Shelby didn’t get enough citizen input for monumental projects affecting residents, community

Editor:

I am writing regarding the upcoming election for various positions in the Town of Shelby. Though many of us wish there were more options, and even wish they had the time to fully commit to the work and run themselves, we cannot.

However, running for office is not the only way to be involved. Another way to contribute is by being actively engaged in town politics, which I am. I regularly go to meetings and attend them virtually if I can’t in person. I listen, read, and research. Often, I call elected officials. And sometimes, I speak up at meetings.

For me, the number one issue Shelby must confront is what to do about the proposal that surfaced first in the board minutes in May of 2022 (linked here) and then one month later in June. there had been board minutes prior regarding something called a “Met Tower,” I had no idea what it referenced.

I thought it had something to do with maybe getting a better cellular or signal. But it wasn’t: the tower was linked to a proposal, it turned out, for two giant 640’ industrial wind turbines, the site of which was going to be the (now former) Supervisor of Shelby’s land, about a mile from Route 31, on South Gravel Road. To put it more generally: the turbines (nearly twice the size of the ones in the Southern Tier) would loom directly over the Village of Medina.

The public hearing that June (here’s the video of it) was firmly in the “This is a really bad idea” camp. The more people I talked to about it, the more dismayed their reaction. “How tall?” they’d ask. “Wait–you mean the orchards behind Tops?” and “When would the shadow flicker be? Would it be on the kids’ playing fields? The golf course? The windows at Orchard Manor?”  When I’d mention the blinking red lights that everyone would see, every single day and night, basically forever, that got their attention, too.  Other residents spoke up about the harm of low-frequency vibrations and the negative health impacts.

The number one reaction though was, How come none of us even know about this? How come no one even asked any of us what we thought? After that June public hearing, more people started attending Town Board meetings.

In August and September of 2022, even more spoke out against the turbines, demanding that the Town correct the multitude of inaccuracies in their draft environmental statement (the SEQR). In fact, the September meeting lasted almost three hours (here’s the town’s link to it), and then-Councilman Ryan Wilkins tabled the discussion.

The minutes for that meeting read, “Councilman Wilkins said considering the time and how long we have been here and haven’t gotten through the rest of the meeting would like to table the 2 resolutions for SEQR Resolution 98-22 and Resolution 99-22 until a later date and also table the rest of the SEQR process until a later date.”

If you watch any of the 2022 summer board meetings or read the minutes, you’ll see that there were indeed those of us who questioned the ethics of Supervisor Smith proposing such a momentous tower, when it would directly benefit him personally. Saying he recused himself didn’t mean he wasn’t aware of and responsible for brokering conversations regarding the matter, and even instrumental in ushering it through more quickly. How could he say he had recused himself when he was the very person in Borrego’s promotional video, talking about how great it was for Shelby?

The timeline that he and Borrego proposed (with plans to break ground as soon as the spring of 2023, for example!) seemed designed to stifle public comment and input. And though he claimed that he recused himself, I know that Mr. Smith was present at Work Sessions where it was discussed, and he did not leave the room. He led the discussion at the October 2020 Work Session, linked here, where he discussed the SEQR process for the wind turbine, the STAMP wastewater pipeline, and the Barre Solar Panels, all of which he himself personally benefited.

It was in the early fall of 2022 that I and others submitted FOIL requests, asking to see documentation of just when the supervisor and other board members communicated with Borrego or our then-attorney at the time regarding the matter, as well as requesting information related to the STAMP project. But of the materials we paid for, most of the emails with Genesee County to our board members or to the supervisor I received were blacked out almost in their entirety, with the claim that they were privileged documents. How so? They were not in regard to private matters involving personnel.

In the fall of 2022, everything shifted:

At the October 4 work session, it was announced that council member, Ryan Wilkins, had resigned.

