For good reason, First Selectman Richard Bergstresser remembers the meeting last January where many of the 700 townspeople present jeered at him over plans to open town beaches to nonresidents to satisfy a state Supreme Court ruling. The former IBM executive says he wants to find some other way to gather public opinion than meetings like that one.

We understand his viewpoint. Emotionally charged gatherings may be cathartic for those spouting vehement opinions, but often the message they convey gets lost. That easily could lead someone who is even-tempered and logical, like Mr. Bergstresser, to conclude that soliciting public views via e-mail or in writing could be a better way to encourage community participation.

Would it be neater? No doubt. Would it allow people to comment confidentially if they disagree with neighbors they don't wish to offend? Certainly. Would it be the best way to promote the democratic process in our town? We don't think so.

Messy as such meetings can be, giving townspeople an open forum to share their views is one of the best ways we know to foster an open give-and-take within the community on such important matters of interest to residents as nonresident beach access, floor area ratio regulations for houses or foreign language programs in public elementary schools. At their best, these meetings can encourage the sharing of constructive ideas.

In discussing his first year as first selectman, Mr. Bergstresser told Greenwich Time's editorial board that the public meeting he called 11 months ago on beach access "was a bad mistake."

"Too big a meeting encourages showboating that I think isn't productive," he explained, before floating the idea of a kind of virtual public forum that would utilize e-mail to let the public have its say.  We don't disagree. Last January's gathering generated much more heat than light, most of it directed at Mr. Bergstresser. But at the time, we thought his willingness to solicit public comments about opening Greenwich Point to nonresidents was laudable, especially since his predecessors had avoided any forum to give residents their say. And we deplored the speakers who were rude and nasty. At their worst, public meetings can foster pettiness, finger-pointing and name-calling.

There is nothing wrong with asking for e-mailed and snail-mailed comments on issues, of course. Some correspondence of this kind arrives daily at Town Hall unsolicited. Compared with statements at public meetings, however, even the most impassioned writing is less vivid -- though it also can be scathingly critical.

The dynamic that exists at public meetings is significant, which is why governmental bodies need, by law, to conduct their business in the open. The personalities, views and comments of elected officials is as much a part of governing as the decisions that are reached. We can't imagine, for example, a meeting of the Representative Town Meeting being held solely online, with members typing their comments and votes tallied digitally. And Mr. Bergstresser isn't alone in noting that the RTM sessions can encourage unconstructive speechifying.

Openness at public meetings can mean some participants will be offended by an impolitic comment. It can lead to pompous oratory. And it can promote the kind of self-indulgent grandstanding that Mr. Bergstresser dislikes. All of this is part of democracy.

Instead of eliminating public meetings, we think Mr. Bergstresser should take the lead in setting a tone in our town for discourse. That would require ground rules involving civility on the part of speakers and the audience, as well as time limits for comments. Some well-chosen comments from the first selectman might encourage people to respect those who share opposing views and to consider what is said intellectually rather than emotionally.

This wouldn't be as easy as discontinuing meetings in favor of e-mail. But leadership has its burdens. After noting how townspeople sometimes seem to ignore the feelings of those around them, encouraging better behavior could be an important contribution. We can think of few people in town better suited to the task than Mr. Bergstresser. 

From:
John Rountree
jrsolar@earthlink.net jrsolar@ earthlink.net

Connecticut Green Power Conference
March 14, 2002 (That's next Thursday)

Hilton Hartford, 315 Trumbull Street
Hartford, CT

Co-Hosted by:

U.S. EPA New England
http://www.epa.gov/region1/cal/index.html#0314
(EPA webpage for additional event information)

Connecticut Green Power Conference For Business and Institutional Customers

March 14, 2002
Time: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Hilton Hartford Hotel 315 Trumbull Street, Hartford, CT
(860) 728-5151

Rooms are available at a group rate of $135 per person (if booked before
March 8). Call 1-800-HILTON to make your reservation at the Hilton Hartford
and mention the "Environment Northeast" event on March 14, 2002.

