Huron East council has rescinded an earlier motion that declared the municipality an unwilling host for wind turbines.
Mayor Bernie MacLellan made the motion, explaining that he was not aware of any situation where declaring itself an unwilling host had been effective in preventing a municipality from being a host for a wind energy development.
But he says by rescinding the designation, the municipality would be eligible for a Vibrancy Fund payment of $115,000 a year from St. Columban Energy.
MacLellan believes the people pushing for the designation believed it would encourage council to be more aggressive in opposing the project, but the fact is the municipality has no authority regarding the placement of wind energy projects. He says now that the turbines are up and running, the municipality might as well get the benefit of the Vibrancy Fund.
MacLellan says given the financial pressures the municipality is under at this time, $115,000 is a significant amount of money, and will help offset taxes for everyone in the Huron East.
