The Salem News
by Leslie Courtemanch, March 23, 2011
Showing posts with label Letters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Letters. Show all posts
Letter: Funds needed to preserve Spring Pond area
When reading an article in The Salem News this morning, my thoughts went to the children of the camp and how they must feel to have an area they've played in, and learned to love nature through, be torn away. I have never been to camp in my youth, but can relate what it must be like for a child to love something gifted from nature, and then have it taken away.
Letter to the Editor: Big Box planners should appease neighbors
This letter to the editor of The Daily Item, is not written about the environment, but it is a perspective about how a resident feels.
Messages from people in surrounding towns
A Salem resident shared the following inspirational video... a must to check out. Restoring our natural resources will help restore us and peace. A quote in the video recalls what a great leader once said - "The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation INCREASED... in value." - Teddy Roosevelt, from 'The New Nationalism' (1910), NWTR, XVII, p. 52 .... he did not mean sustained or the same, but environmentally better, healthier, wealthier and more beautiful in life.
Messages received from surrounding towns-
"Hello and thank you for working hard against corporate and city ignorance and down right greed. As a Salem resident, I am very concerned for the loss in Spring Pond Woods as well as what little else remains in this town and elsewhere. Why we should have to fight against leaders and often friends and neighbors for the right to live with something as obvious as cleaner air and more trees I will never know.
I know a number of other Salemites who are ready and willing if you could provide some guidance as too what we do next. " - Salem Resident
"Thanks for sending us all these photos, maps, etc. as you find them. There was a Cooper's Hawk in my neighbor's backyard the other day having a meal of a Dark-eyed Junco that it snagged from the birdfeeder in my yard. This is the first time I've seen that. We often do have red tailed hawks around here, but Cooper's and Sharp-shinned are usually hunting in the woods or woodland edge. Maybe it's because there is so much snow, it's hard for them to hunt. Birdfeeders make easy pickings!" - Salem Resident
"As a planner whose childhood was spent in Salem, I am surprised to learn that Planned Unit Development is being used for the opposite of its intended purpose in the WalMart/Leow'es proposal. PUD is supposed to foster clustered development in order to use as little land as possible for development and to preserve environments such as the Spring Pond area." - Canadian resident (formally of Salem)
"there is your bald eagle, but I guess wal-mart and lowes being closer
are more important than our national symbol!" - former Lynn and Salem resident
"Here's my response to the current situation with the Lowe's development. It's a poem I wrote a few years ago.
The Wait of Winter
You must shed your winter berries for the truth of spring flowers.
Bare the cold season of winter.
You must stand deep in the coldness of your lies; let your spirit die in pain for newness.
Create you dream of life, with all it's warmth, love, and trueness.
Let your heart live in this place.
It is here your new life begins and winter ends forever.
This is how your heart learns to live again and again.
Never dying to the coldness of life.
Always reaching for the warmth of truth.
Always knowing it's worth the wait of winter. "
- Topsfield resident (formally of Lynn)
Thank you to all for writing. There have been several messages received... to continue.
Messages received from surrounding towns-
"Hello and thank you for working hard against corporate and city ignorance and down right greed. As a Salem resident, I am very concerned for the loss in Spring Pond Woods as well as what little else remains in this town and elsewhere. Why we should have to fight against leaders and often friends and neighbors for the right to live with something as obvious as cleaner air and more trees I will never know.
