Academy of Local Politics

Wind energy.

National political figures actually think they can do something about creating more wind power.

Ha...what fools. We know better. It is local politicians who control the wind. Many places don't want anything to do with it.

Like Manitowoc County (WI)?

Jim Bauhs says he can't understand why it's so difficult for him to install a wind turbine on his own property.

Bauhs and his wife, Nancy, said they moved to their town of Schleswig home more than decade ago to get away from the "crazy world" of New York.

The couple's 15-acre property west of Wisconsin 67 and south of Manitowoc County X is heaven but the winds blow so bloody hard the couple rarely can use their deck, Bauhs said.

Bauhs wanted to make use of the wind by installing a 51-foot wind turbine to power his home before the end of the year.

"I'm not a crazy 'green' person, but I like to do what makes sense," Bauhs said of his "hobby" in wind turbines that could bring him a slight energy cost savings.

Bauhs was notified by his Town Board his project needed approval by the Manitowoc County Planning and Parks Commission.

He said that's when he came into "all of these stumbling blocks" with a Manitowoc County ordinance he finds so restrictive he doesn't see how anyone could comply with it.

"It's over-regulated," he said of the ordinance. "It's a financial burden for something that is the height of a silo."

County officials in 2006 enacted two ordinances — one for turbines 170 feet or shorter and another for turbines taller than 170 feet — after residents voiced concerns about potential public health and safety issues with turbines located near their backyards, Demske said.

Navitas Energy Inc. had proposed to build a 49-turbine wind farm in Two Rivers, Mishicot and Two Creeks, dubbed the Twin Creeks Wind Park.

A committee comprising county residents including members of Wisconsin Independent Citizens Opposing Windturbine Sites (WINDCOWS), county officials and industry experts drafted the ordinance before it was submitted to the county Board of Supervisors for approval, he said.

The ordinances were meant to resolve issues such as noise, the potential for a turbine's blades to create a shadow flicker over a home and the possibility a turbine could throw ice projectiles accumulated on blades, he said.

Did you see that... WINDCOWS?

The opponents of wind power are organized and ready to fight windmill by windmill. Wherever that windmill may be.

Just how is Obama... McCain... or even T. Boone Pickens going to overcome windmill opponents ready to storm the local Zoning Meeting? They can't control land use from Washington.

They can talk wind power all they want, but without local officials willing to cooperate, their talk is just blowing in the wind.

 Back in 2001 when gasoline at the pump first went over $2.00 per gallon I purchased a small motorcycle. A Kawasaki 125 Eliminator to be precise. Well, I just never got around to riding it as much as I anticipated. For a number of reasons I didn't. So, I decided to sell it.

What did I replace it with? How about a 3 wheeled adult tricycle?

 A Sun tricycle... A "Made in the USA" trike. (Mine is Henry Ford Black)

 I took possession on this past  Saturday... the day that gasoline went over $4.00 in my hometown.

Look at that basket on the back. I can carry stuff in that! I did yesterday. I went to the grocery store and had two bags full.

While reading my Sunday papers yesterday I then came across this article about bikes in the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram.

Fourteen bicyclists ticketed by police for riding two abreast during rush hour on Hastings Way last month are fighting their $20 citations.

"It isn't a big deal to pay it, but we weren't doing anything wrong, so why should we?" said 19-year-old Katherine Hahn of Eau Claire, who uses her bicycle often to get around the city.

Hahn and 13 others ticketed entered not guilty pleas last week in Eau Claire Court. Three other bikers entered no contest pleas.

Yup, that's right. Eau Claire, WI is writing tickets to bikers for riding on the street.

State law allows bicyclists to ride two abreast if the lane is wide enough to allow them to travel safely and such operation doesn't impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.

"It was rush hour, and there were a lot of vehicles out there, and (the bicyclists) were causing traffic to go less than 10 mph," said Jason Kaveney, the Police Department's community relations officer. "Hastings Way also is too narrow for them to ride side by side safely."

Hahn disagrees.

"We weren't impeding traffic at all," Hahn said. "We were just doing our thing in the far right lane, and people (in motor vehicles) just switched lanes and went around us."

The posted speed limit is 35 mph on the section of Hastings Way where the bicyclists were ticketed.

