Dateline: 24 February 2012
Thus far, in this personal report of the Sempronius Town Board meeting of February 20, 2012, I have focused on the unannounced presentation given to the board by gas industry public relations people, and I have explained the concerns and questions I had for them.
I actually had several more questions but the night was wearing on, and one of my colleagues on the board was getting visibly upset with me for asking my questions. And then the direction of the meeting took a turn as a young woman in the back of the room spoke up. It was Sheena Mason, a town resident, and she said she had a petition signed by 160 Sempronius residents in favor of hydrofracking.
In retrospect, I don’t actually recall if that was exactly how Sheena worded it but that was the way I understood it. Anyway Ms. Mason came to the front of the room and presented the petition to the board. Then she read a prepared statement from herself to the board.
Sheena’s statement was about a Sempronius board member who started a blog about the hydrofracking issue in our town, and how she felt that was not right. I think she used the words, “unprofessional” and/or “irresponsible” to describe the board member with the blog.
Sheena indicated that This Blog Essay was particularly objectionable because of what the unnamed board member wrote about one of his colleagues on the board and a man from another town.
Sheena was, no doubt, echoing the feelings of a lot of folks in attendance at the meeting because I think she got a hearty round of applause. I even think I might have clapped—just a little bit, and without much enthusiasm—out of respect for her expressing her opinion, but when these things happen, they’re hard to remember clearly because a lot of things go through your mind. Like, for example, “I wonder who she’s talking about?”
Spoken words are much too ephemeral for such a well-written and heartfelt statement and I invite you, Sheena, to send a copy of your statement to me so I can post it here for more people in the town to read so they can better understand your viewpoint.
I will not comment or critique it in any way. I’ll just print it.
If, for whatever reason, you are uncomfortable with sending your statement to me, then I’d like to suggest that you give what you read to the town clerk so she can properly include it in the official minutes of the board meeting. That is a perfectly appropriate thing to do, and I’ll reprint your statement here from the minutes.
I want to take this opportunity to state that I appreciate anyone publicly expressing their thoughts and opinions as Sheena did, in a proper and respectful manner, even if the statement doesn’t agree with something I have done, or a position I have taken. And I sincerely mean that.
As I looked at the petition with 160 signatures I realized that it was not in favor of hydrofracking, as I had thought. It was, instead, a petition for “responsible” gas drilling. A man in the audience said it was for “safe” drilling. When he said that, I replied that maybe I should sign it too, because that’s what I want.
As I was thinking about it, one of my colleagues on the board, sitting to the right of me, asked to see the petition and added his name to it. Make that 161 signatures. And if I ever see it again, I’ll also sign it. I’m sure we could get even more signatures from town residents.
Safety and responsibility are my greatest concern about hydrofracking. In fact, almost everything I’ve said about hydrofracking on this blog has been about safety. Everything else is beside the point with me.
Is hydrofracking-as-it-is-now being done safe enough? Well, Jack Showers, public relations man from Talisman Energy thinks so, but I believe the track record for hydrofracking indicates that it is not anywhere near safe enough for a communal industrial activity, which is what we would have if hydrofracking came into our town.
I dare say that it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to something like this.
One more thing... Ms. Mason also told the board that he father had sold property in our town, that it has a gas lease on it, and that there was absolutely no problem—that having a gas lease was no obstacle in getting a mortgage.
A short while later I asked our town attorney, Charles Marangola, if he could give some perspective on the subject of property sales and mortgages when the land being sold has a gas lease on it. Mr. Marangola told us that a large part of his practice involves real estate. He told us that he has always advised his clients not to get involved with gas leases on their land because of the many problems that may come as a result.
Mr. Marangola further stated that the matter of getting mortgages for land with gas leases is, indeed, an issue with some lending institutions. Some don't give mortgages on land with gas leases, and some do, and some look at it on a case by case basis. However, he said that more lending institutions are becoming more aware of and concerned about loans that involve land with gas leases on it. Of course, I have not stated all of this exactly as Mr. Marangola did, but I believe that is a fair synopsis.
(stay tuned for part 5)