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December 8, 2006     Barnstable Patriot
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December 8, 2006
 
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Compact's rates to drop significantly Plan for first six months of 2007 shows 10 percent decrease By Edward F.Maroney emaroney@barnstablepatriot.com Newrateseffective Jan. 1for residents and businessesthat buy their electricity through the Cape Light Compact will be 10to 13percent lower than they were a year ago. The Compact announced yesterday that,through June 30, residential rates will be 11.652 centsper kilowatt hour and 11.671 cents for com- mercialusers.That compares with proposed NStar rates of 11.818 cents for residential and 11.850 for commercial customers. Rates for another power provider on the Cape, Dominion, have not been an- nounced. "We've been working to try to get these rates down all year," said Joe Soares, senior power supply planner for the Compact,whichencompasses Cape and Martha 's Vine- yard towns.Last January,the Compact's residential price topped out at 12.919 cents in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which sent natural gas prices through the roof. Soares said natural gas is used to run 60 percent of New England's generating plants. The rate for municipalities, which Soares said account for about 10 percent of the Compact's total load, will be going up from its current 9.99 cents. "It won't be more than the residential," he said. ChrisPowickiofBarnstable, an energy consultant who follows the Compact closely, says the agency favored its municipalcustomers thisyear at the expense of other classes of consumers, including resi- dents.Hehasfiled acomplaint withthe state Ethics Board in which he suggests violations of "appearance of conflict" and "unwarranted privilege" standards. Members of the Compact's governingboardareappointed by their municipalities. "The CLC officials and municipal appointees involved in mak- ing power supply and rate apportionment decisionshave given favorable treatment to the municipal entities that employ and/or appointment them," Powicki wrote to the Ethics Commission. Askedwhetherthe Compact wassubsidizingmunicipalities at other ratepayers' expense, Soares said that when ConE- dison Solutions procured a supplierfor the Cape andVine- yard last year, the company made assumptions about how many individuals and compa- nies would remain with the Compact. "There estimates were off,"he said. Then came the spring of 2006, and natural gasprices beganto fall.ConEd went lookingagain, withguar- anteed participation by the municipalities, and found a supply for that need, about 15 to 20 megawatts. "Even though I'm a rate- payer and you're a ratepayer, we're taxpayers in individual towns ," Soares said. "We pay bills for consumption at schjols and municipal build- ings.If that can be dropped by 25 to 30 percent , we benefit as taxpayers. Our taxes won't go up as much." In his complaint, Powicki acknowledges that point , but notes that "consumers had no opportunity for input into the decision. Renters , senior citizens, businesses , and other consumers strug- gling to pay high energy bills have suffered." Told of Soares' description of how the drop in municipal rates came about , Powicki said that, "if that's the case, they probably should have communicated that before Certainly it deserves a public airing of how they go about making these decisions and who bears the brunt of higher rates." Powicki said he planned to ask the Barnstable Town Council last night to "take an active role inlookinginto what Cape Light Compact is up to over in the county complex, and that it should take ac- tion to defend residents and businesses. " Studds remembered... CONTINUED FROM PAGE A:1 and Tyler Studds, a nephew from Martha'sVineyard,both told stories of how close Studds was to the Cape. Despite traveling between Washington,D.C., Boston,and Cape Cod for hiscongressional duties,Studds stayed devoted to the Cape. "Ialwaysthought Provincetown was Gerry's true home," said Simpson. As diligently as he pursued issuespertainingto Cape Cod, Studds also acted