Dear Readers,

I attended the Governor’s press conference at Osgood Landing this past Friday where he announced the $20 million stimulus funding grant to local company Nexamp, partnered with Florence Electric in Taunton, to install solar electric panels at twelve water treatment plants in Massachusetts.

You can watch the announcement in its entirety on our local cable station’s website. Click on the following link and then click on the “watch now” link: http://www2.northandovercam.org/gov.php

As far as I can see, NACAM is the only source providing the taped footage [even though there were other news network stations present taping the news conference].

You can read Gov. Patrick’s news release at: http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3pressrelease&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Agov3&b=pressrelease&f=020510_solar&csid=Agov3

You can read the Eagle-Tribune’s story at http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/local_story_036220908.html

As you look at the taped footage and read through the print material, I do want to make a comment. I want to congratulate locally-founded Nexamp, Inc. and wish them continued success. However…

These projects are expected to be completed between June 2010 and July 2011. While I do hope that the projected energy savings to the communities served by these water treatment facilities actually do materialize, because we all know how financially stressed municipal governments are right now, I do not consider the jobs created by this stimulus grant to be significant. During the conference, a gentleman [the head of Florence Electric?] stepped forward to the mike to add the comment that 50 of the 100 jobs created by the grant – half of the jobs being celebrated by the Governor and his cabinet – are construction jobs. That means that $20 million of the stimulus funds that I believe our federal government can’t afford to give out in the first place…because its borrowed money to begin with…will support the creation of 50 jobs that will begin and end within one year’s time frame. Seems like very little return on the investment…

So I do think that the spirit of what newly elected Senator Scott Brown said is true – the stimulus monies really aren’t having the effect of significant job creation that they were supposed to…

Perhaps if the Governor’s office released a transparent, accurate accounting of the jobs created it would help people like me better distinguish between jobs created in the public sector, jobs created in the private sector, and jobs created that will live beyond the end of the stimulus grants. If we’ve mortgaged my kids’ future, I want to know what interest rate I’m paying…usury rates of interest are illegal in most states…

Sincerely,
Sandy Gleed