We are not all Republican in this state as a writer from Twin Bridges would tell you. There are opposing views to ludicrous ideas about how energy should function. Northwest would have you believe that the state (that means all of us) would be enriched by setting electric towers along the very stable economy that brought us Montanans more wealth then this corporation ever has... That is our river basins, and tourist trade in fishing, hunting and scenic beauty. Northwest would tell you that it needs to build these metal energy blights because they are not intelligent enough to use the existing grids (which can handle increased output). Our President asked for smart grids, not more grids. Numerous studies have already shown that building more grids is not the answer to more energy.
And here is more to think about. I was at an energy fair here at the college a year ago and asked the Northwest representative why we were not using wind and solar power here. The winds are constant, around 5-20 miles a day and we have full sun over three hundred days a year in Beaverhead County alone. Surely striking a deal with farmers for land use in new viable energy production would bring farmers new income, and new jobs into the area for maintenance.
His answer was pretty simple, they are a coal company! They do not want the headache of setting up power collection points or paying out monies to hundreds of energy producers.
Why not? I said. California does it. PG&E help's customers set up solar grids on their houses that eventually pay people back in full for the energy the panels produce.
We do that, but we only take off so much of the bill a month. he retorted.
You mean you want the energy, but you are unwilling to pay the whole amount?
Do you know what kind a headache that would cause in our financing department?
So you are basically discouraging it
No, we just don’t want it to take over our entire business.
Folks, they do not care about us or our environment, they wish to continue burning coal, and loping off mountain tops to get at it. Poisoning our rivers and streams with lead and arsenic and selling their energy outside of our state while they destroy our state. So please NO MSTI.
Norma Duffy
Posting Local and National News regarding Politics with a Left Leaning, Clean Living view for Montana!
Friday, July 2, 2010
The Dillon City Emergency Council Hearing on Beaverhead Meats
God, I love politics here. It’s not caught up with the rest of the world. Council People at times scamper out of control, because not enough notice is given to the township of 3500 residents to help in informing the city council of the community’s thoughts on any matter. So when the city council (not all of them mind you) starts to think for themselves, and tries to ram ordinances through thinking it will be good for the coffers of our broke little town. … The shit hits the fan…. Intelligent regular folk come out in droves and screech for justice, just before a major foo-pa is created by city government.
Sometimes the council listens, and sometimes it does not…. But today our little city almost bit off more than it can chew. It almost put a kill floor for a meat packing place in the middle of town.
To put things in perspective here, about the tiny town of Dillon; the City and county here have no local zoning code, no local building codes, they rely on the state’s basic guidelines sometimes to help them, but alias they don’t even have a good interpretation of that, to preserve what is a terrific little town in southwest Montana from sliding under the weight of bad decisions. We are well on our way to looking like a giant strip mall, and not a quaint little western town anymore!
The Owner of the meat house is not the villain here. The owner is a reputable business man who markets great local beef and wanted to expand his business. Somehow he was assured in the last couple of months that this was a done deal to permit his new building, and expand his business. So much so, was his belief, that he went ahead and started retrofitting his business, to its new task.
The citizens though, had every reason to worry, because they were not keep in the loop… my guess there was some secret handshakes and ex-parte conversation between someone in the council and the business owner that made the little Ibyville area of Dillon wondering if their property value would go down to zip, or if there would be a stench from the killing of numerous animals a week… No one at the city went to the effort of Montana law to publically notice those very people who lived by the little plant of such changes being reviewed by mail. No one is really certain if the sewer system could handle all of the wash down of the plant. No one knows if the meat plant owner’s implemented Ideas and possible expansion of business down the road, would keep 1000 pound animals from escaping from his little plant, or find his future packaged beef steak running down Montana Street, and creating havoc in some residential neighborhood close by. Nobody ever took the time to investigate the myriad of problems that could bubble up in placing a Kill floor in a residential area! No one.