I know a number of other Salemites who are ready and willing if you could provide some guidance as too what we do next. " - Salem Resident
"Thanks for sending us all these photos, maps, etc. as you find them. There was a Cooper's Hawk in my neighbor's backyard the other day having a meal of a Dark-eyed Junco that it snagged from the birdfeeder in my yard. This is the first time I've seen that. We often do have red tailed hawks around here, but Cooper's and Sharp-shinned are usually hunting in the woods or woodland edge. Maybe it's because there is so much snow, it's hard for them to hunt. Birdfeeders make easy pickings!" - Salem Resident
"As a planner whose childhood was spent in Salem, I am surprised to learn that Planned Unit Development is being used for the opposite of its intended purpose in the WalMart/Leow'es proposal. PUD is supposed to foster clustered development in order to use as little land as possible for development and to preserve environments such as the Spring Pond area." - Canadian resident (formally of Salem)
"I walked around Spring Pond and wished I had snowshoes on. The snow wasn't packed down in most places and I was walking up to my knees sometimes. I saw a red-headed woodpecker at the entrance of Spring Pond by the Peabody side. I am glad the Item recognized advocates efforts and didn't insult them like the xxxxx paper." - Lynn Resident
"I saw a comment on the Lynn Daily Item article that singled you out personally.. That is always a great sign.. you are making a difference and people are taking note. The person that commented negatively is doing nothing positive for society at all." - Peabody resident
"I saw a comment on the Lynn Daily Item article that singled you out personally.. That is always a great sign.. you are making a difference and people are taking note. The person that commented negatively is doing nothing positive for society at all." - Peabody resident
"Feds sue Boston over clean water violation acts, http://www.clf.org/newsroom/clf-statement-clf-says-feds%E2%80%99-entry-into-boston-water-and-sewer-commission-case-underscores-need-for-major-commitment-to-improve-water-quality-in-boston/ "
"there is your bald eagle, but I guess wal-mart and lowes being closer
are more important than our national symbol!" - former Lynn and Salem resident
"Here's my response to the current situation with the Lowe's development. It's a poem I wrote a few years ago.
The Wait of Winter
You must shed your winter berries for the truth of spring flowers.
Bare the cold season of winter.
You must stand deep in the coldness of your lies; let your spirit die in pain for newness.
Create you dream of life, with all it's warmth, love, and trueness.
Let your heart live in this place.
It is here your new life begins and winter ends forever.
This is how your heart learns to live again and again.
Never dying to the coldness of life.
Always reaching for the warmth of truth.
Always knowing it's worth the wait of winter. "
- Topsfield resident (formally of Lynn)
Thank you to all for writing. There have been several messages received... to continue.
Here is what can be done to continue the fight:
peace on
- Write a letter of concern to your state leader of Peabody, Lynn, Salem or other surrounding community, regarding the Kennedy Development Group project and/ or DiBiasi Subdivision in Spring Pond Woods, Salem, and how it will affect your community.
- Appeals can be made by a 10-citizen group in Salem. Email peace@springpondwoods.com for more info.
- Write letters of concern to the state. Stay tuned.
- Subscribe to SpringPondWoods.com to receive the latest news, updates, including findings on environmental and historical resources. Select subscribe in the side bar, by choosing RSS Atom/ 'Subscribe in Mail' or by entering email address in side bar. (Subscribed emails are unable to be viewed by this site...)
- Email peace@springpondwoods.com to subscribe to an Action List.
- Continue with petitions. Hand-signing petition (found here) and invite others to sign online petition: www.change.org/petitions/save_woods_of_salem
- Join facebook.com/SpringPondWoods and invite others.
- Share your news or letters here by emailing peace@springpondwoods.com
- Spread the news!
peace on
Letter to the Editor: Fight against big box will continue
Letter to the Editor of Daily Item:
Fight against big box project will continue
by Leslie Courtemanche, January 19, 2011
The fight will continue, and thank you to the Daily Item for not being insulting to the advocates of the environment, and having respect towards people regardless of township.
peace on
Letter: Camp Fire will be lost
Letter to the Editor, Daily Item, Jan. 11, 2011
Camp Fire will be lost
click to read...
Letter: Essential reasons to preserve Spring Pond Woods
Guest Commentary, by yours truly in The Daily Item, Fri. Oct. 29
( Thank You Item! )
click to view....
