LETTERS
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CAPE WIND HAZARDOUS TO AIR TRAFFIC

To the editor:

I am writing in response to a letter in last week's paper by Mr. John Canevari from North Falmouth who feels he needs to educate us.

Mr. Canevari attempts to rebut the opposition to the Cape Wind proposal. He comments that "the local airport managers and the local TRACON union (Radar facility that monitors our air traffic) continually use their credentials to voice concerns over the matter." Yea-uh!

The proposed wind farm is located in a high traffic area that is one of our lifelines. As the Nantucket Airport Manager I have listened to the arguments and been exposed to a lot of data from both sides. I am making these comments as an individual, not in an official capacity. I support alternate energy and simply feel that this wind farm is a good idea in the wrong place!

Cape Wind is simply trying to profit by a land grab.

I am enclosing a record of flight tracks in one summer day to our little island to exhibit the amount of traffic. Many pilots do fly to Nantucket for enjoyment and for training. Surprisingly, not every day is bright and sunny and weather changes quickly. This was demonstrated last summer when we had an incident, due to weather changing between the time a pilot passed Eel Point and the Airport.

Flight rules dictate that a pilot must remain 1,000 feet over populated areas and 500 feet above and wide of any obstruction. The Cape Wind proposal takes a block of space about the size of Manhattan and creates an obstacle 500 feet high. Pilots must fly at least 500 feet above that. Since fog happens, this could force a pilot trying to get back to the mainland into the clouds or make him deviate from a direct route.

As a pilot and a volunteer Coast Guard Auxiliary pilot, I recognize that if I were in the water, where they are proposing 130 towers 500 feet high, I would like the Coast Guard to have the ability to go below 1,000 feet in this area.

Sincerely,

- Alfred Peterson

 

GOODBYE NANTUCKET NIGHTS

To the editor:

Because of Cape Wind the night sky is about to change forever. Who wants to see those pesky stars or that bothersome Milky Way. Let the lights glow like LaGuardia Airport and show us the way to our future. Now imagine this airport, it's the size of Manhattan by the way, with 405 beacons 44 stories above sea level…let's not forget to completely light up the 10-story transfer station that just happens to hold 40,000 gallons of oil and 1,000 gallons of diesel. This structure, which might be located just north or south of Tuckernuck, is larger than the new addition on the Cape Cod hospital.

Every single person I've met who opposes Cape Wind's corporate takeover of Nantucket Sound is for alternative energy, this just isn't the solution. Nantucket Sound is one of the jewels of the eastern United States and should be a National Park, not the largest power plant of its kind in the world. Just as we wouldn't allow these monoliths to mar Yosemite, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, it is our responsibility to protect the sound as we do Nantucket. As sick as it sounds, a Wal-Mart would do less long-term harm to our island.

This project also makes no financial sense other than the green tax credits the developer will receive. He'll do very well for himself while he creates overpriced electricity that no one wants to buy.

I urge all of Nantucket to wake from its slumber with regards to this issue, it is not too late. We can stop this but we need critical mass, first at Bennett Hall February 20th at 4 p.m. and especially 5 p.m. March 11th at the high school when the federal government gets to hear our opinion. I, too, have been apathetic about taking action against Cape Wind, the concept seemed so far fetched that I thought it would never be allowed in Nantucket Sound. I was wrong. The giant is pushing the door open - it's time for us to shove back.

- Doug Foregger

 

A MEANINGFUL TRIBUTE

To the editor:

Mary Lancaster's obituary for Mildred Daniels was wonderful. I'm glad she was able to find someone to fill in Mildred's off-island career and family particulars completely. Please give Mary congratulations and the collective gratitude of everyone who worked with Mildred in the restoration of the African Meeting House.

Thank you for running this in The Nantucket Independent. It is very meaningful to many people.

- Fran Karttunen

 

EXERCISES IN FUTILITY

To the editor:

When a new development is proposed there are several governing boards that must review the project to ensure approval.

