HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2013-02-06, Page 20Wednesday, February 6, 2013 • Lakeshore Advance 19
Wind public meeting moves to alternate venue
Paul Morden
OMI Agency
An anti -wind group has forced the company behind the
proposed 92 -turbine Jericho) Wind Energy (:entre to move a
public sleeting it scheduled for Forest on Feb. 8.
Nextera Energy originally announced it was holding an
open house that day at Kimball I loll in Forest, but company
spokesperson Josie l lernander. said Friday they're moving to
the Legacy Recreation (:entre in Medford.
This is the second time the Middlesex-l.amhton Wind
Action croup has booked a hall out from under Nextera.
'i'he anti -wind turbine group did it last summer after the
company announced plans for a public meeting in Ailsa
Graig. Nextera had to move one of its public information ses-
nts to an outdoor pavilion that time.
"We try to do anything within our power to undermine
what they're doing" said Marcelle Brooks, a member of the
action group.
"'lie littlest things we can do to delay this project, the closer
we are to shutting it down:'
Brooks saki the group checked after Nextera announced its
Forest public meeting and found Kimball 1 lall hadn't been
hooked.
"So, we hooked it," she said.
Me action group will hold its own community information
meeting at the Forest Hall Feb. 8, beginning at 7 p.m.
Nextera's meeting on that date will run from 5 p.m. to 8:30
p.m. at it's new location in Medford, I lernandez said, noting
extended horn's in tense anyone mistakenly goes to the Forest
location.
"We have revised notices going out to all the papers," she
said, adding Nextera will also mail out new notice's and
update the information on the company's website.
Deputy mayor wants public to be able to ask questions
Heather Wright
QMI Agency
Lambton Shores residents want to know more about the
public's business with a click of a button.
One hundred and five people filled out an online survey on
how the municipality communicates with the public and
many people are not happy. Over 28 percent said the
municipality's communication was either poor or very poor.
Thirty-six percent said it was neither good nor poor.
The survey - an idea of Deputy Mayor Elizabeth Davis 1 )agg
- also shows an overwhelming 71 percent of people want to
get more information about municipal business by email.
Right now, people get their information from a variety of
sources including the municipal website (36 percent), word
ot'mouth, (23 percent) and local newspapers (23 percent).
Another 24 percent mentioned reading the municipal corner
ad in the newspapers.
But the survey also shows people have a hard time finding
information on line. Some survey respondents said the
website needs a "complete overhaul?'
It was something council had in the works already. in this
years' budget, up to $15,000 has been earmarked to upgrade
its website.
Davis Dagg says that could he key in helping residents
understand what issues council is dealing with. "'the nuunicl-
_pal website needs to be improved so that it is more user
friendly and more comprehensive," she says. "We need a
better search engine and better organization to help residents
find the information they need and we need to post more
information to the website such as key by-laws."
Mayor Bill Weber agrees. "Four or five years ago started the
wehsite...things change 00 how people surf ...we could
change, too."
1 le adds email updates are available to residents. "About 99
percent of the people had internet...one of the big thing was
they %valet more entails... hitt only 50 percent using automatic
email," says Weber. "I would suggest we advertise where you
could find it." On each page of the municipality's website
there is a place to sign up for the service.
Davis Dagg also suggests the municipality use Facehook to
explain what will be debated at upcoming council meetings.
She also would like to see more historical information about
council issues readily available on the website.
And while council seems willing to use the Internet to
communicate better; Davis Dagg says tax hills are also a great
way to inform the public. "We need to include more extensive
and purposeful information with tax bills." she says.
And Davis-Dagg believes nothing beats allowing people to
speak their mind at council. "We must begin to allow the
public to ask any questions or slake any statements during
the public input section of council meetings," she says in an
email. "The public should not he limited to items on the
agenda.
Ontario's Environment Ministry was told about the venue
change, she said.
"They seem to he OK with that"
'Ihe meetings, and how the public is notified about them,
are requirements of the province's environmental approval
process for wind projects.
"If they say we need to host another meeting, then we'll
host another meeting allowing the proper notification," 1 ler-
nandcr. said.
Nextera is also holding public meetings Feb. 6, 5 p.m. to 8
p.m., at Watford's centennial Ilan, and Feb. 7, 5 p.m. to 8
p.nn., at the Alisa Graig community (:entre.
I lernandex expects they'll be the final public meetings
before Nextera submits the Jericho project for provincial
environmental approval.
'Ihe company already has a contract to sell electricity from
the project into Ontario's electricity grid.
The environmental approval process is expected to tilkl'
about eight months and construction of the wind farm could
begin before the end of the year, l lernandez said.
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