Wind farm developer to open storefront

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.River Valley
Wind farm developer to open storefront
By Eileen M. Adams, Staff Writer
Published: Oct 28, 2009 4:33 am DIXFIELD — Wind farm developer Patriot Renewables will soon set up a storefront in the downtown to provide information on a tentatively planned project.
Town Manager Eugene Skibitsky said Tom Carroll, the community liaison with the Quincy, Mass., firm, told selectmen Monday night that the former Holmes Market will be staffed to field questions starting next week. Expected hours are Monday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Tuesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Along with verbal information, Carroll will also set up displays of the proposed wind farm tentatively planned for the ridge that includes Colonel Holman Mountain.

Skibitsky said the wind turbine company is also planning a public informational meeting sometime within the next few weeks to present data on the proposal, as well.

In the meantime, an ad hoc committee charged with devising a municipal wind farm ordinance plans to meet Wednesday, Oct. 28, to review the first nine sections of a state wind farm ordinance model. That meeting begins at 1 p.m. at the town office. Plans are for the town to devise a wind turbine ordinance that will later go before residents for adoption.

Townspeople voted two weeks ago to declare a six-month moratorium on wind farm development so the ad hoc committee would have time to write one that fits their town.

Several selectmen also plan to attend an Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments wind farm workshop on Nov. 5.

In other matters on Monday, selectmen voted to hire Dixfield resident David Phair as the public works department's new working foreman. Phair, a former maintenance manager at NewPage Corp., lives in Dixfield.

He was chosen from seven applicants, and will begin his new duties Wednesday.

The board also unanimously approved the purchase of a 1995 Quint ladder truck from a Phoenix, Ariz., company at a cost of $238,934. Fire Chief Scott Dennett traveled to Phoenix 10 days ago to inspect the vehicle.

The town has set aside about $50,000 a year for several years for the purchase. To accommodate the more modern truck, two of the bays in the fire station will have to be raised. The $9,000 needed for that modification will come from the fire station reserve account.

Skibitsky said the truck should be delivered within six weeks. Once it arrives, he said the town is planning to hold an open house to display the three new pieces of equipment recently purchased. Besides the new ladder truck, the town has bought a 2009 plow truck for the public works department and a 2009 Ford Expedition sports utility vehicle for the police department.

Also on Monday:

• Police Chief Pickett said a speed trailer that measures miles per hour driven by motorists will be used on various roads around town for the next week or so.

• Selectmen awarded the contract for the purchase of and installation of a new boiler for the town office at a cost of $10,027 to Community Energy of Rumford.

• The Corrow family of Dixfield donated $500 toward the beautification of the downtown area. Skibitsky said one idea is to install a new Christmas tree. However, town officials are fielding other suggestions from the public.

eadams@sunjournal.com
Wind farm developer to open storefront | Sun Journal