WHY AREN'T MORE FACTORIES COMING TO EXETER???

 

This testimony was presented to the NH Legislature in 2008, although it was addressing RGGI the main topic was the increasing costs of manufacturing in the State.

 

We ask ourselves how do we do a better job at bringing manufacturing jobs to NH or our individual communities and we can all see the uphill battle. As I have red after NAFTA 7 million jobs went oversees because of cheap labor, cheaper costs of utilities and less government oversight and regulations.

 

When I look around our area, like Stratham and Epping, I do not see any plans for manufacturing jobs; but, a lot of retail jobs.  The manufacturing jobs coming back from overseas seem to be going down South where there is less government, cheaper labor and lower utility costs.  When I was in the Army there was a common denominator and that was I had a hard time understanding either one.

 

Sylvania has been a great neighbor to the State of NH and the communities they are in; but, in their own way gave us a warning of what may happen in the future if we cannot change our direction for increasing costs to do business.

 

When I was a kid Exeter had about 6-7 or so manufacturing plants, now we have less.  So I think we can see some of the problems the manufacturers are confronted with when we talk about trying to get them to come to Exeter.   

 

 

 

 

 

Testimony to the Senate Energy and Economic Development Committee

on New Hampshire House Bill 1434

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)

 

 

 

 

Cheryl Blackwood

Plant Manager, Global Automotive Lighting

OSRAM SYLVANIA

 

 

 

 

April 15, 2008

 

INTRODUCTION AND AFFILIATION

 

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my name is Cheryl Blackwood, plant manager for OSRAM SYLVANIA Global Automotive Lighting in HIllbsoro, Hew Hampshire. OSRAM SYLVANIA is the North American operation of OSRAM GmbH, one of three large, global lighting manufacturers. Our company employs nearly 10,000 people, with nearly 2,000 of that number employed in the state of New Hampshire.

 

OSRAM SYLVANIA operates three facilities in New Hampshire, with an annual state payroll exceeding $116 million. The plant I manage in Hillsboro is the leading automotive lighting facility in North America. Our facility in Exeter makes glass and ceramic components for lighting and semiconductor products, and our Manchester plant produces high intensity discharge (HID) light bulbs that are used for street lighting, sports lighting and retail store displays.

 

 

COMMITMENT TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

 

OSRAM SYLVANIA is committed to environmental responsibility in our business.  We share with the State of New Hampshire a genuine concern for the environment and the need to address the causes of climate change.

 

For decades, our company’s environmental efforts have received recognition from numerous respected organizations. Just two weeks ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded OSRAM SYLVANIA its seventh consecutive Energy Star Award for our corporate energy efficiency efforts. In 2004, the Hillsboro plant I operate received the New Hampshire Governor’s Award Honorable Mention, for Pollution Prevention.

 

OSRAM SYLVANIA is taking significant voluntary steps to reduce the amount of resources we use and greenhouse gas emissions that result. In 2007, we set a corporate goal to cut energy consumption by 10 percent. I’m proud to say that we not only met that goal, but exceeded it in New Hampshire with a 12 percent reduction in our energy use. Electricity is just one of the resources we are conserving. Last year alone, our Hillsboro plant recycled over 26 tons of cardboard and 15 tons of wood.

 

We continue to set new goals to make our operations in New Hampshire more sustainable. Our Hillsboro plant has already initiated the process of becoming LEED certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

 

I share these accomplishments to highlight the fact that OSRAM SYLVANIA and its 2,000 New Hampshire employees are working hard every day to sustain our business while we sustain the environment.

 

THE RISING COST OF ENERGY

 

However, the high cost of energy in New Hampshire has made our effort to balance economic and environmental sustainability an uphill battle. Despite our aggressive energy efficiency programs, OSRAM SYLVANIA continues to face escalating energy costs in New Hampshire. We’ve seen our electricity rates skyrocket 61 percent over the last three years, outpacing increases in all the other states where we operate. Our electricity rate of 11.3 cents per KwH is a staggering two to three times higher than the rates we pay in Pennsylvania and Kentucky, for example.