"We also talked to the officer and he said there wasn't any minimum speed limit," said Drew Kaiser, 26, of Eau Claire. "His justification was that any vehicle, whether it be a car or bicycle, if it's going that slow it's dangerous because it's impeding traffic.

"But he also conceded that a car going 5 miles per hour isn't illegal."

"It's a $20 citation," Kaiser said. "It's not like it's breaking the bank, but it's more the point that there isn't any postings saying that bicycles aren't allowed.

"There isn't a sidewalk or bicycle lane for us to bike in, so our only other option if we want to travel in that direction is riding in the street."

When I rode my little Kawasaki, I didn't feel a kinship with the Harley riders.

But, I do feel a kinship with these riders.

Fight on...and Good Luck!

I had earlier written about Pine Lawn, Mo purchasing two golf carts for the Police Department.

Golf carts aren't just for Police Departments however, they can be for anyone...some places... maybe?

 The debate is raging full force in parts of Indiana, according to IndyStar.Com.     

Nadine Urban gets more upset every time she looks at her parked golf cart outside her Boone County home.

Gas prices have topped $4 a gallon, and Urban, a retiree, would like to use it to run errands around Lebanon. She was able to do that after the town adopted a 2006 ordinance allowing golf carts on local streets.

But a ticket from a State Police trooper and a subsequent local court ruling forced Urban to park her electric cart -- and town officials to shelve their ordinance.

The problem: As more people drive carts off fairways and onto streets, local officials are left to sort out safety issues that aren't clearly addressed in state traffic laws.

I say...  let's start sorting these safety issues out. Huh?

It costs about 3 cents a mile to operate an electric cart, compared with about 37 cents for a car with gas at $4 a gallon.

If a bicycle can be on the road...if a horse and buggy can be on the road...is it too much for people to expect to be able to drive this energy efficient method of transportation to run errands around town?

I think not...How about you?

I think almost everyone agrees that polluting the water and air is not a good thing.  We may disagree over "why" it is not good, but still agree it isn't.

Enter Victoria, British Columbia.

According to the Ellen Perlman on the 13th Floor of Governing .Com...

Cities fighting to be the greenest in the land should look to Victoria, British Columbia, for some tips.

Victoria is doing additional things I hadn't heard about elsewhere. I observed a few this week while walking around Canada's "fittest city."

For instance, do your city streets provide solar-powered trash compactors? How about parking that encourages fuel efficient cars? Victoria is full of those hyper-tiny Smart cars, in lime, pink, blue and other colors. They are encouraged, in part, by special parking spaces just for them. (Or any other vehicle that is a maximum of three meters in length. I guess lawnmowers also would fit. Perhaps a mini Cooper or a Volkswagen?  I haven't measured those recently.)

Anyway, those Smart cars fit snugly between the white lines painted on the street.

Victoria is also a biking city, with clearly marked bike lanes on the roads, and this week, a  Bike to Work week. Biking amenities are getting more common here in the States, too.

Victoria, in general, seems to be very aware of doing its part to save the planet. It's a walkable city, and bus service seems extensive. 

And to think, we still have people who fight against sidewalks.

The comments following this article were also very interesting ...

and...

Well done Victoria but too bad you treat the ocean as your private cess pond. Do something about the raw sewage..PLEASE!

 

Would the real Victoria...please stand up?

 

Local Government has one purpose and one purpose only...that is to provide services to the citizens.

It should be the primary duty of every local government to attempt to find the most cost effective method of providing those services.

Employees of local government work for the citizens...not the other way around.

With those thoughts in mind I am having a difficult time accepting this new idea of saving employees money by instituting 4 - 10 hour days/week.

The latest of many articles on this idea comes from Phillyblubs.Com.

Another Pennsylvania county is considering instituting a four-day work week for its employees. This time it’s the Berks County Commissioners. They are considering a plan designed to save hundreds of county employees some of the money they spend on gasoline to fill up their cars. The proposal is for a flexible schedule of a four-day work week at 10 hours per day.

I am not against 4 - 10 hour days if it can be done and not effect the quality of service for the citizens.

But, I am against the idea if the only reason to do it is to save employees money at the expense of quality of service.

Employees of local government work for the citizens...not the other way around.