PERU — The Board of Selectmen on Monday appointed six new members to the town’s Wind Power Committee, less than two weeks after residents voted against the construction of wind farms within town limits.
Selectmen appointed the new members without discussion during the meeting. They are Michael Breau, Peter Dowland, Steve Drury, Wayne Moore, Gary Nash, and Ernest Placey.
On June 13, residents voted 394-194 not to support future construction of wind farms within town limits. On Nov. 8, 2011, voters approved a 180-day moratorium on industrial wind power development, retroactive to Oct. 3. That moratorium expired in April.
In October 2011, EDP Renewables North America LLC of Houston, Texas, received a permit to place a meteorological test tower off Black Mountain Road near the Sumner town line. The company is considering building 25 to 35 turbines, a representative told the committee earlier this year.
During the selectmen’s June 18 meeting, members of the Wind Power Committee were told to draft an ordinance that would honor the June 13 anti-wind farm vote.
“Come up with an ordinance that meets the people’s needs,” Chairman Tim Holland said at the June 18 meeting. “We can’t say no wind, but we can regulate it through an ordinance.
In other business Monday, selectmen unanimously approved Fire Chief William Hussey’s request to apply for a grant for the town’s Emergency Operating Center. If Peru receives the grant, the money will pay for a self-contained emergency generator at the center, which recently moved from the fire station to the new town offices on Main Street.
Hussey told selectmen the grant would pay 100 percent of the cost of the new generator. Hussey said he does not yet know how much the generator will cost.
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