President Bill Perry plans to meet with the neighbors of the Renewable Energy Center in early January to discuss the location, the aesthetics and the timeline for the center.

The plans for the Renewable Energy Center, a biomass steam plant, were put on hold pending further financial analysis and discussions with community members.

Perry said the university plans to send a letter to all the residents near the site of the center inviting them all to the meeting.

He said the letter would be sent out in another week or so.

Perry said the letter would be sent out to everyone that received the original set of letters regarding the informational meetings on the Renewable Energy Center.

When the Renewable Energy Center was first announced, forums were set up to inform Charleston and the campus community on details of the center.

“They raised several issues in the informational meetings,” Perry said. “I wanted to hear those firsthand and decide how we might address them.”

Perry said his major objective is to listen to the residents.

“I’m not imposing any particular structure or chosen group on the front end,” he said. “I want it to be an open invitation and then work with the residents on how to proceed in terms of the discussions and my getting their input.”

Perry said it would depend on the residents as to what is discussed in the meetings.

“In other words, I don’t want to preset an agenda,” he said.

He said some of the concerns were raised at the information meetings, but now he wants to sit, listen and decide how the university might address those concerns.

At this initial meeting, Perry said the community would decide how they want to proceed in terms of having another meeting or two.

The residents will also discuss how they want Perry to give them feedback and when.

“All those things would be open for discussion, but I would want the meetings to be concluded in January,” Perry said.

Jill Nilsen, vice president for external relations, will be helping facilitate the group by contacting the neighbors, ensuring they know time and location and working closely with Perry in facilitating outcomes of that conversation.

“The first step is (Perry) wants to call the neighbors together for this meeting and perhaps out of that meeting would come the development of a smaller group of people to continue the discussion,” Nilsen said.

This smaller group would depend on the outcome of the larger conversation with all the residents, she said.

Perry said the formation of a smaller group would depend on the wishes of the residents.

Gary Reed, director of facilities, planning and management, said he expects to get some valuable input back from these meetings.

“We’ll look at viable ideas that can be incorporated in the design, and we’ll do our very best to incorporate those ideas,” he said.

Reed said the university would weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the ideas and look for a way to tie them in to the plans.

“My hope is that we come together very quickly, and we’re able to change anything on the plant’s basic design that would help the citizens support the project better than they already support it,” he said.

Reed said the