The Holm family very much appreciates the Nov. 15 article in the Addison Independent as it portrays a sense of urgency regarding the hydroelectric project at the Otter Creek Falls in Middlebury that has seemingly been absent for many years. American journalists are typically held to an ethical standard of delivering fair and balanced news. Denying a party the right to voice their opinion equally in a piece is known commonly as propaganda. Uncorroborated and out of context quotes are insufficient so I am hopeful this will be our chance to have our thoughts heard in earnest.
The Holm family shares the feeling of urgency to take next steps particularly with the end in sight of the bridge project. We are well aware residents will be very disappointed to hear of another major downtown project once the bridge project is complete and the clock is ticking.
The Holm family has offered several times over the years to transfer the project to local entities, however due to the daunting size of the project and the history of entanglements we have made little progress. The outside potential developers have been unable or unwilling to provide sufficient details regarding the appearance of their proposals as well as specifics regarding financials to allow us as well as the town to responsibly take next steps. We have only asked from them what has been asked of us and thus far have been disappointed.
At the same time we have been in discussions with top level local representatives of entities with the skills and finances to get the project done as they have at other sites in Addison County. They will be no doubt refreshed to see the level of support and urgency voice in the recent article regarding the matter.
We anticipate a major development to be announced in the near future and encourage townspeople to voice their support for the responsible, locally managed restoration of hydropower on the falls.
Anders Holm
Middlebury Electric Company
Middlebury
Editor’s note: The “uncorroborated” quotes to which the letter writer refers came from the term sheet with the town and from Holm family emails to the town.