Gary Gump at podium reviews wind turbine bid with Council as EDC Chair Rich Talipsky distributes materials.

By a 5-2 vote, the Portsmouth Town Council this evening selected the $2,915,000 bid from Wind-Smart to install a wind turbine at the high school.

If you just want the significant bit, you can stop reading here.

In what was clearly a pasta-flinging expedition seeking sticky items for November's upcoming elections, the Portsmouth Concerned Citizens (PCC) and their fellow travelers turned virtually every agenda item into a protracted debate, resulting in a mind-numbing 3-and-a-quarter hour session.

Tailgunner Gleason started in on the wind turbine, looking for one of her guarantees (See here, here, and here). "I absolutely have to have that guarantee," said Gleason. "I sat on the gym committee and look at the disaster there."

Also a disaster was trying to explain the finances of the turbine. It seemed Ms. Gleason just could not believe that National Grid would buy the electricity from Portsmouth at wholesale rates.

"Is that contingent?" asked Gleason.

"It's not contingent on anything on the planet," replied Sustainable Energy subcommittee chair Gary Gump.

"Why would they buy it"

"It's a state law," replied Gump "They have to buy it."

"I want that in writing," insisted Gleason. "I don't see why National Grid would put themselves in a position where they're going to lose."

By this point, Council President Dennis Canario had enough. "They're not losing," he said, "They're selling it at retail. We've already gone through this."

But a few minutes later, Gleason came back to it again. "I still suffer the nightmares from before," she insisted, asking for a guarantee in writing.

"I can point to the state law that requires them to buy the electricity from us," said Gump.

PCC, Inc. President Larry Fitzmorris got up to peck at a few minor points (was it wind speed, or the velocity of an unladen sparrow? I get the PCC and Monty Python mixed up sometimes...) and snipe at the lack of cushion in the proposal. I'm sparing you the protracted jousting. The bid was approved by a 5-2 vote, with Gleason and McIntyre opposed.

Then there was a long go-round on an agenda item proposed by Councilor McIntyre to change the zoning ordinance to force an organization proposing a group home to go through a notification and hearing process. Given the back and forth, it appeared that the Council had been given an opinion by Town Solicitor Kevin Gavin that such an ordinance might not pass legal muster, but McIntyre countered that what he proposed was already on the books in Middletown.

Councilor Len Katzman spoke in opposition. "What we are talking about here is an attempt to place into our zoning laws a hurdle to the efforts to help those less blessed than we are. It is wrong to tell the mentally disabled they are not welcome here. It's wrong not because our solicitor says it won't work."

Councilor West concurred. "People know I served on the board of the Newport County Community Mental Health Center. There are many, many clients of that agency who are from the town of Portsmouth. They do not have a shelter here. I could not in good conscience approve a resolution like that."

Gleason tried to argue that this was not a zoning change. "In fairness to Mr. McIntyre," she said, "He's just asking for notice. I see nothing wrong with providing notice."

But Councilor Seveney was unconvinced. "When you go down a path like this, you are giving the Zoning Board the power to allow a variance. I see very clearly that all the discussion related to notification, that's not what we're voting on. We're voting to give Portsmouth the power to say yes or no to something. These people have to live somewhere. The State has the policy and procedure and authority. We're talking about an ordinance that puts the Zoning Board in the position of making a decision they don't have the authority to make."

"If Middletown can do it," said McIntyre, "I don't understand why we can't."

Nonetheless, the matter was tabled, after a debate that was MUCH longer than indicated here. Completists are invited to view the Channel 18 version. We need to come up with a drinking game for when Gleason asks for a guarantee or says she needs more information. Using soft drinks, of course.

Next up was another Peter McIntyre item, the oft-requested opinion from the Town Solicitor about the legality of adjusting the Town Budget to recognize additional revenue mid-year and, if necessary, increase the town's total expenditures based on additional revenues. One of the triggers was a payment for FEMA for storm damage from last year's Nor'easter, which the Council had to accept recently, but which necessarily changed the bottom line of the budget.

The very budget ordinance the Town passes, Councilor Katzman pointed out, contains the language describing the total as the dollar amount "Plus state aid, federal aid, and other credits not specifically stated. When we get money from FEMA, that is a credit not specifically stated. We didn't exceed the amount appropriated, becuase the amount includes unstated figures."

"My position is I look at the bottom line," said McIntyre. "It's a million, that's what I vote for."

I'll just quote from the legal opinion of the Town Solicitor, lines 19-23. "The Office of Municipal Affairs and the Town's independent auditors agree this is a proper budgetary and fiscal practice. Such amendments do not result in an additional tax levy and do not increase the amount of taxes the town may levy in future years under the maximum tax levy statute."

I'm not going to give the PCC any more air on this one. This is common sense. If we have our household budget worked out, but I suddenly get a bonus, I change the bottom line on the Excel spreadsheet so that we can buy more groceries. This is so blindingly obvious that the only possible explanation for the PCC grandstanding — and their attempt to hoick it up into a Charter fight — is that elections are coming up.

After an interminable debate, the Council moved to table the matter indefinitely.

There were reports from the Solid Waste Committee laying out plans to help foster more recycling, and from the Conservation Commission on their Earth Day objectives. The Council moved to support a request to widen West Main Road and add a turn lane at Mill Road, and to support the Virtual Net Metering legislation which has recently been introduced in the Lege. Gleason nattered away at a correspondence item from the School Department indicating lower than anticipated Little Compton tuitions, which was also slapped down with a motion to table rather than continue "rhetorical musings" with no School Department personnel in attendance.