Residents who live close to area get personal invitations
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
Gateway Technical College Vice President Bill Whyte confirmed last week that residents living near a proposed emergency vehicle training facility have been specifically invited to a public listening session regarding new GTC facilities in Burlington.
The meeting will be held Thursday, Nov. 14, in room 100 of the 496 McCanna Parkway building at 6:30 p.m.
“We sent out invitations to the addresses around that facility,” said Whyte, who added that an advertisement would be placed in area newspapers both this week and next week, and that fliers had been sent to ChocolateFest board members and city officials.
Gateway announced two weeks ago that the Board of Trustees had given permission to move forward in exploring a two-facility option in Burlington – an emergency vehicle driving course (EVOC) on the ChocolateFest grounds, and a public safety training center, to be located in the former Kmart building.
Already residents of the subdivision next to the planned track have been organizing to oppose its possible construction. Those residents have raised questions about noise, property values possibly dropping, and even possible conflicts of interest with the city working with ChocolateFest – and companies that may be involved.
Jeff Dunn, a resident of Maryland Avenue, said last week that he and other residents went to the Board of Trustees meeting, and have been questioning the placement of the track.
“This kind of training is absolutely fantastic,” he said. “Just not next to my house. That’s our only concern.”
Dunn and his neighbors have a list of questions now that they want the technical college to account for, and it appears they will get the chance on the Tuesday.
Whyte said he hadn’t heard any other concerns beyond those expressed by that group, though.
“I haven’t, personally,” he said. “No other questions have come in.”
City of Burlington Mayor Bob Miller has expressed enthusiasm for the project, saying the two facilities would bring more people – and, thus, more commerce – to the city. He has also said that fears regarding noise from the EVOC track are unjustified, having seen the tracks in use before in other places.
Miller addressed the issue briefly at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting to make sure aldermen knew they could attend the meeting. He compared the meeting to those held when Walmart was coming to Burlington – an information session.
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