Springfield candidates on woodchip plant

The hottest topic to emerge in Springfield in years has half of the candidates for the Springfield Select Board sitting on the fence.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20120303/NEWS02/703039971

Published March 3, 2012 in the Rutland Herald
Springfield candidates on woodchip plant

By SUSAN SMALLHEER
Staff Writer

SPRINGFIELD — The hottest topic to emerge in Springfield in years has half of the candidates for the Springfield Select Board sitting on the fence.

The strongest support for a proposed 35-megawatt wood-fired power plant in the North Springfield Industrial Park came from Larry Kraft and Peter Andrews, while David Yesman, Peter MacGillivray and Select Board member Terri Benton said they saw both pros and cons about the project and had yet to make up their minds.

“In general, I support it,” said Larry Kraft, who lives in North Springfield, where the plant would be located.

Kraft said he had confidence in the town and state review process. “It needs to pass that review first,” he said, before he felt the Springfield Select Board should weigh in.

Andrews said he supported the project, but said that traffic and access to the proposed site had to be addressed, as well as the size and aesthetics of the plant.

“(Rep.) Cynthia Martin said it all when she pointed out it would be 10 stories tall,” said Andrews, who spent his professional career as a wastewater engineer for large commercial projects.

Winstanley Enterprises LLC and Weston Solutions are proposing to build a $100 million, 35-megawatt wood-fired power plant in the North Springfield Industrial Park on land already owned by Winstanley, next to the former Fellows Corp. headquarters it has transformed into 36 Precision Drive.

The project was the topic of two public hearings this week.

Each of the five candidates were in the back of the Springfield High School cafeteria Tuesday, listening to dozens of people either criticize or support the Winstanley project.

Yesman said he had been educating himself about the Winstanley project, as well as biomass plants in general.

“I’m still learning about it,” Yesman said. “I hear a lot of things from the opposition and I hear things from people interested in it,” he said, noting he had attended a meeting of NoSAG, the North Springfield Action Group, which is opposed to the biomass plant.

Yesman said he was concerned about the amount of town water the plant would be using, and its impact on local aquifers. Traffic is a big problem for the residents, he said.

MacGillivray said he had been on the Internet doing research. “The concept is good, and it would have a tremendous impact on the tax rate. Some of the issues that were brought up the other night, I found very interesting,” he said.

He said he felt the traffic problem could be resolved with some work to area roads.

And he said he had personally asked the American Lung Association for information about the type of pollution coming from wood-fired plants.

“I truly have not made my mind up all the way,” said MacGillivray, noting the health impacts and the use of town water reserves were big issues.

“I’m still looking at all the facts,” he said. “Obviously the tax impact would be wonderful to the town of Springfield, but at what cost?” he said.

Benton, the one incumbent in the race, said she was “intrigued” by the proposal, in particular the so-called thermal loop that would take the waste heat from the power plant and sell it to customers in the industrial park, and provide low-cost heat to a green grocer greenhouse and a fish farm.

“The ultimate decision is in the hands of the PSB,” Benton said. “The ultimate question is, ‘Is this the right business for Springfield?’”

People rightly have concerns about air pollution, she said.

“We have to be open to what they’re saying and get as much information as we can and what the project would be before giving it a flat no,” she said.

All five candidates said that economic development was the top issue facing Springfield, and stressed that the only way to tackle high taxes was bringing in business.

“We need to be more business friendly,” said Andrews, who said he hadn’t studied the town budget, but would vote in favor of it.

Only Yesman said he wouldn’t support the proposed town budget, saying that taxes were too high and spending needed to be cut.

Yesman was chairman of the Budget Advisory Panel, which at one time during the budget process called for a 10 percent across-the board cut, but later backed off that request.

“Our biggest challenge is a tax rate and our lack of economic development,” Benton said.

Both Benton and MacGillivray said the only way to cut taxes was to bring more business to town, or to help existing business to expand.

“We have to get out there and change the thought process of the town. We don’t have to be just a manufacturing town,” said Benton, 54, the manager of Citizens Bank in Springfield, who said her experience with people at the bank kept her in touch with people’s concerns.

MacGillivray, 68, a semi-retired pharmacist and native of Springfield, who sold his Springfield Pharmacy in 2001 and since then has worked for Kenney Drug all over the state.

“I think we’re headed in the right direction, with the rec center, 100 River St. and the involvement by Springfield Hospital,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of positive things coming out of Springfield. I have an open mind and I love doing an analysis of both sides of the question. It goes back to my scientific education. I enjoy looking at both sides.”

Yesman, 70, a real estate agent who spent almost 40 years in the machine tool business, said he had the experience and time to devote to the board.

“I can hit the ground running,” Yesman said.

Kraft, 63, director of the Springfield Hospital Foundation and the longtime MC for the Apple Blossom Cotillion, said he would bring energy and a positive outlook to town office.

“I would bring an activist temperament to the select board. I think the meetings need to be livelier,” said Kraft, who served two terms on the Springfield School Board recently.

Andrews, 67, a semi-retired engineer with Dufresne-Henry Engineering, now is in insurance and does consulting for Stantec, another engineering firm.

“I’ve been in town a long time, and been involved in management a long time, too. I think I’m pretty good listener and can cut to the chase,” he said.