upon, ar- gued, and voted on issuesthat would improve the lives of gay and lesbian men and women across the country. Studds was the first openly gay member of Congress and, in 2004, was among the first in Massachusetts to become legally wed when he married Dean Hara. "Gerry and I shared being gay in Congress and then he, with great courage, became the first ,"said U.S. Rep. Bar- ney Frankduring Studds'me- morial. "He was able to make the political system safe." Part of Studds ' legacy, agreed many speakers dur- ing his memorial service, was his work during the Reagan administration with the early AIDS crisis. Kate Dyer, a friend and for- mer congressional legislative assistant who spoke during the service, said pamphlets withinformation about AIDS were recalled by the Reagan administration while Studds was serving in Washington. Instead of following orders not tosend outtheinformation, Studds sent fact pamphlets to every home in his district and challenged hisHouse and Sen- atecounterpartstodothesame. By the end of 1987, said Dyer, after hoursofeffort and,"dozens of town-by-town public meet- ings,"12millionhouseholdshad received the pamphlet. Although Studds ' public persona could be extremely different from the one that family and friends remem- bered , both acquaintances and intimates agreed that his main loves all came together into one thing: his congres- sional work. Described as intensely pri- vate,Studds wasnevertheless counted among the most dedicated and distinct politi- calfigures of histime by many of his constituents. "I was always jealous be- cause he was the most articu- late person," said state Sen. Rob O'Leary of Cummaquid. A month and ahalf after his death,memorialized in words and song by family, friends, and acquaintances, Studds was remembered not only for what he did as acongressman, but for who he was as well. "In his words, 'the work of a congressman is all consum- ing,'" said Tyler Studds. But, "[he had] the smile of some- one who lived a big life very, very well." We invite vou to ' BOURNE ORLEANS join us and ]Mato Mm Lta> , Vll|ageGteen Mam Stieel&Rte % all our friends 19 SandwichRoad Thursday,Dec. 14at I2.Wpm for the I6th Annual Wednesday. Dec. 13 ai 2:00 pra OSTERVILLE BREWSTER Cape Cod Horticultural Society C/lH'COf TD Banknorth Armstronp-Kelley Park ,r , Rte. 6A at Underpass Road 680 Main Street JmnW f i£& Monday. Dec. 18 at .100pm Tuesday. Dec. 12 at 12:00 pm CHATHAM PROVINCETOWN December 2006 Eldredge Public Library Unitanan-L'mversalist Church Mam Street Commercial Street Thursday. Dec. 14 at 2:00 pm Tuesday. Dec. 19 at 12:00 pm © DENNIS SANDWICH Soldiers' Field Sandwich Public Library Monday, Dec. 18 at 12:00 pm Thursday. Dec. 21 at 12:00 pm FALMOLTH SOITHVA RMOLTH Margaret E. Noonan Park Windmill Village. 1200 Route 28 Main Street Wednesday. Dec. 20 at 12:00 pm HARWICH PORT WarehamPublic Library TD Banknorlh Wednesday Dec. 13 at 12:00 pm Phut . .„ . „ J Dennis J Osterville J Yarmouth Port In honor of: j Falmouth J Pro\ incetown J Harwich Port J Sandwich Please make your check payable to Hospice Foundation of Ctp» Cod. Receipt* furnishedupon request Your tax-deduetihle giti will extend our unique physical , emotional and spiritual iart tor individuals and families S' '' ^1 1 SPECIAL EVENTS: 1 J jf I Holiday Open House ~ Sat. Dec. 9 -10-4 J jJp J&l Men's Night ~ Tues. Dec. 19 ~ 5-8pm Cozy Home Quilting, Fabric, Supplies 11 North Main Street, South Yarmouth , MA 508-394-400 1 ~ cozyhome@juno.com ~ www.cozyhomefabrics.com Callfor December Classes Schedule • Holiday Events • K O tl p p Vote lor the Best Holiday Window Display, enter lo win a -*A _l ss==========!; =====B&5' J^ S200 Mashpee Commons Gift Card thru Dec 15th1 Drawing Dec 20th \^ ^ ^ ~T~ i^f ~ " ^ ^ ^ ^' Free Carriage Rides late afternoon. Dec 9, 16&23 - * r ' c O ^ Q .iV C Picture your pup with Santa Dec 3.12 'am and Dec 10. 12-4pm ^ S i i l fJ r i l » U B H m n i I i I l f f i r « F 1 ^ ' * at Hot Diggity Cost $10 call 508-477 261 3 lo schedule s ^ ^gS^^^m gJ B J'M^'t j^B t e? "sTA. Dec.9, First Annual Mashpee Christmas Parade 11am C V \ JSJBJT" j"' g"PTTT 41,*~i! !