West Grey is hosting a public meeting on wind turbines that aims to cover a lot of ground and answer a lot of questions.
Mayor Kevin Eccles says council has been able to arrange for representatives from all sides of the issue to participate in tonight`s forum.
Eccles says the speakers include a Nextera spokesperson, a Municipal Property Assessment Corporation spokesperson, a local real estate agent, and a retired pharmacist familiar with the health concerns.
Eccles says it was very important to council to be able to bring these different groups together because it will give the public access to information thats not coming from a single side of the debate.
He says the municipality decided to arrange the event after residents were disappointed with a previous meeting held by Nextera.
Nextera is planning a wind farm development in the Durham area and Eccles says under the Green Energy Act the company was only required to hold a public information session.
Eccles says residents attended thinking it would be like a municipal public meeting where they would get to ask questions and give their input – but that didn’t happen.
Eccles admits hes surprised the company agreed to attend the municipal function, but adds Nextera believes what they’re doing is right and this is a chance to understand fears in the community.
The mayor recognizes wind turbines are a hotly debated and emotional issue, so an independent facilitator will run the meeting and there will be rules to follow during question period.
Eccles believes the question from the public will cover a wide range of topics, everything from the economic, social, and technological aspects of wind turbines to their possible health effects.
Eccles also says much of Grey Bruce is interested in the information that will come from this meeting and so invitations have been sent to neighbouring municipalities and anyone can attend.
He’s expecting a large turnout and while the Durham Community Centre can hold 450 people they are prepared for an overflow.
Eccles says in the end, he hopes both the public and the speakers go away with a better understanding of the wind turbine debate.
The public meeting will be held at the Durham Community Centre tonight at 7 PM.