 

Extreme energy costs have a direct impact on our ability to keep high wage manufacturing jobs here in New Hampshire. To stay in business, we need to make products that are cost competitive. In our Exeter plant, electricity represents a staggering 12 percent of the total cost the quartz glass components we sell to the semiconductor industry. The plant supplies customers in more than 20 countries around the world. These global customers are indifferent to our struggle to overcome high energy costs in New Hampshire. If we can’t produce products at a competitive price, our customers will simply take their business elsewhere.

 

I urge this committee to consider that every increase in electricity rates puts more New Hampshire jobs at risk.

 

About HB 1434

 

As a company committed to environmental responsibility,OSRAM SYLVANIA supports the intent behind RGGI. However, we urge the committee to address deficiencies in the bill that threaten to handicap OSRAM SYLVANIA and other large New Hampshire employers.

 

I ask that you to consider some of the specific approaches proposed by the New Hampshire Business and Industry Association. Lower thresholds for ratepayer protection rebates, an expedited rebate process, and provisions to ensure RGGI revenues are dedicated to energy efficiency investments, are all ways to make this well-intended better.

 

I appreciate the opportunity to present the views of OSRAM SYLVANIA. I look forward to continued dialogue regarding this important issue.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Cheryl Blackwood

Plant Manager

OSRAM SYLVANIA

 

 

 

Enclosure:

OSRAM SYLVANIA Global Care brochure

SHOULD THE BOARD OF SELECTMAN PUT FERRARO ON THE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS COMMITTEE???

 

 Rumor has it that little Cranky Frankie Ferraro wants the Board of Selectman to put him on the Budget Recommendations Committee.  I believe there are still members on the BOS that he stabbed in the back, lied about, threw digs at during selectmen’s meetings and was the point man for the lunatic fringe and free staters representing them on the BOS and not the taxpayers.  He is one of the leaders of the fringe that scream about transparency and want you to believe that Town Government is trying to hide everything they do so you don’t know what is going on (which is and has been BS from the beginning) while they hide behind an anonymous blog that consistently and intentionally spews misinformation about people and issues.

 

Who knows what the Board will do; but, Frankie has already shown and proven he cannot work well with anyone who disagrees with him.  If the BOS does put him on the Budget Committee they should expect a new line item covering legal expenses for the next time he gets mad at the Board or Town Manager and sues them.

 

To make a long story short I hope the Board remembers why he was the low vote getter in the last race and should have got the message that the voters caught up with him.

 

ANOTHER RUMOR IN EXETER!!!               

 

There is another rumor floating around political circles that Donna Schlachman is trying to get little Franky to run for County Commissioner, supposedly Donna is looking to get into the lunatic base and has been hanging around with republicans that many republicans don’t want to hang around with.  I am trying to figure whose reputation will be hurt the most.

EXETER NEWS LETTER TIME FOR A CHANGE???

A friend recently sent me an editorial from the Exeter News Letter talking about the need for a change on the Board of Selectmen.  Change can be a good thing and I am not unhappy with the results of the last election.  What I wasn’t enthused with was the lack of good reporting on the part of the News Letter.

I did not see it reported that the chairman of the Board, Don Clement, a person who the majority of the Board supported in his selectman’s election, and supported him to be Chairman of the Board, he was Matt’s Vice Chairman and a pretty good one.  He badly wanted to be Chairman and the majority of the Board thought he could do the job and elected him.

It was to everyone’s surprise when the majority of the Board disagreed with the Chairman on the dam removal issue he turned on them and openly attacked them.  He showed anger at meetings and hostile to some of the members.  He showed a total lack of leadership and understanding that you can disagree on issues; but, try not to focus on the disagreements, move on.  He couldn’t do that and stopped listening to the majority of the Board and found himself isolated (by his own actions) because of his own behavior and not because of anyone else. I don’t know if he knew how close he came from being removed as chairman because of the way he was acting.  Unfortunately it was close to the election and there was a question the news paper could understand or report it correctly.  Instead the news paper blamed the majority board when the minority of the board went off pursuing their own agenda.

