An Open Letter to Triple T / N&M Properties,

Date: May 30, 2009

RE: Response to Triple T / N&M Properties Route 119 Composting Proposal

An Open Letter to Triple T / N&M Properties,

Thank you for clarifying your true intentions on turning the Rt. 119 Property into a Compost Facility and not an Industrial Park. The Voters suspected as much. Please remember the Voters of Winchester overwhelmingly said no to you the first time.

I carefully read the responses from Triple T in the local papers and the Winchester Informer Website to those who oppose the Compost Facility. Thank you for letting us know you will be campaigning for a Zoning change. I can only speak for myself but I believe you will find my feelings below are indicative of most Winchester and Ashuelot residents.

You may go on a campaign to educate us – but we are quite capable of educating ourselves and have many qualified sources of information. We have used them and will use them.

You cannot address the amount or kind of truck traffic and it would be unfair of you to imply you can or know how little impact it would have. You are businessmen and I suspect you would want the facility to earn top dollar and work at maximum capacity. That means one of 2 options – more trucks or larger trucks and over time possibly a larger facility using the other acreage that would again increase the truck traffic. Meanwhile – you live elsewhere.

You cannot change the fact that should this kind of truck traffic be generated it will become a daily part of the tapestry of our town life.

You cannot address the impact on our community, in property value decline or on the desirability of the community as a place to live, and why should you care once the Compost Facility is making you money?

You cannot address the fact that if we grant an exemption for you – others would want the same consideration.

You cannot address the fact that a Compost Facility will generate very little Tax Income or Employment Opportunity for the Town of Winchester. You are in fact the ones who would benefit from this – not us.

If you want to use the property and have the Voters support then I suggest you might try the following:

* Use the property in accordance for what it is zoned for.
* Bring a business that makes a substantial financial contribution to the community.
* Bring a business that brings beauty to our community.
* Bring a business that brings employment opportunity to our community.



I am sorry for you in this respect – that better due diligence was not done by you before purchasing the property for the purpose of a Compost Facility. However, that is not the problem or fault of the Voters in Winchester.

You should know before you invest any more money in the goal of a Compost Facility that you have succeeded in galvanizing this community against such a facility. Voters from every political persuasion are coming together to re-affirm their opposition and go on campaign of their own. Right Wingers, Left Wingers and all those in between. Based on that, I somehow think you would be better served pursuing another option. We voted, we will vote and we will take note of Elected Officials who may be tempted to try and circumvent our will.

Before proceeding any further you need to ask yourself this question, if I may borrow from JFK, “Ask not what Winchester can do for you – Ask what you can do for Winchester.” Then we both have a place to begin. I wish you the best in that.

Thank you very much for your consideration of this Resident Tax Payer,

William A. Phillips - Ashuelot, New Hampshire - wajphil2@myfairpoint.net

Letter to the Editor of the Brattleboro Reformer

We received the following request to republish this letter to the editor of the Reformer.

Hello- If you would please post Norman's letter to the Brattleboro Reformer on your web site. Thank you- Peter Gaskill

Editor of the Reformer:

I would like to take a moment and clear up some information presented in a letter in Tuesdays May 26 Reformer in regards to my proposed compost and solid waste transfer station in Winchester.

While it is true we need a zoning change for this project the property is zoned Agricultural and Industrial. These classifications in Winchester zoning allow such uses as: Institutional residents, Retail Business/ Consumer services, Office, Open air retail Industry, and sand and gravel pits.

The project is proposed on a 25 acres site that is within a 106 acre tract. The proposed operation is separated from the highway and neighboring properties by a wooded buffer area. The access is on route 119, outside the Village of Ashuelot and where the State has upgraded the highway for heavier traffic a little more then a half mile from the Ashuelot Covered Bridge. Presently I operate a solid waste transfer station less then a mile from downtown Brattleboro. This transfer station has operated over 14 years without a complaint.

The location of this property is what has drawn us to it. It is a short distance to the intersections of routes 119, 10 and 78. All routes that would be utilized not just route 119. The truck sizes are not all tractor trailers, but many smaller single and double axle straight trucks.

What I am proposing is a business model looking towards the future. Yes, green is the buzzword, but the economics and the science make it work. I encourage anybody who is interested to contact my office by phone (802)254-5388 or e-mail peter@tripletrubbishremoval.com . I am more then glad to meet with concerned/ interested people to address concerns and mis-conceptions.

I am a Vermont resident it is true. I care about Aushoulot more then you may believe. My wife Mary was raised in a little house in Aushoulot Village, and on the wall in my home is a painting of the Ashuelot covered bridge.

