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Click Picture to Enlarge	WAKE UP NEW YORK. Do you want the land surrounding you to look like this? This is a ridgeline application at elevation 400 meters (about 1300 feet). Click Picture to Enlarge

 

During my last visit to the Noble Environmental Power, LLC office in Malone, Mark Lyons showed me an email from Geoff Leventhal-It started: As a paid consultant for Noble Environmental Power.....  Noble employees have since stated this at some public presentations in our region.  Anne

 

 

 

Dr.Nina Pierpont letter	NYSERDA Confrence Packet

 

NYS Public Officers Law, Section 74, “Code of Ethics”
v.
Town Council and Zoning Board of Appeals of Burke, NY
(Turn to pp. 3‐4 for quick summary) January 8, 2008

In the summer of 2007 the Burke Town Council assigned the task of drafting a Wind Energy
Conversion System ordinance (hereafter called Wind Law) to the Burke Zoning Board of
Appeals (ZBA). As we understand it, the ZBA at the time consisted of only two individuals,
James Lobdell and Silas Vincent. North Country Advocates has learned that James Lobdell
and Silas Vincent were, at the time, each holding onto lease contracts with the wind
developers:
(a) James Lobdell’s lease,1 dated August 16, 2006, includes his brother Arnold Lobdell
and Arnold’s wife Trudy. The lease is with Horizon Wind Energy in its local iteration
as Jericho Rise Wind Energy. The Lobdells appear to have assigned their anticipated
turbine payments to Community Bank (Olean, NY), which holds the mortgage on a
152-acre parcel of land the Lobdells purchased in 1986 for $180,000. Hence it appears
Horizon Wind Energy will be making its payments directly to Community Bank.
(b) Silas Vincent’s lease,2 dated December 29, 2006, includes his brother David
Vincent (at the time and to this day a member of the Burke Town Council), David’s
1 “Arnold Lobdell to Jericho Rise,” Instrument No. 2007-00005380, Vol. 1221, P. 24, Franklin County
Courthouse.
2 “Silas M. Vincent, Jr., to Noble Chateaugay Windpark, LLC,” Instrument No. 2007-00000299, Vol. 937, P. 129,
Franklin County Courthouse.
North Country Advocates
to District Attorney Champagne
Burke, NY: Summary of a scandal January 8, 2008
Page 1 of 4

wife Mary, and Silas’s wife Sandra. The lease is with Noble Environmental in its local
iteration as Noble Chateaugay Windpark. The Vincent crowd was paid $27,090.00 for
its lease.
North Country Advocates (NCA) is concerned that payments to James Lobdell and his family
on a $180,000 parcel of land by Horizon Wind Energy, and $27,090 to the Vincent brothers
and their wives by Noble Environmental, may have set the tone and direction of the ZBA’s
deliberations.
Back to the summer of 2007. The Town Board instructed the ZBA to expand its membership
to 5, along with 5 alternates (we believe at the urging of Carl Madonna, Esq., counsel to the
Town Council for a Wind Law). We believe we can identify some of these new members:
(1) Timothy Crippen (no known relationship with the wind developers), (2) Craig Dumas
(ZBA secretary and no known relationship with the wind developers), and (3) Herman
Leclair (no known relationship with the wind developers). It is our understanding that the
meetings of the ZBA tended to be rather casual, and it appears that an alternate named
Matthew Carey, who NCA has learned was often called upon by ZBA Chairman James
Lobdell at Town Council meetings to speak on behalf of the ZBA, took a prominent role in
developing the Wind Law for the ZBA. (Matthew Carey,3 jointly with his father Donald
Carey, had already signed a contract with Horizon Wind Energy aka Jericho Rise, on June 9,
2007.)
Burke residents who attended Town Council meetings tell NCA that James Lobdell, Silas
Vincent, and Matthew Carey were the dominant voices on the ZBA in creating a Wind Law.
Again, all three men (and their families) had leases with the wind developers.
At a Town Council meeting in August, NCA has learned that ZBA Chairman James Lobdell
suddenly presented a comprehensive Wind Law to the Town Council, a law modeled on the
Chateaugay Wind Law. When James Lobdell was asked if the ZBA had voted in favor of this
law, he said it had. Later that evening, a telephone check of one or two other ZBA members
revealed they had no idea the ZBA had adopted a Wind Law.
3 “Donald Carey to Jericho Rise Wind Farm, LLC,” Instrument No. 2007-00004332, Vol. 957, P. 44, Franklin
County Courthouse.
North Country Advocates
to District Attorney Champagne
Burke, NY: Summary of a scandal January 8, 2008
Page 2 of 4