Come Learn Why Business and Institutional Customers in Connecticut Are
Buying "Green" Power and Clean On-Site Generation - Hear from Suppliers What
Your Options Are - Find Out Where to Get Support and How to Take the Next
Step

Sponsors: EPA New England, Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Conn.
State University, organized by Environment Northeast

Contact: Please fax this page by Feb. 28 to (207) 773-1798 to reserve a
space for each attendee or mail it to Environment Northeast, 28 Grand St.,
Hartford, CT 06106. Please direct any questions to Michael Stoddard at (207)
761-4566

Fee: The registration fee is $40 per person and can be mailed with the
registration or paid at the door. The fee is waived for nonprofits,
government employees, and panelists. Space is limited. Lunch is included.

++++++++++++++++++++++

The Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University
(ECSU)

Co-Hosted and Organized by:
- Environment Northeast

With Financial Support from:
- Connecticut Clean Energy Foundation
- Institute for Sustainable Energy at ECSU
- Pew Charitable Trusts

AGENDA

Connecticut Green Power Conference
Thursday, March 14, 2002

8:00 Arrival and Registration

8:30 Welcome

Dan Sosland, Executive Director, Environment Northeast
Joel Rinebold, Executive Director, Institute for Sustainable Energy at ECSU
John Moskal, U.S. EPA New England

9:00 What's Happening with Green Power

Why We Care about Green Power in Connecticut

- Dan Sosland, Executive Director, Environment Northeast

National Overview of Renewable Energy Markets and Leading Customers

- Matt Clouse, Program Manager, Green Power Partnership, U.S. EPA

The First Town in the Northeast to Go Green

- Carl Leaman, Selectman, Town of Westport, Connecticut

10:00 Buying Green Power From The Grid

Moderator -- John Moskal, EPA New England

Retail Suppliers

- Bob Maddox, Director of Marketing, Connecticut Energy Cooperative
- Rich Travaglini, Director of Marketing and Sales, Green Mountain Energy
Co.

Advice to Customers on How to Pursue Grid Power

- Mark Crowdis, President, Think Energy, Inc.

Customer experience

- Harry Kinne, Director of Facilities, Wesleyan University

Q&A

11:15 Coffee Break

11:30 Buying Green "Credits", "Certificates" or "Tags"

Moderator -- Michael Stoddard, Staff Attorney, Environment Northeast

Introduction -- What are Credits and Tags?

- Gabe Petlin, Green-e, Conservation Resource Solutions

Suppliers
- Tom Boucher, Executive Director, NativeEnergy
- Jane Hotchkiss Gordy, Environmental Energy Consultant, representing Pure
WindÔ

Customer Experience

- Chandra Shah, National Renewable Energy Lab, Federal Energy Management
Program

Discussion

12:30  Lunch

Keynote Speaker: Jessie Stratton, Co-Chair, Environment Committee,
Connecticut General Assembly

1:30 Value and The Bottom Line

Introduction
- Joel Rinebold, Executive Director, Institute for Sustainable Energy

Analyzing the Costs and Benefits of Green Power to Your Organization

- Mark Crowdis, President, Think Energy, Inc.

§ marketing / community relations
§ price hedge, price stability
§ peak shaving (on-site)
§ reliability, availability, security (local, on-site)
§ employee productivity / comfort / pride
§ opportunities for aggregation

Q&A

2:30 Where To Get Support (Financial, Technical, PR) and What Is The Next
Step

Moderator -- Karyl Lee Hall, Staff Attorney, Environment Northeast

- Mark Clouse, EPA Green Power Partnership and John Moskal, EPA New England
- Karen Mendes, Connecticut Clean Energy Fund
- Gabe Petlin, Green-e
- Joel Rinebold, Executive Director, Institute for Sustainable Energy at
ECSU
- Lynn Stoddard, Office of Pollution Prevention, Connecticut DEP

Q&A

4:00 Summary and Adjourn

Dan Sosland, Executive Director, Environment Northeast
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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