byte&chew

Sorry, 40 jobs won't do it

While there is very little we can say here on byte&chew that will change the outcome of the Laidlaw/Berlin Station LLC project, I believe that it’s important to realize that the project will neither doom nor save Berlin economically. If the project succeeds, the 40 or so jobs provided won’t even show up on the economic radar screen, but the quality of life for many will decline. To put it in perspective, Isaacson Steel has roughly 6 times as many employees and so does Car Freshner and the hospital. The same numbers are true for the Cascade mill and that’s why our mayor is doing his best to invent a connection between the biomass project and the mill. It’s crazy for us to hang our economic hat/future on the Laidlaw/Berlin Station project. If the prisons go out and Cascade fails, Berlin/Gorham is going to face an economic challenge the likes we’ve never seen, regardless of Berlin Station. Listening to the mayor you’d believe that we’re out of the woods if Laidlaw/Berlin Station comes online, that we can just relax if the PPA is approved. Are we to believe that the Laidlaw/Berlin Station will save us? Did American Tissue or Fraser save us? No, they gave us false hope and we sat back and enjoyed the ride, what it did do was buy us time, which we squandered. Thinking that this biomass plant is our salvation is the kind of conclusion that has gotten us where we are today and it’s….so typical of the Berlin culture. It’s an extension of our paper mill mentality where “the company” led the way and the rest of us followed, including city government. This process is so engraved in our DNA that most of us don’t even realize that there may be other ways of making decisions or running our city government. Our paper mill mentality also makes us vulnerable to scams and other dead end investments. Without a well defined vision of what we want and establishing goals, we grab onto anything and everything that comes along, it only takes a slick salesman to lead us down the road to nowhere. Ask our mayor how much money the city spent chasing the scam conjured up by the slick fellow wanting to quarry our granite into counter tops. (Mr.Grenier was a councilman at the time)  How long did the taxpayers pay room and board at the T&C and then the rent in Berlin for that scam artist?  Going back in time, how about John Harris and his nuclear TEPCO project? A nuclear plant downtown, now there’s a winner! We have a long history of such adventures, chasing the dreams and scams of slick salesmen and con men. Isn’t it time for us to be “in charge” and come up with our own idea of what’s in our best interest and what will work for our community? Over the years we’ve hired professionals who did study after study and told us what direction/steps to take. These studies costing thousands, the latest being the City’s Master Plan, sit on the shelves at City Hall. If  Mr.Grenier was the great political leader that some believe he is, then why isn’t he dusting off these studies and along with the Council,  take some of the steps suggested? In my opinion, it’s because Mr.Grenier doesn’t have a clue what to do besides following corporate ideas in his role as a salesman, be they paper companies or Laidlaw/PSNH. He and many of us are stuck in the glory of the past and short on creativity and risk taking. Without a vision of the future, we want what “they” want. We also want instant results without the risk of investment, let somebody else do all of that for us. If it isn’t big, noisy and needing a tall stack (icon) then it has little value. Unfortunately the industrial era is over, in Berlin and the Country. Mr.Mayor, if you were “with it”, you would be announcing that an antenna will be placed on that 300ft stack and everybody in the valley will have broadband service! Why? New companies are not looking for factory space, they’re looking for connectivity and people who know how to use a computer. How about the outdoor recreation industry? What has the City done to help capture and build on the opportunities generated by the State ATV Park? In my opinion, next to nothing. For example; people who wish to build hotels or campgrounds here are told that they’ll have to pay thousands if not millions for water and sewer. A definite disincentive to invest in Berlin!  During the past couple years, I know of more than one business that went around looking for money to expand or start businesses. They went to banks, Mayor and Council and BIDPA, but came up empty handed.  Now this is the same BIDPA (A City department) who is spending half a million dollars on a small Main Street park. This is not to say that these are bad people or that Main Street is not important, but it reflects what happens when there’s no direction, no plan or goal. How does this project reflect the long term objectives of the city and, who is setting the priorities for its survival?  If we don’t change our paper mill ways, Berlin will continue to spiral downward until it hits bottom. We just don’t know how deep the hole will be or who will survive! This conversation should have taken place years ago, but it’s better late than never. I just know that 40 jobs at a biomass plant isn’t the answer.

