SPECTRA’S Open House; Or How Not To Engage Businesses and Residents
/By Rachel Wencek, CABA Volunteer
This post originally appeared on
I have lived in Weymouth, MA for most of my life. I grew up in the area and have fond memories of playing on the beach during the summer and eating seafood at local restaurants with my parents. It’s a densely populated area with mostly small businesses crowded along Route 3A which ferries people from the South Shore to Boston. The areas beyond 3A are mostly residential until you get to the next town square.
Having grown up here I thought I was always I knew what was happening in the area. So it came as a shock to me when I heard a Natural Gas Compressor station was being planned right next to the busy Fore River Bridge. Even more shocking is that I first heard about it not through the town or the company building it, Spectra Energy, but from a 350MA newsletter. So to learn more about this Compressor station I went to Spectra’s Open House for Weymouth residents on March 19th.
What was thought to be a Q&A to local residents and businesses about Spectra’s plans was instead propaganda put on by out-of-state representatives with no local knowledge. When I first walked into the door, I was greeted by a sign stating that videos and audio recording were not permitted, which seemed odd as the purpose was to inform locals on future actions to be taken by Spectra Energy. This one sign exemplified the disengagement you could feel from Spectra representatives and the overall hidden agenda behind the Open House.