~Text ~
Essential reasons to preserve Spring Pond Woods
of Lynn, Peabody and Salem MA
Protecting natural and historic resources on the hills around Spring Pond, are overhanging with the threat of Lowe’s, Wal-mart and a Meineke expansion, a new Camp Lion ‘pad’, and water tower, including residential construction heading in from urban sprawl. Protecting the environment there is left, is important for these simple principles:
Help the charter of the Lions remain genuine. In 1972, The Lions Clubs International adopted a policy to protect the environment. The ‘Lions Policy Statement on the Human Environment’, was adopted as part of a commitment recognizing the “critical importance of restoring and maintaining environmental quality to the overall welfare and development of man”. Camp Lion, a related organization, with parallel members to the Lynn Lions Club, District 33-N of the Lions Clubs International, by which Camp Lion is operated exclusively for the benefit of, or carry out the purposes of the Lynn Lions, is selling a portion of their parcel, lending acres of pristine forest and wetland for destruction, contrary to the environmental policy set by the international charter. Environmental concerns addressed by the Lions Clubs International, reflect: “Destruction of natural habitats; Land, air, and water pollution also endangers earth's flora and fauna. Trees are an important component of life on earth. Trees recycle moisture through their leaves. They absorb the heat of the sun and soak up carbon dioxide. Deforestation is responsible for adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere; Wetland ecosystems often disappear due to economic desperation; Polluted land run-off; and Global temperatures have been increasing for the past 50 years.”
Protect important waterways to drinking supply. DEP Water Surface Protection Areas and the down sloping topography to Spring Pond, is seen from Mass GIS maps, and indicates how the sloping hills down to this drinking supply should bring concern. Furthermore, there is concern of the proposed project being “within the Proctor Brook catchment of the North River, which may be tributary to Spring Pond, which is tributary to the public water supply of the City of Peabody.”, as cited by New England Civil Engineering Corp, dated July 1, 2010, to the Salem Planning Board.
Sustain a regional wildlife habitat. Mass DEP Wetlands, Certified and Potential Vernal Pools are reported within these areas, as seen from Mass GIS data. 7 potential vernal pools are near the area of threat. The wooded southern borders of Peabody, including the neighboring woods of Lynn and Salem, is “an important wildlife corridor; a significant regional resource that supports many species and serves as a route for over 144 species of migrating birds”, as cited by the City of Peabody Open Space Plan of 2006. A portion of this natural habitat is at threat for destruction, and the remaining woods could be exposed to night-light and other pollution, hurting the wildlife.
Preserve cultural and recreational open space - Spring Pond Woods was voted by the public, as one of the ‘1000 Great Places in Massachusetts’. This list was created by an Act of the Legislature and signed into law by the governor. The mission is to “recognize the most truly special places in the Commonwealth, in order to celebrate pride in our history and culture, and increase knowledge of our natural surroundings”. In the “City of Salem Open Space and Recreation Plan: 2007-2012”, Camp Lion is inventoried as open space to protect. Camp Fire is an active camp on Camp Lion, providing programs for 400 children. The trails connecting to Spring Pond, are enjoyed by many in passive recreation.
Preserve historic resources - 500 acres around Spring Pond in Lynn, Peabody and Salem, including Camp Lion, was the estate of Richard Sullivan Fay. He planted a vast variety of native and exotic trees from all parts of the world, sprouting one of the first man-made natural and exotic arboretums. Many of the flora was seen here first in the country. His creation predates Olmstead’s. The trees were once mapped for people to view, and a revival map of the arboretum is underway. There are a number of glacial erratics. Some stones appear to have man-made features, believed to be Native American. There are not many ancient sites around, to see anymore. Further investigation is necessary, before these resources are lost.
Maintain social harmony for healthy living - Saving trees will help avoid: drainage and flooding problems, acoustical, lighting, air and traffic pollution, blasting concerns, regressing views, property depreciation, and loss of open space.
For a site that could have a maximum impact on life, please consider maintaining the balance of harmony Spring Pond Woods offers between nature and humanity. I hope Lynn, Peabody and Salem can come together, to preserve these beautiful resources in creating ‘Spring Pond Reservation’.
Katerina Panagiotakis
Historical Commissioner of Lynn
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:
Lions Policy to Protect the Environment, and concerns:
Video of Lions Clubs International: Protect the planet
Public tax records Camp Lion relation to Lynn Lions
City of Peabody Open Space Plan
City of Salem Open Space and Recreation Plan: 2007-2012
http://salem.com/pages/salemma_dpcd/studiesreports/2007%20open%20space%20plan%20final.pdf
Community unity
Letter from State Archeologist
Peer Review showing concerns for Proctor’s Brook
Mass GIS data - OLIVER
Maps created from Mass GIS, including historical maps of the area
Map of Arboretum
Request for photos from Lowe's in NH
Here is a request sent in by someone...