What Jon brought to our attention

PRESS RELEASE March 24, 2011 For Immediate Release Contact: Eric Johnson ejohnson@nhtoa.org 603-224-9699 NHTHC   Biomass in Crisis: Jobs, Clean Energy, and the Economy at Risk An informational meeting for Loggers, Truckers, and other Timber Harvesting Professionals March 31, 2011 Merrimack Valley High School Auditorium  106 Village St,   Penacook, NH 03303 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. The New Hampshire Timber Harvesting Council will be hosting an informational meeting to discuss both the current situation surrounding biomass-burning wood-to-energy facilities and what is in store for the future of biomass in New Hampshire.   Recent market conditions have resulted in an uncertain future for the 6 independent biomass-burning power plants in New Hampshire that collectively provide up to 100 MW of renewable electricity- enough to power 100,000 homes- to the New England electric power grid.  These plants directly employ over 100 employees and pay nearly $1.1 million dollars in state and local taxes.  In addition, their suppliers and subcontractors employ over 500 workers in the form of chip producers, truckers, mechanics and maintenance sub-contractors. The state of New Hampshire will lose $45 million dollars or more annually in economic activity. This impact, and the jobs that are created, are a critical part of the New Hampshire economy, and a source of good, well paying rural jobs. The meeting will include an update on regional energy markets, the results of a survey of the economic impacts of both the power plants and biomass chip producers, and a panel discussion on the future of biomass and where we go from here.  For more information, please contact The New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association at (603) 224-9699 or www.nhtoa.org.        Click here for PDF of the agenda   Click here for a PDF of this press release    NHTOA's Biomass Website    Biomass Blog -  Please visit this blog to leave your own Biomass story.    Please contact the NHTOA office with any questions (603)224-9699

Ready?

As the dynamics of the American lifestyle change at an alarming rate, those who don’t accept change as a normal product of life are struggling to survive. To some the challenge is economic, they’ve lost their jobs, they’re in the process of losing their homes or they have to make drastic cuts in what was their usual spending. What we’re experiencing in Berlin is being repeated all over the country, it may not be a paper mill closing, but it’s an auto plant, or a factory that has made widgets for a hundred years. We’ve been navigating close to the edge of a catastrophic economic cliff for 3 to 4 years now and the end is not in sight. The challenges facing Berlin are all part of a global economic re-alignment that will see winners and losers, the outcome quite often being determined by decisions individuals and communities make. Examples of survival can be seen around us, individuals who manage to make the most of their situation and turn adversity to opportunity. A man loses his job at the mill only to turn around and use his skills to start a small business, a person buying a foreclosed property and turning it into an income producing property, in a way it’s the survival of the fittest. Those who are most successful in these difficult times are those who can put the past behind them, take risks and move on, a process that is easier said than done. We’re hard wired to repeat behaviors which have served us well in the past. This behavior pattern works well at sustaining us in the long run, but is often our downfall during a crisis. That’s why soldiers, police and fireman have to train constantly, to overcome their “instincts” to behave in their usual manner when facing whatever challenge they’re to overcome. Planning and training goes hand in hand in overcoming challenges and the same is true for communities such as Berlin who may be in crisis. When Fraser first announced it was closing and selling the pulp mill with the condition that whoever bought the property could not re-open it as a pulp facility, the City leadership should have immediately mobilized and engage Fraser and any and all parties including the State to develop a strategy going forward. The exact opposite occurred, the administration at City Hall threw their hands up in the air and proclaimed that “it’s a private company/property and we can’t/won’t tell them what to do”. I hope former mayor Danderson remembers his words as he drives by empty houses and stores and by the way, where was Mr. Grenier at this time and, why wasn’t he screaming jobs, jobs, jobs? Well, that was then and this is now and in the panic that followed the mill being torn down, collectively we opted to hitch our wagon to an old horse called a recovery boiler and listen to a slick salesman named Michael Bartoszek. I certainly need to recognize the fact that we didn’t all follow our “instincts” and go for the “usual” solution, we did elect a progressive Mayor and Council and for a year or two there were giant steps taken to bring us to grips with our reality. But then as is often the case, the pace was seen as too slow and the vultures who are always prepared to capitalize on the stricken swept in making a lot of noise re-enforcing those primitive instincts. Those instincts told us to “go for those 40 jobs, it will save us”. Well folks, those 40 jobs won’t save us and now we face the loss of over 200 jobs at the state prison and another 300 at the Federal Prison. NOW WHAT? Are we finally at a point where we’re prepared to look at our situation objectively? Are we at a point where we’re prepared to brush the dust off those many studies that suggested we take a different path if we’re to survive as a viable community? Are we at a point yet where we’ll recognize that it takes more than a slick slogan such as “jobs, jobs, jobs” to be an effective leader? Are we at a point yet, where we recognize that it’s time for us to move on from our mill mentality? Are we the idiots that keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different outcome? Mirror mirror on the wall, I’m I one of those idiots?

