Ixonia board of directors refuses to hear public concern regarding LNG proposal

Despite a concerted effort by citizens via petition, the Ixonia board of directors refused to hear public comment regarding the LNG proposal. The board of directors went into a closed door meeting to discuss the matter, but according to board chairman Perry Goetsch they chose to not hear the community concern because "it is not fair to have public comment without the petitioner present," even though it is standard process to hear community comments if a petition is made. 39 community members showed up to the meeting hoping to speak on the matter, but were denied. These community members assured the board that they did not have questions for WE energies regarding the matter, but instead want representation from their board to vote the proposal down. When Perry was questioned after the meeting about why he is in support of the proposal he explained "it is in a large open field, and the community gets money which it needs to improve infrastructure or reduce taxes." Perry also stated that he and the board are having regular meetings and conversations with WE energies regarding the proposal. Ixonia stands to gain 500k/year from the proposal which comes out to about $120/person. The board has said that residents are properly informed as both they as well as WE energies has sent notices to residences, but residents within proximity to the project have repeatedly told our volunteers that they have not received any notice. The board has said that they will be requiring that WE energies host informational sessions for community concerns to be addressed, we will post when those sessions will be. The next board meeting is scheduled for Sept 14, but we have no word yet weather the WE energies proposal will be on the agenda.