It was a far cry from the year before when Matt kept the majority of the Board moving in a positive direction, while keeping the lunatic fringe at bay.

There was a reporter at each meeting and saw what was going on; but never really reported it.  This caused the paper to become a “he said she said” and more of a gossip column than a news paper.  The day before the local election the Exeter Reporter was reassigned and Jason Schreiber is now the new or recycled Exeter Reporter coming from being a highly respected reporter for Exeter and then editor before leaving to work at the Manchester Union Leader. I feel confident that Jason will bring credibility back into Exeter’s news reporting.

Since change is good do we push to change the management of The Seacoast Newspaper or the Exeter News Letter?

I guess it depends on who the change benefits.

IS THE GREAT BAY NITROGEN SOME KIND OF D.C. HOAX???

 

I was at a State Employee Union meeting about 2 wks ago and had a chance to see some old friends that work at the Department of Environmental Services Headquarters.  Since some of them knew of the big issue with the Exeter Dam Removal and the issues of the Great Bay they were telling me that the new discussions behind the scenes is there appears to be no proof that nitrogen in Great Bay is damaging the eel grass or much of anything else some even said that the higher ups claim that there is no proof that it doesn’t, so what is their proof.

 

Great Bay has never been one of my issues; in fact I’ve only been on it once in my entire life.  I know that there are many people with special interests that are happy to be Great Bay experts; that is good because it allows people with an interest in the issue to pursue it to their hearts content.

 

There appears to be something going on behind the scenes for the DES Hqtrs staff to be hearing/saying what the rest of us have been wondering.

 

What most people don’t know is four years ago when house was run by O’Brien the majority of republicans wanted to do away with DES as an agency.  One attempt that was considered was to wipe out their budget; but most of their money comes from the feds or outside sources so when they realized that it probably would not happen, the effort was dropped.

 

It looks like some communities are being pushed to spend millions of dollars for sewer plant upgrades to meet standards that there might not be a need for or at least, the so called evidence is shaky at best.

 

EXETER BOARD OF SELECTMAN!!

 

I think I have a legitimate question to the BOS and that is after the nasty battle to tear down the dam can we rename the river?  When the dam comes down can we rename it Clement Creek or Ingrams Brook.  I think we should pay homage to people who worked so hard to get the dam down.  Now I can’t wait to get the job done.

BRIAN GRISET WHY ARE YOU NOT ON THE EXETER WATER AND SEWER COMITTEE???

For a number of years we had a water and sewer committee, which Griset was on.  Then the Board of Selectman, on a majority vote, voted to put a very qualified person on the Board the Board threatened to resign, and the leader was Griset.  The board did not rescind their vote and the Committee resigned.  A year or so later the Board re-instituted the Committee and did not accept Griset’s request to be placed back on the Committee.

 

 Griset then showed up at a selectman’s meeting demanding all kinds of information, notes and the same numerous RSA 91-a requests he uses to harass the Board and the town manager.  To his credit Don Clement told Griset at a public and recorded Selectman’s meeting that he had come before the board on prior occasions and presented misinformation; he further went on to say that Griset had sent letters to the newspapers and presented misinformation and Selectman Clement would not vote for Griset for this commission or any other, in essence calling Griset a liar; the Board of Selectman did not vote to put Griset back on the Water and Sewer Committee.

 

Go back a few years when Griset was trying to get a deed cleared so he could build his “dream house” he went around town convincing people that the town should sell him land for a $1.00, that is right a $1.00, at town meeting so he could build his dream house.  The town believed him, as did Matt, myself and the voters, and then voted him the land for a $1.00.  Once again he broke his word and sold that land for a hefty profit.

 

Now he is pushing hard to tear down the dam now I don’t know if that would dry out his wetlands and make them sub-dividable so he can sell that land too.  What I do know is a lot of people aren’t buying that he is trying to save the fish and the environment by tearing down the dam and they are trying to figure out what is in it for Griset.

 

TEARING DOWN THE DAM!!!