Ghost of the past

As is often the case, I sit here in front of my computer with no idea where my thought process will bring me. I’m thinking of Berlin, my birthplace, where at one time most of my relatives and friends lived and worked. The “Mill” not only dominated the skyline, it dominated our lives. The mill was responsible for our being here, my grandparents having moved here to work and to raise their families. That scenario went on for many years until one day my father came home to tell us that Brown Company had been sold. I remember that he was concerned about the sale and worried about the implications of the sale. Could it be the beginning of the end he asked, but we all felt confident in the fact that we had our forests and the mills needed the wood from these forests. Who would have believed that today there’s very little that remains of what put bread on our table for all those years. I believe that, my feelings of security were shared hundreds if not thousands of times all over Berlin, Cascade and Gorham. When the stacks came down 5 to 6 years ago, my feelings of security held since I was a child also came down. When the dust settled over the mill property, a most unfortunate event took place. A promoter of sorts, Mr. Michael Bartoszek discovered that in the ruins of our mill was a boiler. The boiler which was going to be scraped along with other contraptions used to make pulp could be recycled as a steam boiler. This promoter, a Wall Street wheeler dealer came to Berlin and proposed a project that almost immediately divided the community. He proposed recycling that old boiler and developing a biomass power facility. The controversy over this boiler and project came about since the community was in the state of shock from the demolition of the pulp mill and the residents were facing an economic meltdown. Most of the residents of Berlin had no experience considering options for their survival, since for generations the mills lead the way and we all followed. Even with a tarnished reputation and dismal track record, Michael Bartoszek was elevated to the status of “Messiah” by those who were overwhelmed with concern for their economic future and the survival of Berlin. At a time when the residents of Berlin should have come together as friends and neighbors to consider their options and define a path forward, the noise from the Wall Street promoter was drowning-out the possibility of a quiet and meaningful conversation about the future of my hometown. Opportunistic politicians joined in shouting “JOBS, JOBS, JOBS” in the deafening noise of Berlin’s own tsunami, making meaningful and thoughtful decisions impossible. In one camp were those who saw the opportunity for Berlin to shed itself of its reputation as a stinking mill town and move towards a more contemporary future and those who saw great value in preserving a piece of the past and, the immediate gratification of 40 jobs. Unfortunately, today many of those who had a vision of Berlin becoming a contemporary 21^st century community have given up their fight and their hopes, claiming that the project is a “done deal” politically. The remains of the pulp mill with its boiler and 300ft stack dashes the opportunity for the City to re-invent itself as a modern and compatible community in the heart of the White Mountains. I believe that were watching a good example of opportunity lost in turn for immediate short term gratification. The 40 jobs promised by Michael Bartoszek and touted by our mayor and others as a new beginning for Berlin, is in fact a hoax and, no more than a ghost of the past. Today the latest ploy being used by our mayor to seduce the community into submission is the perverse threat that without the Laidlaw project, the 250 jobs at Cascade are gone, a contention that even the new owners of the Laidlaw/Cascade Mill deny.  The long term well being of Berlin/Gorham has been hijacked by those with financial and political ambitions. The result will be that our children and grandchildren will continue their journey to other places where opportunities are available beyond 40 jobs and, my hometown becomes no more than a ghost of its past.

Cascade, a pawn?

