Meadows Information Questioned? How dare you!
I had to chuckle while reading Mark Corry’s jab at John Goodhue in yesterday’s Laconia Daily Sun. He is obviously a new face on the political scene with no clue of the mine field he’s stepped into. Mr. Corry, having been soundly rejected at the polls, has been very quick to align himself with the people that will say and do anything to forward their agenda of spending growth at the tax payer’s expense. His cheap shot at Mr. Goodhue only stems from the fact that Mr. Goodhue deeply opposes an issue that Mr. Corry is advocating for. I have had a few run-ins with Mr. Goodhue myself but I would never say that he isn’t a strong and loud advocate for the environment. Isn’t that what we elected him to the Conservation Commission to do? The Gilford Meadows definitely needs strong and loud advocates for its environment, given the political landscape. We know for a fact that any private entity wishing to develop the Meadow’s would be quickly denied however the rules change when it comes to big government. The School District knows that it has an easier ride to develop the Meadows but it still has to satisfy the wet land issues to a lesser degree. What is clearly in dispute is what happened to all the wet lands that were present when the Carye’s tried to previously develop the land? The Conservation Committee has repeatedly asked Mr. Fluet to clarify the wet lands maps that were used to define the project. They have also asked for well monitoring during the growing season to be clarified. Finally it appeared that Mr. Fluet and the Meadow’s Committee, which Mr. Corry sits on, answered those long evaded questions. But did they answer those questions accurately???? Is it possible that the information Mr. Fluet presented might not match anything previously deemed accurate? Let’s be clear, I too was ready to submit to the environmental issues after hearing Mr. Fluet’s revised plan. Andy Howe and others agreed that the plans were “much improved” over previous plans. Our revised positions were based entirely on the questionable information that was presented at the meeting. This is why there is an appeals process. To determine if the information submitted for the permits was accurate. Once again, if the permits to rip up the Meadows were issued to Wal-Mart based on the wrong information, Mr. Corry would probably be screaming at John Goodhue to do something about it and he’d most likely volunteer to deliver the appeal himself. I’d even volunteer to give him a ride under that scenario.
Selectman Hayes stated that he hoped that people weren’t “opposed to development at the Meadows at any cost and were using the issues raised by the Commission to scuttle the project.” He should be equally concerned that far more people are fudging the environmental process to develop seven athletic fields that no one has yet to show the need for in a declining student population. The cards are clearly stacked against the environment in this case. The School district is going to easily mobilize parents to their cause in the name of “the children”. In doing so, will anyone ask; at what cost to the environment and diminishing open spaces??? Shouldn’t everybody care about the environment? What Mr. Corry neglected to say in his politically convenient speech is that Andy Howe also said that he “will always be philosophically opposed to this use, of this land”. I share his concerns and have many concerns about this project; the environment is just the beginning of a long list. Does anybody care what this project will cost for capital outlay and then ongoing costs into the future? What about student transportation safety and traffic congestion issues?
The Planning Board meeting scheduled for June 15th isn’t intended for the public’s input. I’m sure there will be input allowed but that is not its intention. The meeting is simply a legally requirement to hold an “information only” meeting for the public. There won’t be any need to debate these issues. The School District will simply build it and we’ll simply like it.
