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American Transmission Co. will host a public informational meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 27, on the final route options for a power line project that will connect a substation in Bristol with a substation in Lake Geneva.
The meeting will take place from from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Wheatland Center School in the cafeteria. The public is invited to attend any time during that time frame to view exhibits and talk with ATC officials, as there will not be any formal program.
These two routes are what ATC plans to go to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin with in April to seek permission to build the line and substation. If approved, the PSC will select one route to be built. A map of the current proposed routes is available here.
“The two proposed routes represent the options the project team members believe best meet state routing and siting criteria based on impacts, costs, constructability, operation and maintenance,” said Mary Carpenter, ATC senior local relations representative.
Paddock Lake village President Terry Burns is not happy with one of the route proposals, which the Village Board feels will cause economic hardship for some village property owners. The village had proposed a revised route that had the power line traveling north from Highway AH farther west than the current proposed plan. The ATC preferred route would travel through a Paddock Lake tax incremental financing district that is currently for the most part undeveloped.
In a written statement emailed to wesofthei.com, Burns said in part:
… they have dismissed consideration to the Village’s portion of the route knowing full well this will potentially cause the demise of a fully plated equestrian development and greatly effect the sale ability of properties within the Village’s established TIF district. In addition, this will cause hardship on at minimum seven Salem properties through reduced property values. Essentially they will have power-lines in their front yards. … It is indeed very saddening when an organization the size of ATC will put their project costs above economic impacts to an area effecting thousands of taxpayers. I have instructed the Village of Paddock Lake Board that we will not tolerate this blatant assault of monopolistic stupidity that may or may not be politically motivated because the Village took a defensive action from the very initiation of the project some two years ago. Furthermore, the Village Board collectively has given approval to have our Village Attorney submit to ATC a letter requesting reconsideration of the route or face potential litigation for cure of economic damages that are numerous and well documentable. This is not over by any means.”
ATC says the project is needed because “the electric transmission system in the area is vulnerable to low voltages and power outages and can no longer adequately support the lower-voltage distribution system. ATC studies indicate that the project would strengthen the electric transmission system to meet the growing use of electricity. This estimated $72 million to $92 million project would provide system redundancy and allow for maintenance outages when repairs are needed.”
The approximately 25-mile line between the substation in Bristol and Lake Geneva will consist of a 138-kilowatt transmission line.
Wheatland Center School is located at 6606 368th Ave. (Highway O).
Darren, Kindly remind your readers that this is Tuesday Jan 27. Thanks