It’s my understanding that there was an interesting statement made by mayor Grenier at Monday night’s (3/14/11) Council Meeting. It all started over the City Manager’s request to send a letter to Concord to have the State extend the period of time for the Renewable Energy Standards past the 2025 deadline. Apparently a couple of Councilors questioned the wisdom of sending the letter and the mayor became very…animated and said something like; “If there’s no Laidlaw there’s no Cascade Mill”. Now, I’ve had a feeling that there was a connection between the mill and the Laidlaw project that went beyond the fact that the money for both projects came out of the same pockets. I see the Mill as the “political key” that opens the door to the Laidlaw project. Just think of the political power of being able to hold all of those jobs over the head of the PUC as well as other State agencies. The “Jobs” thing also works well with the Berlin crowd too, after all, who can argue against those 250 jobs at Cascade? It works great for Mr. Grenier re-election campaign slogan of “JOBS, JOBS, JOBS”.  So the feeling I’ve had for a while that there was some…..connection beyond the money was re-affirmed by the mayor’s own words. It’s my contention that, the Cascade Mill proposal is at least in part, being used as bait to catch that big fish, Laidlaw/Berlin Biopower/??/??   As I’ve stated in the past, I fully support the re-opening of the Cascade Mill and I hope that the plan being proposed for the mill is successful, but there’s a part of me that’s very skeptical of its purpose and outcome. If my paranoia turns out to be more prophetic than just a bad dream, it won’t be the first time we’ve been told one thing while other plans were being drawn behind closed doors and the people of Berlin were left holding the bag. It’s for that reason that we want elected officials that are more than cheerleaders for specific companies/projects. They need to ask those difficult questions that, only they are in a position to ask as part of their fiduciary responsibilities. Unfortunately people like our mayor rather rub elbows and be friends with the kingmakers, it makes for great press and it feeds the ego, not to mention that those campaign donations by companies come in handy at election time.

They need your help!

I’ve been glued to CNN for the past couple days watching the incredible pictures coming out of Japan. The trigger for this catastrophe was an earthquake, but was has followed and is still to come will shadow that original event. The ultimate impact may be a nuclear meltdown, which at the moment threatens most of the country. How ironic that, the only country to ever be subjected to the devastating power of nuclear weapons, should now become the first country to be devastated by a full blown run-away nuclear reactor being used to generate electricity. This is all happening at a time when the nuclear industry in the US was gearing-up to push the effort to build more nuclear plants in this country. If the outcome of the reactor disaster in Japan should lead to a meltdown, the nuclear industry will suffer a tremendous set back and the industry will again be dormant for years to come. What also comes to mind when seeing the images from Japan is the fact that we are facing the same threat of a catastrophic disaster in California. Scientist believe that a similar size quake will hit the west coast within the next 35 years, it’s a question of when rather than if.                                                                                                     I wish to encourage the readers of byte&chew to consider making a donation to their favorite charity or non-profit for the people of Japan.                                                                                                                        For example, those who want to help can go to www.redcross.org and donate to Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami. People can also text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.

Thank You Councilors

Believe it or not, I’m quite hesitant about writing this post, but the issue is just too important to ignore. Three or four months ago I had a conversation with one of the three councilors who just resigned. When I asked him how he enjoyed being a Councilman, little did I think I would bring this man close to tears. He went on to tell me how seriously he took his responsibilities on the council and how difficult it was to devote the amount of time the position required. He talked about the fact that he ran for the office because he thought he could make a difference, he explained how he wanted to be part of the effort to turn Berlin around. It’s at this point that he put his head down and said “I think I’m going to quit”. He then looked at me and said “I just can’t work with that son-of-a-bi—h!”, “ I’m at a point where I don’t even want to be in the same room with him”. "Him" of course was mayor Grenier. This was just a short time after the mayor, Councilman Danderson and Rozek went to Concord and spoke in favor of the Laidlaw project before the Site Evaluation Committee. The Councilor went on to say how Mayor and Council had all agreed that nobody was going to speak on an individual basis, that they had agreed to speak with one voice through their legal counsel. He went on to say that he couldn’t trust the mayor anymore, that he couldn’t take at face value what he said and that the mayor keeps doing things behind the scenes/”behind our backs”. “I can’t work like that, I can’t take time from work and my family just to fight with him”. At this point the Councilor was close to tears and quite angry, “I’ve had it”.  It was quite obvious to me that this Councilor was not going to run again, not only that, but was probably not going to serve his full term. Later I also had a short conversation with one of the other Councilman who just resigned and although he was not as emotional with his comments, he expressed his frustration in dealing with the mayor. “He says one thing and does the other” he told me, “we just can’t stay on the same page”. When reading the front page of The Berlin Daily Sun yesterday announcing the resignations of the Councilors, I wasn’t surprised, I was saddened. I’m upset at the fact that it’s so very difficult to find qualified people willing to give of their time for their community, but to see three intelligent and generous men willing to give of themselves walk away from their public responsibilities in frustration over the behavior of an ego driven political bully is to me..depressing. A couple posts ago (“Let’s Smile” 3/1/11) I stated that, “Political bullies always have victims at their feet” and, our mayor has just added three more to a growing list of highly qualified public servants who choose to walk rather than go down in the gutter and fight with him. When that happens, you and I lose and the road to recovery for Berlin and the region takes a back seat to the political ambition of one man and his need to feel and look important. ....Thank you for your service Councilors Cayer, Landry and Poulin. You gave many of us hope that our community would once again be progressive and vibrant. We now have to accept the fact that it’s going to take longer and be more difficult without your devotion and talents. Be well.

