Selectmen are looking for residents to serve on a new committee that will delve into the issue of wind power in Duxbury.

The idea for a committee dedicated to studying wind power came last month after the Alternative Energy Committee (AEC) and Duxbury Wind Wise met and agreed that such a committee would be the best way to tackle the issue. Duxbury Wind Wise is a citizen’s group that formed to oppose a preliminary plan from the AEC to locate a wind turbine in the North Hill area. The AEC later dismissed this project to focus on solar energy, which they said is more economically viable for the town.

The AEC recommended that the new wind study committee consist of seven members including two from the AEC, two from Duxbury Wind Wise, and three other residents. The charge of the wind committee would be to study the potential opportunities and risks of future wind turbine development in Duxbury and possibly propose changes to the wind turbine bylaw by the 2013 Annual Town Meeting. The committee would also be charged with educating the community about wind turbine development.

Selectmen Chairman Ted Flynn called on residents to fill this committee. He asked anyone interested in serving to fill out a talent bank form, found on the town’s Web site.

AEC chairman Jim Goldenberg is hoping anyone who applies comes to the committee without set opinions on the issue.

“In order for this committee to be successful, everybody on it needs to come with an open mind,” he said. “It’s important that all the members come without an agenda either way.”

Goldenberg recognized the impact a new wind study committee could have on the future of Duxbury.

“It’s an important committee,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity but it’s going to be a challenging task.”

Chris Sherman of Duxbury Wind Wise said the role of the committee has to be well defined. He said the first goal should be to study the impacts of a wind turbine on the town by looking at the economics, the aesthetics and the potential health risks of such a facility. Sherman felt it was important to examine the current wind facilities bylaw and decide if it is right for Duxbury as written in light of the changing technology and emerging information about wind turbines. Duxbury Wind Wise proposed an amendment to the current bylaw at this past Annual Town Meeting but agreed to postpone a vote in order to go along with the idea of a wind study committee.

Sherman said the secondary role of the committee is to educate the town’s residents and its government.

“One of the things we found as we went around informing various (town) boards was that everyone had their own image of wind energy and what its impact was, but no one really had the facts,” said Sherman.

Like Goldenberg, Sherman feels a wind study committee will have an impact on the town: “I thought it was important to have a subcommittee because if everyone just leaves their cards on the table and walks away, it (wind power) is an issue that can reappear and reappear rather quickly, whether it’s a commercial interest or whatever. So it serves the town to be well prepared and well informed, and the committee can play an important role in that.”

Neither Duxbury Wind Wise nor the Alternative Energy Committee have submitted names of its members to be on the new study committee, however AEC member Susan Fontaine has expressed interest in serving.

Flynn said selectmen want to appoint the committee as soon as possible, and he urged interested residents to contact the selectmen’s office.

In other business, selectmen:

• Reorganized their board making Selectman Ted Flynn the new chairman, and making outgoing chairman Shawn Dahlen the vice-chairman. New Selectman Dave Madigan was given the position of clerk. Selectmen undertake reorganization annually.

• Approved a permit for South Shore Race Management, LLC to hold a road race around Standish Shore on Sunday, June 10 at 8 a.m. The race begins at Foodies Plaza. Organizer Anne Marie Winchester said proceeds from the race will benefit the Duxbury Police Union and other yet-to-be determined medical charities.

• Approved a liquor license for the Friends of Tarkiln to hold a fundraising party at the Tarkiln Community Center on May 5 from 7 to 10:30 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the Friends’ efforts to renovate the kitchen at the historic schoolhouse.

• Announced they are in need of residents to serve on various town committees, including the design review board, the affordable housing trust, the nuclear advisory committee, the recreation activities committee, the municipal commission on disabilities, and the sidewalk and bike path committee. Anyone interested can contact the selectmen’s office at Town Hall.

• Signed a letter addressed to Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown, Congressman William Keating, and State Senator Robert Hedlund to ask for their help in obtaining federal funding for the dredging of Duxbury Bay. The town has filed the necessary permits for dredging with the federal government, said MacDonald. Duxbury is a federally authorized anchorage, making it eligible for federal and state funding for dredging. The project’s cost is estimated at $3.5 million so the town is soliciting political support for that funding.  The harbor was last dredged 16 years ago.