~ y : i Dec. 13. Cape Cod Conservatory Acapella Choir 6 30pm ^^§l«!f" / ~^ - 'W S S& : '' ' ^ERTAINMEN1 ' Live a little, Gift a lot! eJ 90 uniqueCape Cod shops & national stores • restaurants • cinema • special events • holiday hours 10-9, Sun. 11-5 At the Mashpee Rotary • Routes 28 & 151 • 508-477-5400 • mashpeecommons.com • WIRELESS HOTSPOT r ~~ Official Sites TOYS FOH TOTS Cape Coo Toys ONE WARM COAT Mocear, FOOD PANTRY Real Estale Associates ^ , IM -^ Friendsol FalmouthAnimalRescue Hot Diggity donategently used colors MSPCA Mary RichmondDesign Det ornament sale beneMs MSPCA Check out our Web site... ¦jtbarnstablepatrioUl i^Sf^ Refinishing • Stripping Custom Painting • Brass Polishing WICKER • IRO N ? FURNITURE 508-775- 7044 Lewis Rd., Hyannis < frO^ V SANITARY REFUSE CO. V> ''^H JTXV H ! |rW 28YT ) fe^ COB ^ Q llWziyf _ 15-30 YD ROLL-OFF £ r% LUrUAliNEKb CONTAINERS P" M Gi ft Certi ficate K n For The Person r M Who Has tj M Everything! K H ^ Household Pick-Ups F ti If SZ1 RUBBISH ® t ¦ M 98— REMOVAL Cycling F" J^|, ^50S) 420-5736 «(508 ) 77S-15^| j ^ Phone in your thoughts... CONTINUED FROM PAGE A:1 The number to call to par- ticipate in Sunday 's phone session is 508-778-3866. The calls will not be screened and willbe directly answered by the assessor. Each call is limited to 10 minutes. "My understanding isthat , ingeneral,the phone sessions are fairly quiet,"police officer Ralph Cahoon said. Threeyearsago,Barnstable Police Chief John Finnegan committed the department to gaining national accredi- tation, assigning a full-time officer to oversee the task. Cahoon was appointed to lead the effort , giving up the patrol car for apolicy manual, and an old one at that. The department base poli- cymanual had not been thor- oughly updated since 1976, Cahoon said, although it has been amended over time. As part of the accreditation re- viewprocess,the department has already adopted 90 new policies, updated its opera- tions manual, and upgraded key areas of the police facil- ity, including the cellblock and property and evidence control facilities. Along with the phone-in session, Crocker willconduct interviews with department staff and community mem- bers , review the facilities , ride along with some on-duty officers , and engage in other activities to provide the ba- sis of her report to CALEA's review commission. Cahoon said that the de- partment' s internal review committee has representa- tion from each of the depart- ment'sdivisions, allowing for afull vetting of policy propos- als before adoption. Cahoon is the former head of the patrolman'sunion and, in another life, current chair- manof the Barnstable School Committee. He said that accredited de- partments are typically sued less often, and when sued win more often than departments that aren't. Cahoon is feeling pretty good about where the depart- ment is in the accreditation process. Part of that is based on the amount of work that's gone into it, but there 's al- ready been some verification that the department is on the right track. Dennis Police Chief Michael Whelan is a certified assessor for CALEA and has reviewed the work Barnstable has done toward accreditation in a mock as- sessment. "That was a huge help to us," Cahoon said. Cahoon said that while it's a lot of work to get the department accredited , it's actually harder to get reac- credited. He said that getting accredited is about saying what you'll do; getting reac- credited is about doing what you've said and proving it. If and when the depart - ment is fully accredited , reaccreditation moves on a three-year cycle, with a similar review of policies , practices and evidence that the standards established by the department are fol- lowed. Along with the 90 policy changes , Cahoon said the department' s reporting sys- tem has been revamped. While there were additions and modifications to the poli- cies so far, Cahoon said that there hasn't been awholesale change. "The big thing from a com- munity perspective is that it provides the community with the confidence that their department has been tested and meets the high- est standards,"Cahoon said. "It's easy for us to say we're really good , but it's better when an outside organization says it."