Residents next week will have their say on one of the most talked about issues of the year - the proposed power plant on Industrial Road.
The Board of Selectmen will hold a public forum Tuesday at 7:30 in the Walpole High School auditorium.
The meeting will open with another presentation by Competitive Power Ventures, which wants to build the facility, followed by questions from the board. After that, residents will be invited to speak their minds in public about the proposal for the first time.
It’s an opportunity for ‘‘folks to get their questions on the table,’’ Town Administrator Michael Boynton said. He hopes for the dialogue to be open and respectful.
Previous meetings, one in front of the selectmen and two with the conservation commission, involving the proposal have been well attended.
Boynton said Tuesday’s meeting is of utmost importance to the town because questions and concerns need to be aired. He said selectmen would stay as late as it took to hear every resident wishing to speak.
The meeting would be similar to the public forum that was held last January to discuss the tax override.
Competitive Power first came before Walpole publicly in a presentation to the selectmen on Oct. 23. The proposal is for a 300- to 600-megawatt power plant to be located on roughly 14 acres at the end of Industrial Road.
The Conservation Commission discussed wetlands delineation of the site on Oct. 24 and scheduled a visit to the area Nov. 10. At its Nov. 14 meeting, the Conservation Commission voted to continue the matter on Dec. 12. It also hired an outside consultant to advise members on the wetlands boundary.
The land has to be delineated before it can be sold to the power company or anyone else.
Competitive Power Development Director Orlando Martinez and spokesman Scott Farmelant have said they wish to work with the town but have met considerable opposition.
Boynton anticipates the Tuesday public forum will be jam packed, as was the meeting on Oct. 23.
Economic Development Commission member Ken Fettig called the group that opposes the power plant anti-development and anti-business at a development commission breakfast meeting last week. He said the group is heard because it is big, and he urged business owners to attend the public forum to represent industry.
Walpole resident and Competitive Power attorney Jim Brady also spoke at that breakfast meeting and explained, as he did for selectmen, why he chose to represent the project. Brady said the benefits to the town outweigh the risks.
Keith Ferguson can be reached at 508-668-0243, ext. 14 or via e-mail at keith@walpoletimes.com.