Notes from a diary for the August 28, 2007 Burke Town Council meeting reveal the
following: “Councilman Bill Woods made a motion to … accept Chateaugay’s Wind Law. It
was seconded by David Vincent. Supervisor Darrel Bushy tried to talk them out of it. Wood,
James Otis, and Vincent voted yes, Everett Johnson voted no and Bushy abstained, stating he
would have to talk to the lawyer [Carl Madonna].”
Notice that William K. Wood,4 Town Councilman, also had a contract in hand with the wind
developers: once again, Horizon Wind Energy (Burke Wind Power), signed December 8,
2006, and shared with his father Hamilton F. Wood. The Woods were paid $9,466.80 for this
lease.
Mr. Wood was voted out of office in the November 2007 general election, to be replaced on
the Town Council by Arnold Lobdell, brother of ZBA Chairman James Lobdell. As noted
above, Arnold (and his wife Trudy) and brother James Lobdell have had a contract with
Horizon Wind Energy since August 16, 2006.

Summary of a scandal:
The composition of the Burke, NY, Town Council as of 1/8/08 is as follows:
1. Darrel Bushey, Supervisor, no known connection to the wind developers
2. Donald Smith, new member, no known connection to the wind developers
3. Arnold Lobdell, contract with Horizon Wind Energy since August 16, 2006
4. David Vincent, contract with Noble Environmental since December 29, 2006 (paid
$27,090)
5. James Otis, continuing member, foreman for a sand & gravel company doing a brisk
business with Noble Environmental on Noble’s current Clinton County windfarms.
4 “Hamilton F. Wood to Burke Wind Power, LLC,” Instrument No. 2007-00001548, Vol. 944, P. 198, Franklin
County Courthouse.
North Country Advocates
to District Attorney Champagne
Burke, NY: Summary of a scandal January 8, 2008
Page 3 of 4

The composition of the Burke, NY, Zoning Board of Appeals as of 1/8/08 is as follows:
1. James Lobdell, Chairman, contract with Horizon Wind Energy since August 16, 2006.
2. Silas Vincent, contract with Noble Environmental since December 29, 2006 (paid
$27,090).
3. Matthew Carey, contract with Horizon Wind Energy since June 9, 2007.
4. As best we can tell, the remainder of the ZBA consists of a vague and fluctuating group of
other individuals. It is unclear to what extent these other ZBA members were consulted
in drafting the proposed Wind Law.

Petition:
Burke, NY, does not have a municipal code of ethics. In the absence of a municipal law, it is
our understanding that New York State law becomes automatically operative. In this case,
the relevant law would appear to be NYS PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW, SECTION 74, “CODE OF
ETHICS.”
Suffice it to say, the above identified members of the Burke Town Council and ZBA are in
gross violation of the State Code of Ethics.
In accordance with ARTICLE 4 (“VIOLATIONS”) OF NYS PUBLIC OFFICERS LAW, SECTION 74, we
herewith petition the Franklin County District Attorney or the State Attorney General to
remove these individuals from office, and we ask that the currently proposed Burke Wind
Law be declared illegal and illegitimate.
We further ask that Attorney Carl J. Madonna be removed as counsel to the Town of Burke
in this matter, for negligence in his duty to properly advise the Town Council about conflicts
of interest, and that all monies paid to Mr. Madonna by the Town of Burke be refunded to
the Town.
􀂙 North Country Advocates
1/8/08
North Country Advocates
to District Attorney Champagne
Burke, NY: Summary of a scandal January 8, 2008
Page 4 of 4

There are thousands of organizations around the world trying to dispute the erection of wind farms.  At WOW our goal is to better inform the public who may or may not be opposed to wind farms so that together as a community we may make a better decision.

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