Thursday, February 9, 2012
To the Editor: I smell fear. Why else would four Middletown councilmen - when two of the seven Council members were absent - orchestrate approval of a motion to halt all but “agricultural” development of wind energy in Middletown – a motion that was not even on the Monday night agenda? Is it because the results of the recent town survey related to wind turbines clearly demonstrated that more than 50% of the respondents support properly sited wind turbines of all sizes? Is it because the faction that has been opposing turbines has finally been clearly identified as the minority? Is it because they wanted to minimize the public feedback before it changed the conversation? What was in the survey that so frightened these councilmen that …
Monday, November 21, 2011
The Middletown Town Council will consider allowing residents to propose small wind turbines during Monday night's meeting.
Tonight, the Middletown Town Council will consider modifying its wind turbine moratorium to exempt small wind projects, which are defined in the existing Middletown ordinance as 55 feet or less. The ordinance contains several important requirements related to siting, flicker, noise, setbacks and fall zones that must be met before the project is even considered for a Special Use Permit, which is intended to protect the Town of Middletown and the abutters. Sufficient restrictions have clearly been put in place to ensure the protection of neighbors, while individuals will still be able to take advantage of environmentally sound options. No one is in favor of wind turbines near Second Beach. However, to restrict all wind turbines of any size…
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Middletown Town Hall
350 E Main Rd, Middletown, RI
/articles/letter-middletown-should-allow-small-wind-turbines
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Thursday, October 20, 2011
The following op-ed was submitted by state Rep. Deborah Ruggiero (D-Dist. 74, Jamestown, Middletown) who serves as chairperson of the Small Business Renewable Energy Task Force.
- GOVERNMENT
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Thursday, October 20, 2011
Rhode Island ranks among the lowest 10 states in the country when it comes to renewable energy. However, in the 2011 session, the General Assembly passed a suite of renewable energy laws—some of the most cohesive and comprehensive in the nation—that will leap frog Rhode Island from laggard to leader in renewable energy. It’s more than just protecting our environment, it’s about creating jobs in our state. It was an honor to chair the Small Business Renewable Energy Task Force. The SBRE Task Force was a very diverse group of stakeholders including state government (EDC, DEM, Office of Energy), small businesses (rTerra, Newport Biodiesel, Central Tool Manufacturing), renewable energy advocates, and National Grid. We focused on three key …
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
The Middletown Town Council considered lifting the temporary ban, but only for small wind turbines as its nine-month moratorium on all new applications remains in effect.
The Middletown Town Council is not ready to revisit the wind turbine issue just yet. After a brief but decisive discussion Monday night, council members reached a consensus to hold off on further discussions regarding the moratorium currently in effect for new wind turbine applications, until the State of Rhode Island completes its study on identifying appropriate land sites for wind turbines later this year. Monday night’s discussion was generated by Council President Art Weber, who questioned whether town officials wanted to consider lifting the moratorium for solely smaller wind turbines under 55 feet in height. He noted, for example, that a new bladeless “Helix” model for wind turbines had come out and catered to small home and private…
41.519925
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Middletown Town Hall
350 E Main Rd, Middletown, RI
/articles/middletown-holds-course-on-wind-turbine-moratorium
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William F Horan
4:15 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012
Middletown Town Council let the data drive the timely & responsible decision. Today in contrast this Portsmouth WTG sure looks like a big mess. My thought is that both the RI GA EDC & PTS town council has a fiduciary responsibility to limit both the Portsmouth taxpayer & state wide tax payers and electrical rate payers liability and therefore must abandon this turbine ASAP..too many unknowns. An … more ›