Adding Insult to Injury

Dairy Hill residents successfully stopped Mr. Kenneth Evarts's longstanding excavation operation. Residents claimed dangerous and unsafe conditions, heavy equipment operating on the property, and large trucks driving on residential streets. The same situation and worse is now developing in the Fort Path/Copse Road neighborhood. The operation is not one of long standing; it was approved, over the objections of the neighbors, with construction undertaken in spring of 2011. This is not a private individual, but rather our own Town of Madison.

In the moderate Fort Path/Copse Road residential neighborhood, a small public works garage serving passenger vehicles has grown in the last eight to nine months to a huge and ever-expanding structure complete with dump trucks, assorted excavation equipment, and miscellaneous other commercial vehicles. Now, to add insult to injury, the town is requesting the Zoning Board of Appeals to allow 6,000 and 10,000 above-ground fuel tanks next to the road on Fort Path, right in front of someone's home.

Recent activities included clear cutting all pine trees, grading underbrush, piling of debris, and huge mounds of dirt with no plan to shield the neighbors from this devastation. Current plans call only for low metal beam rails and deciduous locust and oak trees. Even the beautiful Senior Center around the corner on Bradley has a double row of evergreens between it and the next residence.

Fort Path/Copse residents are appealing to the town government committees to move the center of operations to the Former Bridge Street entrance, block off all disturbed areas with a solid fence of substantial proportions, and front plant with evergreens.

This massive project has to depreciate the value of homes around it. I encourage our neighbors to stop by, take a look, and ask what if this was their neighborhood?

Joyce Drew
Madison