LETTER: 'CPV (Power Plant) Arrived in Town Uninvited'

To the Editor

As a result of the efforts of some dedicated townsfolk, there will be a February 11 referendum on a “new” set of agreements with Towantic Energy Center (CPV).

The trouble is the agreements aren’t new at all. You will be asked to approve same old tired agreement, proclaiming free money for all - again. Same old plan, same old lie, exactly the same old money you turned down as insufficient in the last meeting.

The amount of “free” money has nothing to do with what you and Oxford deserve. All the negotiations were carried out in secret and dictated by CPV. In the normal course of things, the residents would have been kept informed regularly as the negotiations proceeded, able to voice their concerns. But not now, not in Oxford.

You need to remember that CPV arrived in town uninvited. No tax agreement was used as incentive for CPV to come here. So, the whole process is being conducted backwards. Move in first then cry about the town’s mill rate later.

“Payment in lieu of taxes” is fine when it works for the town. But, it’s not the same as “Paying your fair share” when the numbers are millions short of what Oxford deserves. It never has been the case and it isn’t now. What was too little then is too little now.

Also, no reasonable protections are included to protect against a plant operator’s bankruptcy or the cleanup after a plant shutdown that could come sooner than anticipated as the country moves to renewables. Demand a better agreement! Vote NO on this self-serving deal with CPV and send them back to try again - from scratch.

David Gliserman
Oxford, CT