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For several years, environmental activists worked with Cheshire’s Village Council in an effort to persuade the Gavin power plant and its parent company AEP to reduce its emissions. Not having much success, these activists suggested that the village seek legal counsel. In the fall of 2001, the village selected a law group from Washington, DC to visit the town and individual residents decided whether or not to retain counsel. Some residents hoped that the legal pressure would make the power plant and its owner heed their concerns and clean up the plant’s emissions. Others wanted the plant to compensate them for diminished property value and to address health concerns. When AEP announced the unprecedented buyout proposal in April 2002, the media flocked to the town. Even many residents were surprised by the deal that would ultimately make history. |
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| April
16, 2002 |
| AEP
announces
that it plans to acquire the incorporated village of Cheshire
for $20 million. |
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| Though
the proposed agreement is supposed to be confidential, it
doesn’t take long for the world to find out the details
of the offer on the table: |
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Property owners residing in the village will receive
3 1/2 times the value of their property as assessed
for state taxes in 1999 or a minimum of $100,000. |
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*
Property owners, who reside outside the incorporated
limits, will receive 2 times the value of their property
as assessed for state taxes in 1999. |
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*
Renters will receive $5,000 for each year lived in Cheshire,
up to $25,000. |
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Residents must sign a “health waiver” which
prohibits them from suing the power company for any
future health problems. Parents must sign health waivers
for children under 18. |
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Residents must sign a confidentiality agreement and
not disclose the details of the buyout. |
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$500,000 will be set aside in case of arbitration, if
residents appeal their allotted amount. |
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The attorneys will take home about 33 percent of the
overall settlement money. |
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| Summer
2002 |
| The
buyout remains tentative through the spring and summer.
Without any indicators of finality - noone had been presented
any official paperwork - most villagers who thought the
buyout a fair deal start to worry about its feasibility.
This
uncertainty coupled with criticism from those outside the
village limits, skepticism from the people within, and quarrels
over dividing the proposed $20 million equitably, creates
an atmosphere full of conflict in the village.
Some residents start to reconsider the buyout offer and
some decide not to accept the buyout. Most of those questioning
the deal are older residents. Speculation grows about the
number of residents AEP needs to participate in the buyout
to make the deal worthwhile. By the end of summer 2002,
a new proposition is introduced to the older generation: |
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Cheshire residents, over the age of 71, will be able
to sell their property to AEP and remain in their homes,
rent free, until death. |
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| September
13, 2002 |
| Residents
must decide whether or not to participate in the buyout. Residents
who decide to participate are required to sign paperwork by
this date, including a confidentiality agreement and health
waiver. |
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| September
24, 2002 |
AEP
announces
that it has finalized the buyout. In its press release AEP
declares that Cheshire will remain a village, that many
of the community's characteristics will see little change.
About
90 percent of village residents have participated in the
buyout offer and have signed the health waivers and the
confidentiality agreements.
Businesses
have not received a buyout offer. |
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| About
one dozen people remain in the village. Most of these residents
are above 71 years old, many above 80. Concerned about the
funding sources for and logistics of running a village, the
village council plans to dissolve the town, which would turn
the village property and responsibilities over to the township. |
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