"My Little Town"

I believe that it was in the 70’s that a song with the title “My Little Town” became a top 40 hit. It was written by Simon & Garfunkel and it became my favorite theme song for my hometown, Berlin. The song looked at the world through the eyes of a young man who is looking back at his home town and the fact that it isn’t keeping up with the times. The young man remembers “flying his bike past the gates of the factory” as I remember flying my bike past the entrances to Brown Company with parking lots full of cars. He remembers his mother doing laundry “hanging our shirts in the dirty breeze” as I remember my mother having to wash the soot off the clothesline before hanging her laundry there on the east side. “And after it rains there’s a rainbow and all the colors are black, it’s not that the colors aren’t there, it’s imagination they lack”. “Everything’s the same back in my little town, nothing but the dead and dying, back in my little town”. Here we are 40 years later and too many residents of Berlin including the mayor and most councilors have the same mentality that my hometown had in the 70’s. The factory gates are closed now, the cars are gone, but we haven’t been able to stir our “imagination” to the point where we see the colors in the rainbow. We can only think in terms of unlocking the gates to allow recycling an old boiler and parking 40 cars where once there were hundreds. Our familiarity with that old boiler and 300 foot stack is keeping us from opening our eyes to the point where we can see the colors of the rainbow. Living in the shadow of that stack is and will continue to bring us to the point in the song; “Everything the same back in my little town, nothing but the dead and dying, back in my little town”. Whether or not the Laidlaw project ever becomes reality, the fact remains that, Berlin needs to re-invent itself and, it’s not going to happen through the Laidlaw project. The region needs to recognize its unique characteristics and make an all out effort at seeing the colors of the rainbow so that we can change the direction from being a community of the dead and the dying to one where our children and grandchildren can be proud of living.

Let's smile

I believe the news that Cate Street Capital is proposing to purchase the Cascade Mill is the best news we’ve heard in a long time here in the North Country. It’s interesting to me that during these very difficult economic times, there are people who see great opportunities in the chaos before them. In similar fashion, I’m aware of people now buying foreclosed properties; they see the world differently than most of us and, they dare take risks. As I read the front page of The Berlin Daily Sun this morning I had to smile at the picture of mayor Grenier with Mr. Halle of Cate Street Capital. Why the smile you may ask? I smile at the opportunistic nature of mayor Grenier, for he’s a very clever politician, probably the most “political” of all politicians in the North Country. Looking at the front page of the Sun and reading the article you would believe that Mr. Grenier engineered the sale of the Cascade Mill. Similarly,  if the PUC approves the PPA with Laidlaw, he’ll be given credit for that accomplishment by his buddies at the Sun. Of course all this smoke and mirrors is only possible because he cleverly befriended Barbara Tetreault of the Sun who in reality has become his publicity director. As a politician you can have no better ally than a media source that puts not only your picture on the front page of the newspaper, but reports the news with the best spin possible while burying those things that may be contradictory or false. That media game is played very well by Mr. Grenier who at most appropriate times throws a bone at Ms. Tetreault with public recognition as you see in today’s paper or at Council meetings. If it wasn’t for the fact that Mr. Grenier is such a ruthless political bully, he has all the attributes of someone who could accomplish great things. But ruthless he is, and he doesn’t think twice about throwing the baby out with the wash water. There’s always victims lying at the feet of bullies and so it is with Mr. Grenier. You just don’t want to get in the way of their ego driven ambitions or be vulnerable to their tactics.