Bonnie Van Slyke: Facts, not fiction

The following letter was sent to local newspapers and is shared with us here by the author Bonnie Van Slyke. Bonnie Van Slyke has been a member of the Charlestown Town Council for 8 years.

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Actions by candidates endorsed by Charlestown Residents United (CRU) contradict the claim that they will protect the town’s environment.

– Candidates endorsed by CRU lobbied the Town Council to reject the town’s 20-year guide plan because they did not like its theme of environmental protection. When the plan was adopted, the Council president and CRU candidate for re-election, Deb Carney, wrote to the state asking that the plan not be certified.

– Candidates endorsed by CRU on the Town Council—Deb Carney and Grace Klinger—blocked the acquisition of a 100-acre property that would protect an important watershed in the northern part of town. The $400,000 Natural Heritage Grant from the state remains available, but the purchase cannot move forward without an appraisal, which would cost $4,750.

– Candidates endorsed by CRU on the Town Council—Deb Carney and Grace Klinger—ignored testimony of well-regarded environmental experts regarding the benefits of conservation development for both developers, future owners, and the town and by many town residents urging its adoption. Another candidate endorsed by CRU, Richard Serra, called for out-of-town visitors to overflow our Town Hall so our residents could not ask questions and express their views. After some amendments were made, including reducing the amount of open space, Ms. Carney and Ms. Klinger still voted against adoption of the Residential Conservation Development Ordinance—an ordinance described by the many experts as the single most important thing the town of Charlestown can do for water quality.

– Candidates endorsed by CRU argue that a tool used throughout the state to protect land from further development, a conservation easement, is a taking, a confiscation. They ignore the fact that the development potential of the land has already been used by the developer and that further development would threaten water quality and pose other environmental concerns. They ignore that state law provides for protection of open space using this tool.

– Candidates endorsed by CRU have criticized the town’s expert planner and other town staff. Mr. Serra has promised to work to fire the town’s planner and recall the chair of our elected planning commission.

For 12 years, Independent Town Council members endorsed by the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) have consistently acted to protect our environment and keep our taxes low. These actions are in keeping with priorities clearly expressed in the recent Town-wide Community Survey: (1) protecting the environment (94%), (2) keeping taxes low (92%), (3) helping mitigate pollution from septic systems (87%), and (4) preventing well water contamination (87%).

If you too want to keep our environment protected, our drinking water clean, our tax rate low, and our town working well, vote to elect the Independent candidates endorsed by CCA. As Independents they have the interests of the town foremost, not the interests of a political party or personal agenda and will act in the best interests of all the citizens of the town.

For Town Council, vote for Cooper, Owen, Gardner, Vallee, and Wilkinson and, for Planning Commission,  Mossa, Mahony, and St. Godard.

 

 

 

You can learn more about Bonnie at her profile page.