Editor:

As a taxpayer and resident of Machias, I felt it necessary to respond to Bradley Parker’s continued letters against potential wind farm development in our community. Mr. Parker is clearly against a project coming to our area, but he defends his position with half-truths.

Mr. Parker’s first big complaint is that half of the leaseholders that Horizon has signed are absentee landowners. What Mr. Parker fails to mention is that he also is a part-time resident of Machias. He works full time and lives at least part time in Buffalo. This fact aside, I feel as though every landowner has a right to do what he/she decides is best for their property, regardless of where they spend their time. The bottom line is that they pay their property tax just like full-time residents and therefore should be given the same voice. Since my retirement, I have spent time away from Machias, at times for several months, but I still pay my taxes and maintain my property. Should my opinion of a wind project be valued less than a person who lives in Machias every day of their lives?

Secondly, Mr. Parker complains about the IDA’s involvement in the development process. Again, Mr. Parker uses the facts to twist what the reality really is. The IDA’s sole purpose in our county is to promote industrial development for the purpose of increasing tax base and increasing jobs. They way they do this is to provide tax reductions to entice companies to come to our county. Wind farm development is no different. We all know that without tax credits, these wind farms could not be built. However, this is not unique to wind energy, but rather all energy development requires assistance from our governments to build. Mr. Parker would have you believe that a project shouldn’t be built because the wind farm will not be taxed at full assessment. What he fails to acknowledge is that if we turn down a project because of the IDA’s involvement, the community will gain nothing.

Using the IDA’s projections and what we know about the proposed project, we can see the real impact a wind farm will have on our tax base. Mr. Parker was correct in stating that the IDA’s proposed $5,000/MW will net the town $500/MW, but what he fails to mention is the other aspect of the tax dollars, the Host Community Agreement. The IDA is projecting that a host community agreement with total about $3,000/MS. Using simple math it is clear that our town stands to gain $3,500/MW or approximately 44 percent of all dollars paid by the wind farm developer. Translating this into real dollars, with the 80MW proposed project, the developer will be paying out around $640,000/year in taxes, with $281,000/year going directly to the town. The rest would go to our schools and county. Multiply this over the projected life of a wind farm (approximately 25 years), we would be increasing our tax base by $16 million. Furthermore, Machias’ and Yorkshire’s complete tax levy is currently about $977,177 annually, with increases of 5-10 percent/year. With the addition of a wind farm in our communities, we could all save about 29 percent if the towns choose to reduce taxes. This is a savings every landowner would get, not just landowners who are directly impacted. Likewise, with the increased dollars the county and school district will receive, we can demand that they either reduce our taxes or increase services. Mr. Parker wants to turn this down because it isn’t enough. He says that we are losing $30 million if we agree to this deal. However, the reality is that if we don’t offer a tax abatement, development will not happen and we will get zero! Landowners directly impacted, and I am potentially one of them, will additionally benefit from royalty payments. It is foreseeable that this will also benefit our local economy as they will spend this money on recreation, home improvements and other needs that their families may have been neglecting due to hardship.

I do not understand that to some the aspects of a wind farm may not be appealing to you, but I ask you to keep an open mind about this project. Do your own research and consider all sides. If you do this without bias, I am confident that you will see that this wind farm will be a blessing to our community. I encourage all of my neighbors and supporters of this project to contact your town board members and voice your support. They need to know that is a good thing for our community and could help us greatly today and in the future.

Mary Lou Shenk

Machias