Pollina focuses on energy and infrastructure in Brattleboro
Brattleboro Reformer, July 2, 2008, by Bob Audette (link to article).
BRATTLEBORO — Companies such as Cersosimo’s Brattleboro Kiln Dry and Milling are poised to take advantage of the state’s changing energy priorities, said Anthony Pollina, a Progressive Party candidate for governor from Middlesex.
“We should be investing in companies that have power to share,” he said, adding “We need the infrastructure to make it happen.”
The kiln dry utilizes six boilers that produce steam for heat — sort of like a radiator in your home — to dry wood in its facility on Frost Street in Brattleboro.
The boilers are heated by burning wood chips and sawdust.
In addition, the steam also powers a small generator, supplying some of the electricity the kiln dry needs to power its operations.
The kiln dry’s manager and his engineers have been talking with representatives of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital to pipe some of its excess water up to the hospital to supply the facility with heat and hot water. The kiln dry might also be able to supply heat and hot water to downtown Brattleboro if a district heating project starts rolling.
The state government can help such ventures succeed by setting up an investment fund that can be used to help pay for renewable energy projects and the infrastructure to support them, said Pollina, who visited the kiln dry on Tuesday afternoon.
And building that infrastructure would mean putting out-of-work people into well-paying jobs, said Pollina.
He is suggesting the state establish something he is calling the Vermont Investment Fund that can be used to help pay for ventures such as the BMH project or a district heating system for Brattleboro.
The first step in setting up that fund is to get Vermont’s state investment funds and non-profit organizations to buy into his proposal by putting 2 percent of their portfolio in the fund. The second step would be to allow individuals and businesses to invest in the fund as well.
Pollina also wants the Legislature to consider closing what he called the “capital gains tax loophole,” which exempts the first 40 percent of any capital gain from taxes.
The state taxes 100 percent of income, he said, so it makes sense to do the same for capital gains.
Closing the loophole could mean $20 million in increased revenues for the state each year, money that could be used for renewables, to pay off bonds, build affordable housing and increase energy efficiency, said Pollina.
The state should also look at taking out bonds to fund projects to foster energy independence, said Pollina. The state might also have to look at borrowing money to repair its roads and bridges, he said, and should do it soon, rather than waiting for some sort of economic boom to replace it in the future.
Such a program would get some unemployed Vermonters back to work, putting money in their pockets that would help the state’s economy as a whole.
“The best thing to do in a recession is to put people to work.”
Bob Audette can be reached at raudette@reformer.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 273.