The evening of Dec. 2, the members of the West Marlborough Planning Commission were discussing how renewable energy technology should be handled in the township's zoning code -- when suddenly the (electric) power went out in the township garage where they meet.
But by the light of flashlights, cell-phone screens and flashlight apps, they carried on, as did the township supervisors, who met after them.
Road crew member Hugh Lofting Jr. arrived quickly, turned on the township dump truck's headlights for illumination and lit some candles. Township zoning officer Al Giannantonio held a flashlight aloft, reflecting it off a white piece of paper like an old-time photographer.
PECO was alerted in a comically roundabout way. I took a photo of the supervisors and posted it to Facebook. A township resident who is in South Carolina, seeing my post, called PECO to report the outage.
The township officials and the audience made the best of the situation. Several people told me that "at least you'll have something to write about!" (Like that's ever a problem in West Marlborough.)
Resident Don Silknitter remarked that no one could accuse the supervisors of keeping residents in the dark.
And during the meeting supervisor Bill Wylie asked for public comment, and then looked out into the darkness where the audience was sitting. "Seeing, or rather hearing, none. . . " he quipped.
I'm told that the blackout resulted from two transformers blowing on Buck Run Road. It affected everyone west of Newark Road to the village of Springdell.
So back to the original discussion: the planning commission, which is working on revisions to the township's zoning regulations, agreed to ask engineer Harry Roth to prepare brief, clearly written guidelines for alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power that will be easy for residents to understand, will protect neighbors, will take into account the noise, height and appearance of the technology, and will require the equipment to be well maintained and dismantled when it is no longer operational.
The township supervisors also welcomed their new colleague, Jake Chalfin, who replaced Josh Taylor. The board agreed to advertise its proposed 2015 budget, which calls for no millage increase. And they agreed to wait until January to vote on the proposed revised permit fee schedule so that Jake could review the changes.
Someone upstairs was trying to tell the board not to over regulate renewable energy. There were two transformers on Buck Run Road which blew.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mr. S -- I'll add this info.
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