"If anyone is traveling to New Hampshire--please take a picture of Lowe's in Rochester, NH, Route 16 southbound lane so we can present it at the next Planning Board Meeting. They blew the top off a mountain, re-configured Route 16 and it is a disgusting MESS. Unbelievable traffic now and Lowe's rises above all else and half of the remaining mountain is rip-rap stone leading into a mosquitoe-infested detention pond. This is what Highland Ave. will look like. Go take a picture so we can show reality!"
"If anyone is traveling to New Hampshire--please take a picture of Lowe's in Rochester, NH, Route 16 southbound lane so we can present it at the next Planning Board Meeting. They blew the top off a mountain, re-configured Route 16 and it is a disgusting MESS. Unbelievable traffic now and Lowe's rises above all else and half of the remaining mountain is rip-rap stone leading into a mosquitoe-infested detention pond. This is what Highland Ave. will look like. Go take a picture so we can show reality!"
Union letter
This letter from the union, to the editor of the newspaper, should not even be posted here on Spring Pond Woods. The issue of jobs has nothing to do specifically with the concerns of this site. If the unions want to hold Lowe's signs- why not have all the agencies write letters, like Mass Health... asking to help create new applicants on healthcare and subsidized housing. Meaning... if the unions help construct a project that does NOT support union labor with their employees, then the unions really have no care for the future of the American workforce in these stores.
The opposition to destroy the land in Spring Pond Woods, is not about not wanting jobs or Lowe's. Everyone wants jobs, but please lets be responsible and conscience about how this project will affect the environment, history, open-space, neighborhoods, traffic, etc. Building here will have a maximum impact on life on several levels.
What happened to the unions, being for the people, instead of 'special interest'?
By the way, in discussion with a couple union members, at the Salem Public Meeting, I found that they only had a day off, once in a while. Makes me now wonder.
Please help preserve Spring Pond Woods.
peace
Letters
Here are some recent letters... just had to share.
"We've been keeping abreast of all the Walmart/Lowe's news & wanted to bring to your attention the fact that Walmart has a company (Janes) who cleans their parking lot.
Well Janes runs their blowers/street sweeper) in the very early AM starting @ 6:00 & finishing around 7:30am. This is being done 7 days a week & is most annoying on SUNDAY mornings. The noise travels, echos thru the valley of Highland Ave & is extremely LOUD.
Wondering if anyone else has brought this up?
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK YOU ARE DOING AN AWESOME JOB!
Peace,
Xxxxxx & Xxxx"
"Hi folks,
I am a preservation xxxxx.
I just saw in today's Salem News mention on page 8 that Katerina believes
there may be Native Am. history associated with the woods behind the
proposed project. I think she could very well be right about that.
I did post a picture of one of the "perched" stones on my FB page--to see
what Native Americans think of it. I have about 900 Native friends on
Facebook--and some of them have said it looks like a "meeting stone" and
suggested it might have been part of a sacred or ceremonial landscape long
ago.
Best and more later,
Xxxx"
"I just saw your posting on geocaching. I have to say, it's one of my favorite.
:) I wish I had more time to try some geocaching.
The reason I'm writing though is because I was thinking about what changes a big box would bring. It was about 10:15 when I drove back here to work. As I drove out Fays Ave I kept looking up to the left and wondered what I could see if this thing happens.
Right now as you look up over Scranton and Daigle Rds it's all dark. What I
wonder is what kind of light pollution we'll have with a big box next door.
Have you heard that term before, (light polution)? I've heard the term before
and I suspect it's been used in some civil litigations somewhere in the past
with other developments.
It could be a big change especially people living on the North side of Fays
ave. They're going to go from dark calm all night to living in a brightly lit
parking lot. I doubt Lowes has volunteered anything about it's hours of
operation and lighting schemes but it's something to consider."
~xxxxx
"I want the names of all Lynn Lions who voted for this made public and would ask that their representative be brought to the city council chambers to explain their rationale for voting. "
"Who is paying for the charts, pictures, etc. that you've been providing? Do you have a checking account where you can deposit donations??"
"After this is all over you can be hired by other communities to attack these projects, since you have become very good at it."
..... peace on
"We've been keeping abreast of all the Walmart/Lowe's news & wanted to bring to your attention the fact that Walmart has a company (Janes) who cleans their parking lot.