First is the Planning Board, then the HDC, followed by the ConCom.

As a private citizen following several large development projects in the last couple years, I am disturbed by our procedure. People's time and money should have greater value than to string along false hopes when it is obvious and inevitable that some projects will never have the final approvals because the project does not fit the criteria that one or two of the deciding boards holds as a guideline in its determination.

Take the Point Breeze Phase II for an example. We all recognize that the lot on the corner of Easton Street and North Beach Street remains wet most of the year following every rain event. The entire area of Brant Point is prone to flooding and much of it is deemed wetland.

This is nothing new. It has been well documented for over 100 years. The ConCom has very strict guidelines about not building in a wetland. If this is indeed the fact and we know that this lot is a wetland, then why do we waste endless hours in contentious meetings with high paid attorneys and frustrated neighbors when we know downstream the project will not receive final approval?

And yet every month the attorney representing the developer devises a new set of changes to the complex blueprints in hopes that the plan will continue to move forward.

Hundreds and thousands of dollars are spent with engineers, hydro specialists, and architects revising a project that will be doomed in the end should our governing boards remain vigilant in protecting our historic and ecological rights and rules. The latest report is evidenced by the outcry from the HDC.

The scale of this 300-foot-long uninterrupted roof line with gang windows bordering Easton Street is completely out of touch with any resemblance of the Historic Point Breeze Hotel. The HDC is unanimous in its outrage and lambasted the set of Phase 11 plans.

Point Breeze architects from Philadelphia are told to go back to the drawing board and begin again with an entire new set of drawings.

Why? This entails more time; more money; more waste of everyone's vital energies. When in the final analysis, the ConCom will have to stand up to the reality and say "no!" This is a wetland and it cannot be filled in, period. Therefore, right from the beginning the project is ill fated.

Why do we continue to drag the developer through this long drawn out process instead of early obvious communications between the Planning Board, HDC and ConCom to preserve unnecessary efforts on everyone's behalf?

I believe it is time to review our process and stop these exercises in futility.

Sincerely,

- Leslie B. Johnson

 

STAND UP NOW

To the editor:

When Nantucket was added to the National Register of Historic Places in December of 1966 it was also paid particular attention by the National Park Service. The National Park Service was created to "conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Do we not as islanders want to preserve and protect our island and surrounding waters for our children and their children's children? My answer is yes, we need to preserve and protect Nantucket Sound and its habitat for several protected species. Our sound is densely populated by a variety of bird species and marine life. If the construction of an industrial complex the size of the Cape Wind project were to take place on Horseshoe Shoal, it would put in jeopardy protected species, fish, marine mammals and migratory birds.

In searching the Internet on Nantucket it becomes apparent that many of the same phrases ring throughout each site. Phases like; "natural and everlasting beauty," "beautiful landscape and waters for all to respect and enjoy," "one of the most visually stunning places in the world." If this is truly a reason why we love Nantucket and visitors continue to flock to our island, then why would we let a private investor transform our beautiful Nantucket Sound into a 25-square-mile industrial complex the size of Manhattan and profit from it.

Many of us are conflicted on this issue because we want to see our sound protected but we also believe in green energy. However, just because the proposed wind turbines don't use fossil fuels doesn't mean they pose no risk or threat to the environment and the species that live therein. There are currently deepwater projects underway that would make it possible to locate facilities further out to sea away from coastal communities. I for one am all in favor of hearing about alternatives to having an industrial complex of this size in my backyard. We need to continue to respect the beauty of our island and the shores that surround it!

In order to learn more about the alternatives of a private investor taking over our public waters, I plan to attend a meeting on Feb. 20 at 4 p.m. at Bennett Hall and plan to attend the March 11 Cape Wind Public Hearing at 5 p.m. at the Nantucket High School. We still have a chance to make our voices heard, I urge people to stand up now or sit down forever.

- Jenny Gifford Satterfield

Nantucket