 

I am disappointed by the Exeter River Study Committee.  I have read their report and it looks like they worked very hard at pulling together information they gleaned from other study committee reports that have been done over the years.  I remember being told by a town official that there was a report done that said if you open the gate at the dam it would only drain the river about 2”; at face value we already know, what I knew as a kid that information was wrong.  Opening the gate will drain the river completely down if you leave it open for a full for 24 hours.  So as far as study committees go, fool me once shame on you; I think you get the picture.

FRANK FERRARO CAN LIE FASTER THAN MOST PEOPLE CAN TELL THE TRUTH AND HE’S GOOD AT IT!!!

What do you do with somebody that has a hard time telling the truth?  At last night’s Exeter candidate’s forum Frank Ferraro lied about so many issues it would take a week or more to try to explain all the things he was supposed to have done.  One of the people at the meeting said that Frank had more “I’s” in his self praise and what he has done for the town than you find in an Optometrist’s Office.

Let’s take a look at just a couple.  In an attempt to shed his reputation for being divisive and a back stabber Frank was trying to say how well he worked with Bob Aldrich, and Julie Gilman.  Bob had endorsed Matt and Nancy Belanger in his face book page.  If you go up High St. you will see Quandt signs in Julie’s yard, if you go up Jady Hill you will find a Quandt sign in Dan Chartrand’s yard even though Matt, Dan and Julie are from two different political bases.  What this shows is that when it comes time to work in the best interests of the town good selectmen work together for the betterment of the town, to their credit.

While Ferraro tries to take credit for the water and sewer over billing, I was told, that it was actually the town employees, to their credit, who found this and brought it to the attention of the Town Manager and the board voted the rebates back to the taxpayers.  This is how it is done when you have good employees and you let them do their jobs.

Matt was initially nervous last night, having got word that Frank and his small group of the lunatic fringe were going to set him up and they tried on the dam issue.  Matt kept his cool, showed class, stayed the course and, I believe, leadership on the issue.

Matt was initially on the river study committee and when he realized they just wanted to tear down the dam and didn’t appear to listen to anything else, he left.  Now they are asking for everyone’s input; but, if it doesn’t agree with what they want to do (tear down the dam) they attack you with a political fervor that is usually saved for an out of control political campaign.

The fact is if you want to know what will happen if you tear down the dam, then you going to have to tear down the dam.  There is no study that can definitively tell us how much water will be left during a bad drought or where we will buy water should our town wells not produce to expectations.  I think we are doing this backwards; we should have our water treatment plant online, the wells we are negotiating with the Academy to buy, plugged in, tested and brought online before we ever tear down the dam.

I know we have people saying we will have plenty of water should we tear down the dam, since the Exeter River, is a huge source of our drinking water, these very people in my opinion have strained their credibility and cooler heads need to prevail to protect our citizens.

FRANK FERRARO-YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!!!

      

While Frank is on his quest to win re-election to the Board of Selectmen the educated and knowledgeable voters in Exeter will have something to say about that. 

Frank’s inability to get along with people, his divisiveness and “I am the only one that knows what he is doing on the board”, has turned off people who have watched the meetings.  Frank’s vindictive lawsuit against the town manager, which he lost and cost the town about $10,000, is a sticking point with the voters.  That lawsuit was brought within a few days of the board not appointing him to a study committee in Concord; he nominated himself and no one would second it, he was visibly upset.  That lawsuit, alone, shows he cannot get along with other board members or the town manager and further reinforces the voter’s opinion of him.

He has tried to undermine the board, individual members, department heads and the town manager.  He cannot run on his record because it is not a good one.  At one point the board tried to work with him but after losing his credibility and back stabbing tactics the working relationship deteriorated.

After the board makes a decision, if Frank disagrees, he is on his “anonymous self promoting blog” telling how everyone is wrong but Frank and he can do it much better.

He has a core following of the lunatic fringe who he represents and keeps egging him on; but, over the past few years they have become transparent as to what their agenda is and that is to be a subterranean non elected group that wants to run the town.

As long as the voters continue to view Frank as an angry divisive individual he has real problems with his reelection.