Well Janes runs their blowers/street sweeper) in the very early AM starting @ 6:00 & finishing around 7:30am. This is being done 7 days a week & is most annoying on SUNDAY mornings. The noise travels, echos thru the valley of Highland Ave & is extremely LOUD.
Wondering if anyone else has brought this up?
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK YOU ARE DOING AN AWESOME JOB!
Peace,
Xxxxxx & Xxxx"
(Reply: Would be nice if we taped a video of this :)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Hi folks,
I am a preservation xxxxx.
I just saw in today's Salem News mention on page 8 that Katerina believes
there may be Native Am. history associated with the woods behind the
proposed project. I think she could very well be right about that.
I did post a picture of one of the "perched" stones on my FB page--to see
what Native Americans think of it. I have about 900 Native friends on
Facebook--and some of them have said it looks like a "meeting stone" and
suggested it might have been part of a sacred or ceremonial landscape long
ago.
Best and more later,
Xxxx"
(Reply: Peace on...)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"I just saw your posting on geocaching. I have to say, it's one of my favorite.
:) I wish I had more time to try some geocaching.
The reason I'm writing though is because I was thinking about what changes a big box would bring. It was about 10:15 when I drove back here to work. As I drove out Fays Ave I kept looking up to the left and wondered what I could see if this thing happens.
Right now as you look up over Scranton and Daigle Rds it's all dark. What I
wonder is what kind of light pollution we'll have with a big box next door.
Have you heard that term before, (light polution)? I've heard the term before
and I suspect it's been used in some civil litigations somewhere in the past
with other developments.
It could be a big change especially people living on the North side of Fays
ave. They're going to go from dark calm all night to living in a brightly lit
parking lot. I doubt Lowes has volunteered anything about it's hours of
operation and lighting schemes but it's something to consider."
~xxxxx
(Reply: Its been brought up in the hearing, and I've been an opponent on the subject, as usual. No matter how good the down-lights will be, there will be a bounce of light off the metallic and glass surfaces of cars, and wet asphalt in rain. The skies will be brighter. Anyone who believes different is being fooled.)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"I want the names of all Lynn Lions who voted for this made public and would ask that their representative be brought to the city council chambers to explain their rationale for voting. "
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Who is paying for the charts, pictures, etc. that you've been providing? Do you have a checking account where you can deposit donations??"
(Reply: That would be me, making the maps... and some images have been shared here by others.)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"After this is all over you can be hired by other communities to attack these projects, since you have become very good at it."
(Reply: It never pays.... just makes the soul feel good :)
Actually, I recently helped a person in Swampscott fight a development, after they've read one of the articles in the paper for Spring Pond Woods, and I am helping a few other causes in Salem and Lynn.
..... peace on
In the news....Letters by former Mayor of Salem & Residents of 3 cities
Letter: from Rev. Dr. Bill Simpson
Do proposed developments pass four-way test?
~ by Rev. Dr. Bill Simpson
Guest Commentary, Daily Item
September 28, 2010
Making facts out of Lowe’s fiction
Letter to the Editor: Making facts out of Lowe's fiction, The Daily Item, Sept. 24
REFERENCES:
Traffic
- "In addition, the project will generate an additional 5,960 average daily vehicle trips (adt) for a total of 13,292 adt and a total of 17,716 vehicle trips on an average Saturday."
- “’Big box’ stores such as the proposed Lowe’s and Wal-Mart are large energy users and generate considerable traffic, both of which result in significant emissions of greenhouse gasses that contribute to global climate change.”
Reference The Secretary of State's letter: www.env.state.ma.us/mepa/mepacerts/2010/sc/enf/14532eenf.pdf
Environmental pollution
- Lowe's was fined a penalty by Mass DEP in April 2010 for polluting groundwater in Pembroke: www.mass.gov/dep/public/press/0410lowe.htm
- Lowe's developer penalized by Mass DEP in May 2010 for violation of a wetland: www.mass.gov/dep/public/press/0510lowe.htm
- Lowe's fined $137,500 by EPA for failure to adequately control storm water run-off at 4 Mass construction sites: click here
Economic studies-
- "Where have all the economic gains gone? Mostly to the top. "(The economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty examined tax returns from 1913 to 2008. They discovered an interesting pattern... by 2007, the top 1 percent richest in the country took in 23.5 percent of total income.) Reference: www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/the-real-lesson-of-labor-_b_706121.html?ref=fb&src=sp
Text from letter in paper...
