On the beaten path

After all of their heated arguments were given one night, Jerry stood up and faced them.

"I've been here every month. Where were you? Where were you?" he accused.

Basically, what right did they think they had to say they hadn't been informed when they hadn't attempted to inform themselves.

Last week, as I was getting ready to leave the Beekmantown Town Council meeting and head back to the office to pitch the late story, one of those residents once reprimanded by Jerry stopped me.

"That's democracy, my boy."

The Town Council had just decided, by a split vote, to force Windhorse Power under the new Wind Facilities Law. One can't help but appreciate that three years after Jerry's comment, those residents made it happen.

Looking at the Beekmantown wind power issue, it was merely a sidebar to a much larger story. Whereas Noble Environmental Power was proposing putting a few hundred wind turbines up, Windhorse was asking for just 10 or 13 - pocket change when compared to the Altona and Ellenburg projects.

Yet, the ceiling dropped on them quickly.

The developers, John Warshow and Per White-Hansen, came to a Beekmantown Zoning Board meeting wherein Beekmantown Codes Enforcement Officer Allan Corron expressed caution.

"Nobody jump up and down, or we'll be having this meeting downstairs," he quipped.

The upstairs meeting room was packed. I was standing by the door, huddled over my notepad with four people at my elbow. I wasn't going anywhere, and neither was anybody else.

For months, emotions were high and heated exchanges ensued. Residents opposed to the project would stand, say their peace and receive rounds of applause from their compatriots for a turn of phrase or biting accusations.

It often felt more like a political rally than a council meeting.

Windhorse weathered the storm, though, and came back with a revised proposal. As the process would continue over the next year, Windhorse would jump through a lot of hoops. They would pay the consultant fees, do all the studies required of them and try to appease concerns of the residents. Windhorse also had supporters that fought for them during these meeting and in the public.

The Zoning Board approved Windhorse's project Feb. 1, 2007. And even that night, the developers and zoning board members knew what was coming.

Attorney C. J. Madonna was requesting copies of the minutes, which had been recorded by the town secretary. In this moment, one side was very happy, and the wind developers hugged and shook hands.

Warshow turned to one of his opponents that night.

"I'm sorry," he said, offering his hand.

"Don't be coy," she bit back.

These same residents, as part of the West Beekmantown Neighborhood Association, spent $70,000 battling the WIndhorse decision. They sued just about everybody: the Zoning Board, the Town Council, the code enforcement officer, the attorney and even the Clinton County Planning Board.

They would lose the first time, appeal and lose again in the Supreme Court.

All the while, though, changes were happening.

Councilwoman Sharron Garden took over the remainder of her husband's term after his unfortunate death in December 2006. They were both against Windhorse Power and served as representatives to the town's Wind Advisory Committee.

Later, in the 2007 election, Councilman Francis Carter, a supporter of the project, was voted out and replaced with Sydney Sue Garrant.

Members of the WBNA came to every meeting, issuing document after document that said the town could refuse Windhorse Power's right to build. They'd pile into the council room every third Monday of the month and inundate the council with a continuous stream of opposition
- sometimes requiring the town to spend three and four hours longer to conduct regular business.

Beekmantown passed a Wind Facilities Regulation law in September 2008, allowing residences and businesses to have one turbine on their property but refusing industrial wind-power facilities.

And it kept on coming, though, over time the tone changed. The WBNA had gone from fearful opposers that lashed out at Windhorse and government bodies to people studying case law, presenting health facts and questioning people on both the county and state level.

Monday night, the emotion was still there. Following their presentation, residents said it was the council's responsibility to do what the voters wanted, and the voters present were ready to support the council if they went to court against Windhorse.

The atmosphere was like one of those early meetings.

Some people started clapping when it looked like they were getting the decision they'd fought three years for. When it looked the other way, residents mumbled in disgust at their leaders.

In the end, one can't help but realize that the reason the town councilors took the stance they did Monday night is because these people made their presence felt week after week after week after week.

Whether the WBNA is right or wrong, in response to Jerry, who himself supported the decision Monday night, it seems they can say, "We were here."