The following is an example of a letter that was sent off to the board recently. You are free to copy the form and verbiage of this letter but I would strongly recommend that you use it as a guide only. It is important that the board see’s unique letters from coming from specific individuals and not just another template letter that somebody persuaded their friends to mail.
Things to remember:
1. Be courteous. You do not help your case by being hostile or rude.
2. Be firm. Tell exactly what you think and why. You do not help your cause by being inarticulate or vague.
3. Tell them what you expect from them as county officers.
4. Offer documents with empirical evidence as much as can. Your personal opinion, while it may be considered, may not have much swaying power with the board.
5. Appeal to the humanity/personhood of the board. Whether or not you like or agree with them, they are still people and have humanity; it is also important that the board understands that you object on an emotional level.
Dear DeKalb County Board Member,
I writing to you in regards to the industrial wind turbine site proposed by NextEra Energy. I really think it’s great that our county is taking a pro-active approach to finding alternative energy sources. If i learned anything from paying $4 per gallon of gas last year, it was that this country desperately needs to find real answers to our energy issues. I just wanted to say thanks and tell you that i applaud your involvement in this movement to strengthen the security of our nation and our people.
I have often thought about installing wind and solar power generators on my own property for personal uses but still have yet to make the plunge. So naturally, when i received the letter a few weeks ago about the upcoming public hearing for the turbine company i was kinda excited. Finally i would really get to see these things in action. I wanted to know more and since there wasn’t much info in the letter i began to look into the subject of wind turbines farms. And i have to say that what i found was a bit disturbing. I began to read news articles and reports about people’s health being affected by the proximity of turbines to their homes. I saw TV interviews with people who said that they were being keep awake at night by noise and that they were experiencing dizziness, migraine headache’s and vertigo. I read articles from people who live near or in the middle of wind farms in WI and IL who said that even at distances of 1/2 mile from towers they were bothered by flickering caused by the turbine blades passing in front of the sun. In Lincoln Township, Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, after just 22 turbines went online the township board of supervisors approved a moratorium on further tower builds until they could study the effects further. The following is a list things that they investigated following the moratorium.
a. Shadows from the blades
b. TV reception
c. Blinking lights from on top of the towers
d. Noise
e. Other problems
-increased lightning strikes
-hazardous traffic conditions during and after construction
-being awaken by sound of wind turbines
-how close would you consider buying or building a home?
Wind developers (WPSC)’s buyout offers
Property values
Stray Voltage
These are all things the company specifically said would not happen once the turbines were operating. Naturally that worries me a bit. I have attached a Word file of the report by the township moratorium committee. Keep in mind that the wind turbines installed in Lincoln Township are smaller than the ones NextEra is proposing. Of course I know that you take your responsibilities as a board member seriously and that you want the best for the people of this county. So i would ask you to please take a look at their findings and compare it to what NextEra is proposing. I have seen the map of the proposed sites and there will be 4 towers within 1/4 mile of my home. As I said before i have nothing against wind farms on the whole, but i am very concerned about their effects on my life and the people i know and love in my area. If you would please address the range of effects i have listed above from the Lincoln Township and explain if you can, why these things will not be a problem for us in this county that would be great. It has always been a source of pride to me to know that Dekalb County is known around the world for having some of the best farmland in the world, please make sure we don’t do anything to damage that reality.
Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