Making Facts Out of Lowe’s Fictions
We appreciate the opportunity to make our community aware of the real facts, in response to the “FACTS” provided by the executives of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. Northeast Real Estate Division in the editorial, “Lowe’s committed to community” (The Daily Item, Sept. 21, 2010) and the editorial "Record shows Lowe's can and will be a good neighbor" (The Salem News, Sept. 22, 2010).
In response to the executives’ statement that the “Lowe’s Project Has No Direct Infrastructure Connections to Lynn’s Water and Sewer System”, one must wonder why Lowe’s further admits that “conversations with Lynn Water & Sewer are ongoing.” Although there is no “direct” connection into Lynn’s system, there is no refuting the fact that water flows downhill and will enter into several catch basins in Lynn. This is just one more example of how Lynn, through its ratepayers, is subsidizing this Salem project with no benefit to Lynn (not to mention the Salem sewer system on Highland Avenue cannot keep up with the flooding from a rain storm ~ just my notes).
As for protecting the environment, be weary of Lowe’s relying on its award winning “Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan”. Not only was Lowe's fined $137,500 by the Environmental Protection Agency for failure to adequately control storm water run-off at 4 Massachusetts construction sites in 2003, it was most recently fined by Mass DEP in April, 2010 for polluting groundwater in Pembroke and another Lowe's developer was penalized by Mass DEP in May, 2010 for violation of a wetland in Hadley. Lowe’s misleads us on the reliability of its award-winning pollution prevention plan, evidenced by these most recent failures. How can the residents of Peabody, whose water supply is Spring Pond, be assured its drinking water won’t be victimized by Lowe’s next environmental disaster?
Regarding the issues of traffic for the Super Wal-Mart/Lowe’s project, no substantive proof of how mitigation will improve traffic in this area has been provided to Salem, Lynn, or its residents. When asked about traffic increases at the most recent Salem Planning Board meeting on Sept. 16, Jason Plourde, an engineer for the project, told the audience the increased amount of cars along Highland and Western Avenues would number between 1,000 and 2,000 a day. This does not echo the letter written by Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles on February 19, 2010 in response to the development’s Expanded Environmental Notification Form submitted on Jan. 6, 2010. The Secretary’s letter states: "In addition, the project will generate an additional 5,960 average daily vehicle trips (adt) for a total of 13,292 adt and a total of 17,716 vehicle trips on an average Saturday." Further, it states “’Big box’ stores such as the proposed Lowe’s and Wal-Mart are large energy users and generate considerable traffic, both of which result in significant emissions of greenhouse gasses that contribute to global climate change.” The “FACT” is Lowe’s manipulates the “FACTS” to ease the concerns of our communities without care of accuracy or consistency, but we don’t need lip service, we need the truth, something Lowe’s is apparently not willing to pay for.
Finally, the executives of Lowe’s state as ”FACT”, “When you really think about it, competition keeps us all on our toes.” What they mean here is competition between Lowe’s and Home Depot, or Wal-Mart and Target, is what keeps them on their toes. These big box retailers decimate locate small businesses and have a take-no-prisoners approach to market share. While Lowe's is headquartered in North Carolina, our local businesses that keep their profits local will be pushed aside. Where will the economic gains from this development go? Answer: to top executives and in this case... out of state. Lowe’s executives estimate this project will “bring up to 150 new jobs”. Is this really creating new jobs, or is it a transfer of jobs from local businesses that will close and layoff their workforce? We don’t blame the trades unions for supporting this project. We all know these workers and their families are devastated from this economy, but we stress the fact that this project has a long way to go in terms of permitting and state approval. Anyone who believes this project will be up and running within a year or two is being misled. Don’t fall for a bad project in bad economic times, just to face the negative effects when good times come rolling back.
“FACT” is, this project does not belong at that location, but when have Lowe’s and Walmart ever let a “FACT” get in the way of a bad development?
