This letter is in regard to recent articles about Searsburg windmills and West Dover refusing to purchase the Sargent property.
Each decision struck me as being shortsighted. The industrial -sized windmills will alter the landscape of a unique corner of southern Vermont, but not in a way that will enhance the appeal of the area. They will affect the value of the towns around Searsburg (whose residents believe they will get a financial windfall of some sort, no pun intended).
In fact, they can anticipate constant low-level noise, if they live near the installations, and they can expect the value of their homes will be correspondingly reduced.
The situation in West Dover is also a little sad because the last thing Handle Road needs is more subdivisions. People like the area for its recreational possibilities, and this property was suited for low-impact activities that one hopes to find in Vermont. The unspoiled meadows and forest scenery would have been preserved, and visitors and townspeople would have had an asset that would never depreciate.
Paul Chrzanowski
West Dover
27 March 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/03/28/towns-make-shortsighted-decisions/