At the October 11 regular meeting, supervisor Jeff Smith resigned. In the town’s minutes, it reads that Smith said that “the attacks against former Councilman Wilkins and himself were untrue which resulted in the former Councilman to resign. He says he has recused himself in all the dealing about the Shelby wind and the Barre/Solar projects. He said many anti-wind turbine people drew a conclusion that he was using his position as Supervisor to his own benefit.”

On December 5th, the board interviewed candidates for the position of Supervisor; on December 13, they appointed Scott Wengewicz to fill the position.

At the January 10, 2023 meeting, a new attorney was listed in the board minutes as the town attorney: Jeff Clark, rather than Bethany Centrone, who had been the attorney in the prior year’s minutes. Presumably, she, like Wilkins and Smith, resigned.

On Feb 7, 2023, a special meeting was held to appoint Jeff Schiffer to the position vacated by Mr. Wilkins. Two councilmembers spoke up asking to wait another week to learn more about the candidate. But after discussion, that proposal was denied and Schiffer, who was not even in attendance, was appointed.

I do not fault Mr. Smith for considering proposals that might benefit his family’s farm, nor for taking care of his family members who wanted help dealing with Genesee County and the STAMP project. All of us understand how important it is to look after one’s family.

The ethical question is, how can you be looking out for Shelby when all of these ventures –turbines, solar panels, and wastewater – offered direct financial gain to you, whereas the benefits to the town were more of a maybe? (e.g., Maybe down the road, the town can be signed up to get a deal on their electric bill, versus having to sign up for such a thing themselves.) These questions are not attacks. They are pointed, important questions a citizen is entitled to ask elected officials about why it is okay to allow special use permits to groups who clearly violate our zoning rules (height of towers, etc).

Here are some further questions:

How were the two people appointed to council positions selected? Neither one of them has been in attendance, ever, at Shelby board meetings in the past few years.

Why did the committee ignore female candidates, both of whom were polished, professional, business savvy, and incidentally, registered Republicans? There was talk at the February 2022 work session regarding the supposed “bias” that “she” had because she had dared to speak up at a public hearing and ask questions regarding the wind turbines.

 At that meeting’s conclusion, which you can watch here, Linda Limina asked why stating a position or asking a question at a public hearing should disqualify a person from being appointed for office. Her question was a good one.

Why is it that since the current supervisor was appointed, there have been almost no supervisor’s reports at all?

Why is it that since the board has filled the vacant seats, the board no longer has public work sessions?

Why are meetings that happen prior to the official meetings always held behind closed doors? Personnel matters? Every month? For the entire conversation? It is more likely a work session behind that closed door. This violates Open Meeting Law.

If an elected official has said on many occasions, as Mr. Wengewitz and Mr. Root have, that a landowner should be able to do what they want on their own land… does that mean they think a 640’ wind turbine is fine if that is what the landowner wants? Do they care what residents think?

If some of the candidates running for this election have their election sign on Mr. Smith’s property at Ledge Rock Farms on Rt 63, where the two turbines are slated to be sited, does that mean that he has their tacit blessing to go ahead and build two wind turbines there, dwarf the town, and bathe it in shadow flicker, blinking red lights, low-frequency hum and vibration? How are we to know? It may be worth asking such individuals for their thoughts on this issue if you know any of them personally.

Is any candidate committed to seeking town and village input regarding monumental proposals prior to Shelby officials signing on for such projects, unbeknownst to its citizens? Asking residents for their input and assistance, as a community (such as by sending out a survey to all residents and asking!) is important. It’s how Shelby successfully defeated the proposed Frontier Stone quarry, and how it came about that they built the Wildlife Overlay District that eventually triumphed in NYS Supreme Court. They sent out a survey, and they enlisted a huge number of regular people to help. And we did.

Will town officials commit to sending out a similar survey to all residents of Shelby and Medina regarding these 640′ wind turbines?

Knowing the recent history of how the Shelby Board came to be is very important. I hope voters keep it in mind as they choose candidates.

Sincerely,

Karen Jones

Shelby