A letter offering "at last, the truth ... " will hit local mailboxes as early as tomorrow. The pamphlet comes from Competitive Power Ventures, the company proposing a power plant in South Walpole.
According to a Competitive Power official, the pamphlet - which calls for a special Town Meeting to discuss the pros and cons of the proposal - is a response to whispers of back-door dealings and underhanded tactics, as well as misrepresentations of "who we are and what we are proposing."
The company proposes to build a 580-megawatt power plant on Industrial Road.
In a letter signed by public affairs counsel and Vice President Braith Kelly, the company says they've "encountered something we've never seen on any project before: a community so dominated by a small group of project opponents, that few even dare even discuss the facts."
The two-page pamphlet is being mailed to every residence in town, said Kelly. It may arrive as early as Thursday or as late as Saturday, he said.
Prominent next to a request for residents to support a "fair and open and rational exchange of information" is a line from Thomas Jefferson: "Information is the currency of democracy."
In Kelly's letter included in the pamphlet, he suggests that local support for the project has been stamped out by a "small minority" who have "sought to distort and mis-represent" the company and its project. This "subversion of the democratic process" leaves town residents with unanswered questions, unheard concerns and unvoiced opinions, Kelly wrote.
The pamphlet includes a list of reasons for residents to consider the project, as well as examples of what the company says are attempts by project opponents to mislead other residents. To each claim, the pamphlet offers a rebuttal.
The mailer also clarifies the company's approach to working with the community - an approach recently questioned by residents concerned about "secret meetings" between town officials and company representatives. The company is the only power company in the state to choose to work with the local community rather than going to the state power siting board, the pamphlet reads.
According to the state Department of Public Utilities, if the power plant proposal does not get approved by Walpole's boards, the company could conceivably go to the siting board to reverse the town's decision and bypass local control.
Jeb Bobseine can be reached at jeb@walpoletimes.com or 508-668-0243, ext. 13.