Norman Mallory
N&M Winchester Properties
Brattleboro, VT

June 1st Winchester Planning Board Meeting - Please Come

Dear Fellow Winchester Citizen,

This Monday – June 1^st there will be a Public Meeting with the Planning Board as regards a proposed Industrial Park on Route 119 between Ashuelot and Winchester.

This is the same property and owner that wanted to put a compost facility in the location in question. The town voted on allowing that this past March and defeated it.

At this past Planning Board Meeting the Board was told by Stevens and Associates, who represent the property owner, that they would revisit the Compost Facility Proposal at a later date but for now are trying to establish approvals for an Industrial Park.

I would like to ask anyone getting this email to read the attached letter and be present at the Planning Board Meeting on Monday June 1^st at the Winchester Town Hall. It will start at 7pm.

Because this will impact the quality of life we have in Winchester I think it is in the best interest of us all if we hear for ourselves what is being proposed and the various viewpoints around it.

I personally am against such a proposal.

Thanks very much. Please pass this on to anyone you know in Winchester.

Strength, honor and blessing,

Bill Phillips – Ashuelot, New Hampshire

Winchester Industrial park proposal mulled

Board begins review of plan

By Sarah Palermo
Sentinel Staff

Published: Tuesday, May 19, 2009

WINCHESTER — After failing to get voter approval for a compost facility, a Brattleboro company says it’s pursuing an industrial park on Route 119 — but residents remain skeptical and ready to oppose the project.

Nearly three dozen residents attended a meeting Monday night to hear the Winchester Planning Board accept an application from N & M Winchester Properties for a business park across from Ashuelot Road.

Following the meeting, residents said they’ll be back, ready to oppose the plans at a public hearing June 1.

Plans call for a road and five building sites on 3 acres of the 106-acre parcel, but the applicants made it no secret they’d like to put a composting facility there instead.

The property owners — who also own Triple T Trucking, a Brattleboro trash hauling company — approached selectmen last year about building the composting facility, but the town’s regulations do not allow it.

Selectmen put two versions of zoning amendments on the ballot in March to allow composting. Voters rejected both.

Robert Stevens, president of the Brattleboro design firm that drew up the plans, indicated the company would lobby for the changes again next spring.

“Our client’s first intent for the site was composting, but that would take a change in the ordinance,” Stevens said. “It’s up to the voters to decide.”

Several residents talked outside town hall following the meeting and said the voters had already spoken.

“No means no,” said resident Paul Kovacs. “I think the voters decided clearly in March.”

The proposed zoning changes were the subject of much debate at the official-ballot first session and in letters to the editor leading up to the vote.

One would have allowed compost facilities by special exception in the agricultural and commercial districts after two reviews. It was voted down 524-300.

The other would have established a looser regulation, allowing the facilities without a special exception, only in the agricultural or highway commercial districts. It was rejected 679-135.

Though the official application presented Monday is for a road and building sites for an industrial park, it has been met with skepticism by town residents.

“They are persistent with putting their dump in Winchester,” Sharron Laurie of Ashuelot wrote in a recent letter to the editor. “This time they are coming in under the guise of a ‘commercial/industrial park.’ ”

Following Monday’s meeting, residents agreed, calling the plans fishy and saying the application looks like a ruse for the company to continue pursuing a compost facility.

“They’re going to put the road in there, and then they’ll say, ‘see, the only thing that fits is a compost site,’ ” Kovacs said.

On Monday, the planning board determined the project could have regional impact because of light and noise pollution or traffic once the buildings are up and tenants move in. An earlier report posted online at sentinelsource.com incorrectly stated the project was approved.

The town will notify the towns of Hinsdale and Northfield, Mass., and the Southwestern Regional Planning Commission.

The commission will review the plans with the board to en sure they comply with town ordinances.

The board also voted to hire an independent engineer to review the plans, at the applicant’s expense.

Peter Gaskil, general manager of Triple T Trucking, said this morning the composting site is still Plan A, but “if we can’t make one thing occur, then another thing will.”

He did not know what types of businesses would be pursued as tenants for the park, but said they would be “businesses that meet the zoning ordinances of the town.”

u The Winchester Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the plans June 1 at 7 p.m. at the Winchester Town Hall.

Sarah Palermo can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1436, or spalermo@keenesentinel.com

An Open Letter to the Selectmen and Zoning Board of Winchester, NH,

Earlier this year a proposal was voted on by the Town of Winchester regarding the establishing of a Recycling / Compost Facility on Route 119 by N&M Properties of Brattleboro, VT. This proposal was voted down by a resounding margin as we all know. It is my understanding that inspite of the margin of defeat and the legitimate concerns of the people of Winchester a new attempt is being made to proceed with a similar plan under a different name. The same people who voted no the first time are very aware of what is happening and we have not changed our minds.

