This is the gang who gave its top jobs to the ilk of ex Ann Arbor city “public servants” Sue McCormick and retired police chief Barnett Jones.

Laker Schools in the Thumb has an installation comparable in size to the one being considered. They seem to be happy with it. But the Thumb gets a lot more wind than we do, according to the DOE maps. I’d be surprised if this project can be made to work economically, but it sounds like there is little financial risk to the City or the schools. I hope the City makes sure the contract is iron-clad.

I do somewhat question the educational value. I suspect the turbine won’t be open for close-up inspection. The power will be fed to the grid, not directly to the school. Do students at Pioneer learn anything about cellular communication technology just because there is a cellphone tower on the school grounds?

For wind farms located in rural areas, that is not much of an issue. In the City, close to a school full of children, it’s not hard to see how a (say) 75-foot-long blade, thrown off at considerable speed from a (say) 150′-tall tower, could have tragic consequences.

When a developer with a poor record of keeping promises asks for something, the City should seek something in return. Here, for instance, the City could have asked the developer to post a bond that would cover the cost of demolition, should he again fail to live up to his promises. The couple of million needed to demolish the existing buildings is a drop in the bucket compared to the full cost of this project. If the developer cannot post a tiny percent of the project cost, what is the likelihood that he can deliver on in intent to build the full project?

And yes, the public is allowed to demand action from City Councilmembers during public commentary — especially concerning the Councilmember’s own organization’s resolution.

Councilmember Warpehoski’s response was striking.

Without mentioning the situation of Palestine at all, he publicly commended the Interfaith Roundtable of Washtenaw County, led by George Lambrides, as one group in town that is “doing it right.”

To shed light on the Councilmember’s chosen example of “doing it right”, you may refer to the Arab American News article entitled “Interfaith Roundtable forum abruptly adjourned”, at [link]

That article describes an Interfaith Roundtable speaker extolling the so-called “miracle of the Jewish State”.

The article then describes George Lambrides silencing a Palestinian-American woman three (3) times, when she attempted to bring up the situation of occupied Palestinians.

Even more incredibly, the Interfaith Roundtable abruptly shut down its own public meeting a few months later when Palestine rights supporters were spotted in the audience.

At that point, the Roundtable’s Chairperson said that future meetings would be announced via private e-mails, not on the Roundtable’s Web site.

Is this how Councilmember Warpehoski will be disposing of the Palestinian question in the future?

He is already demanding an end to the only Palestine rights vigil in Ann Arbor.

This is an unbecoming posture for Councilmember Warpehoski, especially so soon after the Israeli massacre of Gaza.

To this day, I have not seen the Councilmember condemn the 2012 Israeli massacre of Gaza. I have only seen him condemn the one existing vigil for Palestinian rights in this town.

That is a heartless example for Ann Arbor’s peace movement.

Or could it?