AUGUSTA - - It is an opportunity that is lost and a great debate that may never happen in the Town of Carrabassett Valley, said Town Manager Dave Cota.

Earlier in the month the Senate voted 29 to 6 to reject a bill that if passed would allow the voters of Carrabassett to decide if they wanted to annex the entire Redington Township. The recommendation of the Senate, by a majority vote, was that the bill "ought not to pass."

The bill, sponsored by Senator Walter Gooley (R Farmington), would have allowed the town in time to approve the measure, which could have brought a wind farm proposal to the local planning board. Endless Energy of Yarmouth was proposing to build a 30-turbine, 90 megawatt project which could have been decided on locally and with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection review.

"The debate is not going to happen at the local level which is unfortunate," Cota said. "This town has had a long history of being progressive with land use management and land use stewardship."

Those who oppose the concept say the opportunity is a way to circumvent previous rulings such as the Land Use Regulation Commission's two decisions to deny the project. Also, the Governor's Wind Task Force did not consider Redington as an appropriate location for wind power development.

The concept of "self-determination" as Cota explained it, was supported strongly by the municipal leaders in the town. Selectmen voted unanimously to send the measure to Augusta where legislation was required as a matter of law.

"The Board of Selectmen looked at the project's merit and thought it was worthy of a local debate and potential vote of the town," Cota said.

Once the concept was sent to Augusta, the Local and State Government Committee originally voted 8-3 and recommended sending the bill to the full legislature. Two additional absentee members eventually voted for a final count of 10-3. With the strong committee vote in favor of the action it came as a surprise to some that it was overwhelmingly shot down in the Senate.

"After watching the committee do their work and study the issue, and seeing their overwhelming support, it really came as a shock to me that the Senate voted the way they did," said Bruce Miles, chairman of the town's planning board.

If approved at the State House, the town would have held many public hearings and held a referendum vote to decide if residents wanted to expand their town. From there the town's planning board would have heard the proposal and the town's Comprehensive Plan Committee would have had to reconvene, which would have led to another town vote. Similar actions would have been needed to amend the Zoning Ordinance and the DEP would have held public hearings and had oversight on the state level over the wind farm proposal.

"Basically the town process would have been extensive with numerous occasions to review all elements of the land use and opportunities," Miles explained.

"In the end, we would have made the right choice, just look at our history… It's a lost opportunity and would have been very interesting," Cota said.

Cota explained some of the benefits that could have occurred. It may have created some real positive economic opportunities for the town. It could have been a huge investment, created jobs and lowered taxes. It could have created electrical rate savings for residents, established more recreational opportunities and created "a lot of renewable energy," he said.

He also said that he understood that many of the residents didn't want to look at the turbines on top of the mountains which would have created a "very open and honest debate."

One way or the other, "the decisions that we have made as a town over the years have proven to be the right decisions," Cota said.

The roll-call of LD 741, which is now dead, revealed that Senators Gooley of Franklin, Cortney of York, Damon of Hancock, Nutting of Androscoggin, Plowman of Penobscot and Sherman of Aroostook voted with a nay vote when asked that the bill not pass. Eighteen votes were required to make a simple majority. Senator Peter Mills of Somerset, as well as 28 others, voted with a yea vote killing the bill.

Lee revealed the concept plan which could have created community investment opportunities for residents. For example, those interested in investing $5,000 toward the project would receive discounted electric rates over a period of time. Lee also said that negotiations were underway with the management of Boyne, owners of Sugarloaf and Sunday River for discounted electrical rates.

The wind developer also stated that the $180 million project would create nearly $480 million in taxes for the town and drop tax rate in town by nearly 1.3 mils.

"Outdoor recreation is our goose that lays our golden eggs. Recreation is the lifeblood of our town. We would not have knowingly done anything that would jeopardize the goose that lays our golden eggs," Miles said.