As usual, certain Republican city council members who evaded getting booted out in the general election went back to business as usual in making bad decisions. The owner of the little plant, is a Republican politician himself, who knew he was working with the very same people who caused the county and city money problems in the past… so why was he surprised at the betrayal? He actually allowed them to pull the wool over his eyes again.
The citizens got what they wanted for now, no permit for a kill floor in town, but this story is not over folks. The meat owner can ask for new permit, a variance in a zoning code that doesn’t exist in this city… And certain city council members still think they can place light industrial within the city limits which by Montana state code they cannot… so keep up the fight little citizens! Your nightmares are just beginning to unfold for another 2 years of Republican chicanery!
Lastly we need this guys business to succeed here, like a lot of Mom and pop organizations in town. It was in the cities best interests, in the beginning of negotiations with this meat company to swap land with this guy to the outskirts of town so he could fill the hole other meat packers in our area failed to do, and expand his business with glee in an area set aside for light industry (If we had zoning laws first). And down the line, he would hire new workers to ply his goods as his business grew bigger and stronger.
It was in the best interest of everyone involved to be honest with the citizens of Dillon. The city council (and not all of them) failed again to assert the principles of transparent government in Dillon! There was a way to keep all parties happy, and again the city council members of Dillon failed the test of good government!
Sometimes the council listens, and sometimes it does not…. But today our little city almost bit off more than it can chew. It almost put a kill floor for a meat packing place in the middle of town.
To put things in perspective here, about the tiny town of Dillon; the City and county here have no local zoning code, no local building codes, they rely on the state’s basic guidelines sometimes to help them, but alias they don’t even have a good interpretation of that, to preserve what is a terrific little town in southwest Montana from sliding under the weight of bad decisions. We are well on our way to looking like a giant strip mall, and not a quaint little western town anymore!
The Owner of the meat house is not the villain here. The owner is a reputable business man who markets great local beef and wanted to expand his business. Somehow he was assured in the last couple of months that this was a done deal to permit his new building, and expand his business. So much so, was his belief, that he went ahead and started retrofitting his business, to its new task.
The citizens though, had every reason to worry, because they were not keep in the loop… my guess there was some secret handshakes and ex-parte conversation between someone in the council and the business owner that made the little Ibyville area of Dillon wondering if their property value would go down to zip, or if there would be a stench from the killing of numerous animals a week… No one at the city went to the effort of Montana law to publically notice those very people who lived by the little plant of such changes being reviewed by mail. No one is really certain if the sewer system could handle all of the wash down of the plant. No one knows if the meat plant owner’s implemented Ideas and possible expansion of business down the road, would keep 1000 pound animals from escaping from his little plant, or find his future packaged beef steak running down Montana Street, and creating havoc in some residential neighborhood close by. Nobody ever took the time to investigate the myriad of problems that could bubble up in placing a Kill floor in a residential area! No one.
As usual, certain Republican city council members who evaded getting booted out in the general election went back to business as usual in making bad decisions. The owner of the little plant, is a Republican politician himself, who knew he was working with the very same people who caused the county and city money problems in the past… so why was he surprised at the betrayal? He actually allowed them to pull the wool over his eyes again.
The citizens got what they wanted for now, no permit for a kill floor in town, but this story is not over folks. The meat owner can ask for new permit, a variance in a zoning code that doesn’t exist in this city… And certain city council members still think they can place light industrial within the city limits which by Montana state code they cannot… so keep up the fight little citizens! Your nightmares are just beginning to unfold for another 2 years of Republican chicanery!
Lastly we need this guys business to succeed here, like a lot of Mom and pop organizations in town. It was in the cities best interests, in the beginning of negotiations with this meat company to swap land with this guy to the outskirts of town so he could fill the hole other meat packers in our area failed to do, and expand his business with glee in an area set aside for light industry (If we had zoning laws first). And down the line, he would hire new workers to ply his goods as his business grew bigger and stronger.
It was in the best interest of everyone involved to be honest with the citizens of Dillon. The city council (and not all of them) failed again to assert the principles of transparent government in Dillon! There was a way to keep all parties happy, and again the city council members of Dillon failed the test of good government!
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