Power Plant Opponents Send Open Letter to Oakwood Hills Village Board

Here’s an email that just hit my inbox:

An open letter to Melanie Funk, Paul Smith, and any Oakwood Hills Trustee who thinks that the opposition to the power plant is coming from “outside Oakwood Hills”: OH Signs Power Plant corssed out

The most disappointing and frustrating thing we’ve read this week was a quote from Oakwood Hills Trustee Paul Smith to the Northwest Herald,

“I think part of the problem is the majority of the people who are against are not from our village.”

Apparently, Mr. Smith is unsure the unrest over the project is stemming from people who live in Oakwood Hills”. Most people reading this email will immediately wonder where Mr. Smith is getting his information!

While driving through the streets of Oakwood Hills, it doesn’t take long to see that there are many people who are against the plant.

Furthermore, who would argue that Oakwood Hills wasn’t represented at the July 24th Zoning meeting?

Did everyone sign in?  I did not. OH zba 7-31-14 crowd a after

The most shocking thing about Mr. Smith’s comments is the fact that he thinks having opposition from outside of Oakwood Hills changes anything.

We’re all residents of McHenry County. We all live in homes near the power plant, we all love our community, and we are all in this together.

It’s offensive to us that Mr. Smith feels that he has no responsibility to represent neighboring families who could end up suffering as a result of his vote.

If you’ve been following our emails, you know that we’re starting to see a pattern of certain board members defending the project.

Last week we discussed Mrs. Funk’s sales pitch to the Northwest Herald, and now we are seeing Mr. Smith’s hint that people from Oakwood Hills aren’t against the project.

We may not know for certain, but we can certainly begin to draw conclusions about where some of the Trustees stand on this project.

While you’re evaluating Paul Smith’s claims that a “majority” of the 950 attendees at the Holiday Inn were not from Oakwood Hills, we urge you to consider that he won his election with 183 votes from the citizens of Oakwood Hills, and Melanie Funk with only 182 votes.

It’s concerning to see them now talk about those similar numbers as being irrelevant opposition.

The GOOD NEWS is that we have done our due diligence, where Mr. Smith clearly has not. OH petitions 8-8-14We are in possession of over 500 signatures from ONLYresidents of Oakwood Hills who oppose the power plant.  We’ve attached a photo of the signatures for reference.  The collection of these signatures was something we did early on, and frankly we weren’t overly aggressive about it at the time.

Thanks to the comments made by Mr. Smith, we’ve decided to re-collect the signatures from Oakwood Hills residents in a more organized fashion.

We’re going to offer free signs to everyone in Oakwood Hills that wants them.

We’re going to work hard in the next two weeks to help the Trustees of Oakwood Hills understand exactly how many people from Oakwood Hills are against the power plant.

Notes for consideration:

Latest article from the NW Herald: http://nwherald.com/2014/08/07/power-plant-opponents-move-forward-with-attorney/adgov0t/?page=1

The Oakwood Hills website was updated tonight (Thursday).  How did that happen during a government shutdown? –

NRG Energy has announced that they are not shutting down the Waukegan Coal Plant, they are not shutting down the Pekin Coal Plant, and they are converting the Joliet coal plant to natural gas.  That is not what we were told by Enventure and Northland Power about why the Oakwood Hills plant was necessary.

Here is what is coming:

  • We need street “captains” to collect the signatures – please let Chris know if you’re interested.
  • New signs are coming.  We hope to have them ready for pickup by next Saturday, August 16th.
  • We are planning a community event in early September.  It will be our one opportunity to show our numbers, on our own terms, before October comes around.  We plan to invite expert speakers, local politicians, media…. So, be on the lookout!

Comments

Power Plant Opponents Send Open Letter to Oakwood Hills Village Board — 7 Comments

  1. I hope they all read it.

    If they are only getting their facts from the power plant developers we should all be very afraid.

    Maybe Conrad is a better speaker when no one asks any questions.

  2. Those crusaders are making their voices heard….

    It’s going to take the people of Oakwood Hills and surrounding communities to come together for the common cause of obliterating the plans for the power plant…

    You people are so organized, and so proud of the you all for standing up to be counted!

  3. I am sorely impressed!

    No, I am not from Oakwood Hills.

    But damned if I am going to stand by and watch that “little” burb blow McHenry County out of the water.

    Thank God for the 500 and growing that are awake.

    You need help, I’m here.

  4. I live approx.1 1/2 miles from the projected site…on the Fox River…in Island Lake…Villages here closely interact with each other as we are so connected.

    Also compromised here is the McHenry County Conservation District…Prairieview Education center and its 840 acres..Forest Preserves and the Fox River that the power plant would touch…which connects to the 15 Chain of Lakes into Waukesha Wisc…

    Why not choose an industrial center??

    This area is “Little Town America!!”

  5. I reside 1 1/2 miles from the projected site on the Fox River…in Island Lake…the Communities here are very interacted with each other because we are so connected.

    At risk here is also the Prairieview Education Center and the 840 acres of McHenry Conservation District and Forest Preserves…and the Fox River which the power plant would border…which is connected to the 15 Chain O’Lakes…

    The Fox River extends from Ottawa Il to Waukesha Wisc…

    We are interested…we will not/can not let this “mistake” happen!!

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