I'm responding to Cicero resident, Noel Bonvouloir, writing in our local newspaper to complain about decisions made by Cape Vincent's zoning committee. The Cicero resident complains about the "way things are handled" in Cape Vincent.
The writer complains that Cape Vincent Town Supervisor Tom Rienbeck organized the zoning committee and appointed its members all by himself. Maybe he didn't hear, but Mr. Rienbeck has been elected by the Cape Vincent community in a series of landslide victories since 2000. The Cape Vincent community has elected Mr. Rienbeck to be a leader, and by organizing and appointing members to the committee, he is responsibly acting as a leader. Were the committee members supposed to appoint themselves?
And Mr. Rienbeck wasn't asked to organize this committee. No one forced him to organize the committee. He could have made a unilateral move to establish the zoning laws however he wanted. But instead, Mr. Rienbeck wanted to be fair to all members of the Cape Vincent community, so he organized this committee. The majority of the Cape community feels Mr. Rienbeck made admirable efforts to include wide-ranging members of this community for the committee.
The Cicero resident acknowledges that the zoning committee members agreed to compromise. He appears furious that the members have been conciliatory with each other. He appears furious certain members are not stonewalling or bringing the discussion to a halt.
As most of the Cape knows, if the local anti-wind group didn't threaten to sue the town board, we would've already had a wind law.
I'm glad the Cicero resident praises Section 115 of Cape Vincent's current zoning law since having a wind farm in the Cape directly addresses Section 115's aim to conserve the Cape's agricultural resources. Farms in the Cape have been diminishing for the last few decades, and with turbine leases on agricultural land, there will be substantial conservation of farms and agricultural land.
Maybe the Cicero resident doesn't realize that a large majority of the Cape Vincent community is very proud of our town supervisor. Many of us feel Mr. Rienbeck, along with all of our current town board members and Planning Board members, deserve to be treated with respect, whether you're a year-round resident or a seasonal resident.
The Cicero resident praises "our forefathers" for what they intended when they originally zoned Cape Vincent. Which forefathers is he praising? The forefathers of Cape Vincent or the forefathers of Cicero?
Harvey White
Cape Vincent
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