To the Editor: I have read the article about the approval of the airport expansion by the FAA. I have read the article about the Mayor seeking the opinion of the City Council, about possible legal …
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To the Editor:
I have read the article about the approval of the airport expansion by the FAA. I have read the article about the Mayor seeking the opinion of the City Council, about possible legal action against the airport expansion. I have read the possible cost to the taxpayers, who pay the taxes. We are being pushed, bullied by Mr. Dillon and RIAC. Mr. Dillon plays nice, nice, and then as usual follows with a subtle threat.
Mayor Avedisian, and City council, stand your ground, ignore his threats. If the airport expands out of the current boundary, the city has gained nothing, in spite of what is now being said. The airport is growing beyond what you, the citizens, and the city officials said they wanted. I ask, what do you not understand about that? An “economic engine” says the Mayor now. What happened to NO, we do not want it, we do not need it? What we now hear from city officials is Gee! What can we do? Wow, a big 160 thousand dollars to fight this takeover of our city, the disruption of our roads, a lowering of our quality of life, through more noise, more pollution, more danger.
You pay the fire, and police departments one million per in overtime each year, and yet you seem to hesitate at the possible cost of $160,000 to protect our city form this growing menace to our way of life.
This is just the beginning of the next expansion, which we all know will come in the future. This is all possible because of expanding noise contours. They are the gift that keeps on giving to RIAC. Longer runway, longer noise contours, more homes acquired for noise mitigation. They are certainly not a gift to us, the taxpayers, because of lost tax revenues, and other issues. They are perfect tools for the bureaucrats that need to keep on growing their bureaucracy. I say take the money needed to fight RIAC out of mine and everyone else’s increased taxes on our automobiles, homes. We pay enough taxes to afford a lawyer to fight, not surrender like cowards. I will remember next election, what is done, or not done by the city. I hope we all do.
Walter Amoroso
Warwick
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DanMurphy
We do indeed pay enough in taxes to afford an attorney to fight our case in court. Funds have been allocated and approved by City Council (back before Avedesian owned six out of the nine). And most importantly, in 2004 - seven years ago - seventy-five percent of the largest voter turnout in Warwick's history voted AGAINST airport expansion - and we did that in spite of the incredibly-bad wording and without Avedesian's support. Yet, in the years since then, he has done nothing. oh, I know, he shows up at all the RIAC/FAA/CAN soirees, and makes those impassioned speeches damning the players and the process...but he has NEVER committed his administration to actually stopping expansion. Instead of charging a committee with selecting and hiring an attorney, he sat on the funds; instead of strengthening what legitimate stopgaps we have - wetlands protection - he has rolled over like a good puppy at Dillon's command; instead of firing up the city to act as one, he has let the flames smolder. What we've been getting for the last three years are press releases and interviews from Avedesian insisting the city has never been opposed to "improvements" at T.F. Green, opening the door to expansion under another name, and that we are "resigned" to expansion. His latest tact is to wonder aloud if the city should pursue legal recourse, or if it's too late.
Truth be told, it may well be too late - and if it is, and expansion happens, we have our mayor to thank for that. He has sat on his ever-widening duff since the day he was elected, hoping expansion would happen without negatively affecting his political career in Warwick so he could parlay that into election to a state office by never ruffling the feathers of voters who support expansion (which is just about everybody who don't live in Warwick).
But I say, let's spend the money, hire the attorney, and fight the fight. I'd rather see the city go down fighting than roll over and whimper, something the Avedesian years have trained us to do.
Friday, October 28, 2011 Report this