We appreciate the opportunity to make our community aware of the real facts, in response to the “FACTS” provided by the executives of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. Northeast Real Estate Division in the editorial, “Lowe’s committed to community” (The Daily Item, Sept. 21, 2010) and the editorial "Record shows Lowe's can and will be a good neighbor" (The Salem News, Sept. 22, 2010).
In response to the executives’ statement that the “Lowe’s Project Has No Direct Infrastructure Connections to Lynn’s Water and Sewer System”, one must wonder why Lowe’s further admits that “conversations with Lynn Water & Sewer are ongoing.” Although there is no “direct” connection into Lynn’s system, there is no refuting the fact that water flows downhill and will enter into several catch basins in Lynn. This is just one more example of how Lynn, through its ratepayers, is subsidizing this Salem project with no benefit to Lynn (not to mention the Salem sewer system on Highland Avenue cannot keep up with the flooding from a rain storm ~ just my notes).
As for protecting the environment, be weary of Lowe’s relying on its award winning “Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan”. Not only was Lowe's fined $137,500 by the Environmental Protection Agency for failure to adequately control storm water run-off at 4 Massachusetts construction sites in 2003, it was most recently fined by Mass DEP in April, 2010 for polluting groundwater in Pembroke and another Lowe's developer was penalized by Mass DEP in May, 2010 for violation of a wetland in Hadley. Lowe’s misleads us on the reliability of its award-winning pollution prevention plan, evidenced by these most recent failures. How can the residents of Peabody, whose water supply is Spring Pond, be assured its drinking water won’t be victimized by Lowe’s next environmental disaster?
Regarding the issues of traffic for the Super Wal-Mart/Lowe’s project, no substantive proof of how mitigation will improve traffic in this area has been provided to Salem, Lynn, or its residents. When asked about traffic increases at the most recent Salem Planning Board meeting on Sept. 16, Jason Plourde, an engineer for the project, told the audience the increased amount of cars along Highland and Western Avenues would number between 1,000 and 2,000 a day. This does not echo the letter written by Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles on February 19, 2010 in response to the development’s Expanded Environmental Notification Form submitted on Jan. 6, 2010. The Secretary’s letter states: "In addition, the project will generate an additional 5,960 average daily vehicle trips (adt) for a total of 13,292 adt and a total of 17,716 vehicle trips on an average Saturday." Further, it states “’Big box’ stores such as the proposed Lowe’s and Wal-Mart are large energy users and generate considerable traffic, both of which result in significant emissions of greenhouse gasses that contribute to global climate change.” The “FACT” is Lowe’s manipulates the “FACTS” to ease the concerns of our communities without care of accuracy or consistency, but we don’t need lip service, we need the truth, something Lowe’s is apparently not willing to pay for.
Finally, the executives of Lowe’s state as ”FACT”, “When you really think about it, competition keeps us all on our toes.” What they mean here is competition between Lowe’s and Home Depot, or Wal-Mart and Target, is what keeps them on their toes. These big box retailers decimate locate small businesses and have a take-no-prisoners approach to market share. While Lowe's is headquartered in North Carolina, our local businesses that keep their profits local will be pushed aside. Where will the economic gains from this development go? Answer: to top executives and in this case... out of state. Lowe’s executives estimate this project will “bring up to 150 new jobs”. Is this really creating new jobs, or is it a transfer of jobs from local businesses that will close and layoff their workforce? We don’t blame the trades unions for supporting this project. We all know these workers and their families are devastated from this economy, but we stress the fact that this project has a long way to go in terms of permitting and state approval. Anyone who believes this project will be up and running within a year or two is being misled. Don’t fall for a bad project in bad economic times, just to face the negative effects when good times come rolling back.
“FACT” is, this project does not belong at that location, but when have Lowe’s and Walmart ever let a “FACT” get in the way of a bad development?
Signed,
Leslie Courtemanche, Judy McCarthy,
Deborah Smith Walsh, Katerina Panagiotakis
Lynn
Elizabeth N Devereaux
Cynthia Stamatopulous
Peabody
Scott Morgan
Salem
peace
Letter: Not Happy with Councilor's Attitude
Letter to the Editor:
Not happy with councilor's attitude
Salem News, Sept. 24, 2010
Ironic, because (read more here...)
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