The Planning Board will be meeting next to continue discussions on the Mitchell application for an asphalt plant in the Town's Protected Aquifer Zone, Monday, December 20th, 2010 @ 6:30pm on the main floor of the Town Hall.
All interested parties from Winchester and Swanzey and anyone else who has objections to allowing this proposal to go forward are strongly urged to attend and voice your concerns.
Also at this meeting at 6:00pm, a decision on whether to grant the request of contractor Robert Van Dyke another extension of time to start building his proposed condominium project on Franklin Mountain beside Shamrock Realty will be handed down. Mr. Van Dyke still has not met the conditions of an approval given to him by the board on August 8th, 2009. These conditions were all administrative and besides having ample time to comply, they remain unfulfilled. He is also under a cease and desist order from the DES on a number of violations. He has appealed this order based on the grounds that he has not done anything on the site; that all of the problems with erosion, run-off and flooding have been caused by his neighbor to the south. Mr. Van Dyke takes no responsibility for anything and disagrees with the findings from the State.
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Mr. Van Dyke sure has selective memory issues. He seems to forget that in August of 2007 he opened a driveway to the highway without a permit from DOT, excavated without an Alteration of Terrain permit from the State, logged and clear-cut without a permit from the town as he owed back taxes on the property and destroyed a natural cistern on the property that collected water from run-off and several intermittent water channels, which fed wells to abutting properties. He also extended this driveway the length of the property, destroying one stream and a swampy area in the process and diverted the flow of water by doing so. His actions also cause silt and sand to foul and pollute another stream at the end of this driveway. The results of his actions flooded the highway twice in 2008 and again in 2009 and once again in 2010 when his unauthorized retention pond failed from lack of maintainability and had to be shored up with hay bales by the State. This has all been documented with pictures and reports to the State. In October of 2009, Mr. Van Dyke completely changed that contours of the property grading a swale that now runs to the highway and constructed an illegal, undersized and unauthorized retention pond on his property in an attempt to control what had now become a serious flooding issue that was overwhelming the storm drain system on the highway and flooding abutters properties as well. Carl Hagstrom of Monadnock Septic designed this failed effort for Mr. Van Dyke over the objections of the abutters and is equally responsible for the issues it has cause; not Mr. Van Dyke's neighbor.
Many complaints to the Town were filed and ignored and as a result neighbors complained and got the DES involved in seeking relief. Our Mr. Van Dyke takes no responsibility for his actions as evidenced by his testimony in front of the Planning Board this past Monday night and his appeal to the DES in which he blames his neighbor for all of the flooding and run-off issues. In fact he stated he has not done anything on the property or begun construction at all despite DES reports and documented evidence to dispute his claims.
Giving this guy another extension of time and allowing him to get away with all of these transgressions would be completely unjustified and against every rule in the book. He has proven time and time again that he has no respect for the Board, his neighbors or the Town itself and that his word means nothing.
We can only hope that the Board does the right thing and denies his request and revokes his application on December 20th.
I hope they take into consideration what Dr. Allen said at the asphalt plant meeting that as long as Franklin mountain remained undisturbed there'd be no problems with our small aquifer supplying all of our homes. They need to say no to him and protect all of us from any future problems. Besides they never even had the decency to contact any of us to see how we felt about it. Several of us have water rights to that mountain too.
They'll just tell you that it is a civil matter.
I do not know how many people read the blog any more, or what the general consensus of the citizens in Winchester feel about the greed, corruption and the special dealings being made at the town hall from your elected officials, if you people do not stand behind Mike Towne with his effort to stop this Van Dyke guy, you all will suffer. If your happy with your taxes going down (this time) then ignorance is bliss. The selectmen kept the rate down this time because the town is redeeming some of the $1.2 million in unpaid taxes owed. What going to happen after the selectmen foolishly waste your tax dollars. Now there is talk about needing and buying another new fire truck.
With guys like Van Dyke doing shorty condo developments the town’s tax payers will be liable for the schooling, road maintenance and supply of quality drinking water to the project once the dirt bag leaves town. Wake the Hell up you people….. No one in his right mind will build expensive condo under power lines …… unless you get a free home paid by welfare. Southwestern services with slam another welfare project into Winchester which is, you again the tax payer. Doesn’t anyone get it!! Keene does not want these project and they are dumping welfare people on town’s with stupid enough people to allow THEM.
Try selling your home to move away from the here your screwed royally.
Why doesn't our code enforcement officer simply issue a cease and desist also to protect the town from fallout from DES. You would think if the state has gone after him the town would be smart to do the same to cover themselves from being fined or taken to court. Then again they have simply let this matter escalate to the state level instead of taking responsibility themselves. As Mr. Towne has said numerous complaints went unanswered; but why?
What about his mess on 119, are they ever going to do anything about that?
The same as other projects around town -NOTHING! Leroy and his "assistant" can't get out of their cars to actually inspect. When Leroy does, the inspection consists of "Looks Good!"
