Date: 5/24/2018
I read with interest the article in last week’s Reminder regarding State funding obtained by Brian Ashe on behalf of Willie Ross School for the Deaf (WRSD) for their Capital Improvement project.
I live directly opposite WRSD and the project for which the funding has been obtained has passed neither the Zoning Board nor the Planning Board. I wonder whether Mr. Ashe was informed of this before making his funding application.
I am sure that he will not know that of the 40 residences in the neighborhood 28 (70 percent) of them have expressed their opposition to the project by presenting a signed petition to the Zoning Board last Wednesday (5/9).
I know that I speak on behalf of all my fellow protestors when I say that this is not an action being taken because we do not appreciate WRSD. The protest is being expressed for the following reasons:
•The new extension is not in line with the rest of the properties in the neighborhood. The WRSD property sits on an elevated plot, it will be an additional 5’ in height and will be a much more imposing structure than it already is.
•Much of the green space on the Norway Street side is being removed to allow an additional 12 parking spaces
•There will be an increased traffic flow which is also a concern.
This will be the fourth capital improvement project undertaken on an already non-conforming lot. Many of us feel that WRSD has simply outgrown it’s footprint, whilst those in the immediate vicinity fear for their property values.
Be that as it may, the publication of a newspaper article trumpeting funding success does not fill any of us with confidence that an impartial decision on the project can now be obtained.
Speaking for myself, I rather feel that permission to proceed is now a fait accompli, as evidenced by the condescending attitude of some (not all) members of the Zoning Board and, in particular, the combative and aggressive attitude of the WRSD attorney.
Rod Skelton
Longmeadow