I was at the Planning Board Meeting on May 18, 2009 where one of the Stevens & Associates made clear that it is the intention of their client to revisit the Composting option for the Rt 119 property. I want you to know I am not in favor of changing ANY Zoning Regulations to accommodate this facility. Please let me explain my personal reasons for not wanting to allow this project. Many of my neighbors share these reasons.

I moved to Ashuelot because of its quiet and relatively remote location. I have invested many hours and dollars in restoring a lovely New England home on Rt 119.

The proposal to build a Recycle/Compost Facility, now being called an “Industrial Park” would ruin the tranquility we now enjoy with the addition of approximately 25 tractor trailers coming in and out of the facility each day. Those trucks along with trucks servicing a proposed Gravel Pit would destroy the small town feel and pristine environment we so much treasure here.

Should this project or any project of a similar nature be allowed to become a part of the tapestry of our town life it would only serve to set in stone our town status as a thoroughfare to be avoided. No one wants to live next to or near such a facility with the type of truck traffic it would generate. Regardless of what those proposing such a facility may say – I believe it will negatively impact all our property values.

I believe that beauty brings dignity to a community and I have sought to the best of my ability to bring beauty to my neighborhood and make people feel good about where they live. What possible beauty or advantage would this type of a facility would add to our town? I see only an estimated 25 trucks a day going in and out and future possible home buyers staying away due to the traffic, dirt and noise. Imagine having your home passed by tractor trailers 50 times a day, every day. That is exactly what our residents will face and there will be no turning back. We should all be against this.

Thank you very much for your consideration of this Resident Tax Payer,

William A. Phillips - Ashuelot, New Hampshire

Triple T Trucking = “N&M Properties of Vermont”

What? Do they think we’re stupid?

Triple T Trucking is at it again. They are persistent with putting their dump in Winchester. The first time they came to town with their dump proposal it was called a “Resource Recovery Park”. Nice green name that makes you want to go have a picnic there. This time they are coming in under the guise of a “Commercial / Industrial Park”. Admittedly we don’t want to have a picnic there, but hey it just might bring in some business that would help out with the taxes and create some jobs. Wrong!

The only businesses that “N&M Properties of Vermont” is planning on marketing to are a recycling center and composting facility, along with a sand & gravel pit to boot, all owned by Triple T Trucking. Guess what? N&M Properties of Vermont is owned by the same two guys. Aw shucks, the new selectman fell for that one…we set him straight.

To all 679 of my neighbors that voted March 3^rd not to allow this proposal and to all the other neighbors that couldn’t make it, please mark your calendars for Monday, May 18 at 7 pm Town Hall. Grab your neighbors and friends and let’s remind these guys that we DON’T WANT THEIR TRASH in Winchester. Let’s also show them that (as my neighbor Wendy Smith so kindly put it), we are not the provincial rubes that they think we are!

Sharron Laurie
PO Box 58
Ashuelot, NH 03441
239-8289


These guys are not going to give up unless we show them and our town officials that "NO" means "NO" .. and in order to do that everyone needs to show up at this meeting and let them know we won't be ignored or pushed around, that this is our town.

This is a copy of another letter abutters received recently;

STEVENS & ASSOCIATES, P.C.

Consulting in the Design & Development of Livable Communities

Engineers Landscape Architects Planners

May 5, 2009

RE: Triple T Materials Recovery Facility

Winchester, New Hampshire

S&A #: 08-002

Dear ( names removed for privacy )

This letter is to notify you that N&M Winchester Properties is applying for a Dredge and Fill in Wetlands Permit for the proposed construction of a commercial/industrial park that will impact approximately 27,000 square feet of unnamed wetlands.

In accordance with the New Hampshire Fill and Dredge in Wetlands Law (RSA 482-A), we are sending certified mail notification to the Town of Winchester and all the abutters within a ¼ mile of the proposed improvements.

The proposed project is located on Route 119 in Winchester, across from the Old Ashuelot Road/Route 119 intersection. Please refer to the attached USGS map showing the location of the project parcels and the approximate limits of work on those parcels.

N&M Winchester Properties had originally proposed a Materials Recovery Facility for the site which would take a waste product (organic wastes) and convert it into a saleable commodity (compost). However, local zoning changes would be required for such a facility and these changes are being pursued by the property owner. However, the parcel may be used for other allowable uses in a small commercial/industrial park. As the varying uses on the project site do not alter the proposed impacts to jurisdictional wetland, we are proceeding with the permit application.

Once certified mail receipts have been received for all parties, complete copies of the application will be sent to the Winchester Town Clerk and New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.

Sincerely,

Peter Hetzel

Cc: Peter Gaskill

122 Birge Street PO Box 1586

Brattleboro, VT 05302

802-257-9329 Fax: 802-258-3892

www.stevens-assoc.com