If you call him about someone violating the town regulations, he will either send out Gene Parks or show up himself and do the same. "Looks Good!" NEVER does his fine them for a non permited project.
Our town is a good example of his neglected duties!
The man that brought the asbestos problem to the light, said that asbestos problems are nothing compared to the possible problems with living close to power lines. As far as taxes go, I don't know how they did it this year, but we spent tons of money, combined with the wast in some departments, we will get a big shock somewhere down the road. Of course with all the money we save working the 3 and 4 day weeks maybe I'm wrong.
The word is that several businesses in town had their property values doubled. What does that mean? So did their taxes! What does that mean? If they refuse to pay them, who gets stuck coming up with the additional money?
The BOS really sc...wed the pooch on this one!
WAKE UP YOU APOTHETIC PEOPLE!!
Don't you realize what a danger 100 heavily laden asphalt loaded trucks driving straight through downtown will pose to traffic, pedestrians and our school kids walking without sidewalks ?
What the hell is wrong with all of you that you won't get involved and won't fight for yourselves, are you all that pathetic? Can't you see the light? What does it take to get you involved?
Take a page from the book of the Swanzey people and grow a damn backbone and stand up for yourselves and stop letting someone else fight your battles for you. No wonder this crap comes to our town all the time, you people are a bunch of spineless sheep.
To those of you who stand up and fight and Mr. Towne; sell your homes and let the sheep be led to slaughter, you'll not get anywhere with mindless spineless fools.
"To read ashamed of you all" we have been trying for at least two years to get people to vote and make changes. Here's the deal I am still waiting for Gus and Maggie to resign. If that is not going to happen then the rest of us need to get off our asses an vote the idiots out. There has to be a way to get rid of them. Mike Towne we need your help. These donkeys give new meaning to the village is missing their idiot! Thanks Mike for the help.
Blog food for thought! I just perused the planning board meeting of 11/29. Lo and behold the attorney that is on the side of the asphalt plant is Mr. Silas Little. This must be the same Mr. Little that the Beaman's used when they did not want the gravel pit on Burt Hill. Seems to me that there is a "little" pardon the pun conflict of interest. Or perhaps we could say NIMBY.My concern is how much information is being passed to Mr. Little from members of the board? After all when the issue arose on Burt Hill those of us on the hill were the last to know and the Beaman's were the first. Help me out with this. I think we have conflict of interest. You figure it out!
Ah - but Mitchell "hired" this conflict of interest. Right?
This public hearing wreaks of conflicts of interest. But the ever controling Chair feels that she does not need to follow the town's rules and regulations and is above recusing herself. That would mean that she couldn't vote on this project. What do you bet she was working for Beaman when they denied his last project? Disgusting!
Do you think this is why Mitchell is hell bent on putting something here in Winchester? Because he was denied already once before? Maybe Beaman feels guilty over denying Mitchell in his backyard, so he has Margaret insuring that it get put in someone elses.
There are two asphalt plants within a 25 mile radius. Why does this area need another? Because he has it out for Lane Construction?
It never ceases to amaze me how the same names keep popping up every time something going on in this town stinks or is getting all the concern. Someone who mentioned the small circle of influence was right, we have a serious problem that needs to be addressed either at a special BOS meeting or through the courts. There's no two ways around this. It's time for those of us outraged enough to come forward in support of those who have raised these concerns.
You don't think for one moment that the Beamons, Sharras, Ruths, Hanns or Tedfords of this town are going to put up with any noisy, smelly industry in their neighborhoods do you? Aristocracy has it's privileges and the rest of us can go to hell for all they care.
There is only one hot mix plant within 25 miles that is in Keene Cold River. Cold River gets $85 a ton for hot mix. The next closes is Claremont and they get $55 a ton. Say a truck carries 25 ton. When the Keene airport was repaved it was cheaper to truck the hot mix from Claremont. The hot mix trucks coming into Keene was like a train. You do the math with all the money on the line here!
With all this money to be made over the tax payers objections, someone is about to get paid off. All it takes is a wink and a nod from the right key person. Hint...It is the same person that sold you out for the racetracks, Mack Truck junk yard, gravel pits and condo projects on the Keene Road and others.
You people do not you get it! Who is the village idiots? Now!!! You!!! You people are some dumb SOB's
You're forgetting about the Asphalt Plant in Northfield. It means that there is one only 10-12 miles in either direction.
So, tell us why it in necessary to build another?
Greed, no NH state taxes, no immediate competition and don't forget a lucrative state contract when they start building the new bridge and highway expansion on Route 10. Also Swanzey is thinking about putting in a round-a-bout on Route 12 at the intersection of Old Mill Road. Bet there'll be a lot of night paving going on with those two projects.
There isn't a hot mix in Northfield, Ma. Graves has another cement plant that looks like the mess on RTE 10. If there is where?
Isn't there one at Cook's on the Northfield Gill line? Near the high school?
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