I just wanted to express my concern about this weekend's storm. I can't believe the town board took the recommendation of the Study Committee to stop all trucks including your own town trucks from entering the facility. The members of the board should have took my recommendation and posted a employee of the town to direct all and any truck traffic coming into the facility until the driveway can be finished. What is going to be the cost estimate to the town for having to re-handle the material twice now from the Middle Patent site back to the Westwood site after the driveway is finished. I feel it is really unfortunate to the town and myself that we couldn't just have worked this out. I don't know how much more reasonable I could have been. I offered them the no soil and no grass coming into the facility until the committee could bring all the facts to the table. Instead it felt like a lynch mob was out to get me and my company. I can't believe that after all I have done for this town to date, that I was treated so unfairly. I thought I made all my best efforts so we could have worked this out before the board made such a hasty decision. It was late and a lot of us were tired, it really troubles me that after the committee's very first meeting and in a couple of hours they felt they had enough facts that they could make such a recommendation to the board. Well look were it got us now! This storm normally would have helped towards making my company some of its investments back that I have put into the facility and would just prove how much saving benefits my program really contributes to saving your town and tax payers money. But now that the board made its motion towards the committee's strong recommendation not to allow any materials be brought into the facility, its going to prove detrimental to the financial being of the town and its tax payers. Not to mention the convenience to the tree companies working in the community to be able to extend back to its customers a great saving in the clean up all of this storm damage. I hope this is the last of the hasty decisions that are going to be made and let's just work together to get this facility finished as soon as possible. Its obvious that we can never tell how and when mother nature will strike. This is the second major storm she has thrown at us in just few weeks. When will she strike next! I have been out this morning and have seen the storm damage, if the town would like to reconsider my offer I would be willing to sit down with them ASAP.
I would like to introduce myself. My name is James Scoli for those who do not know me. I am the owner of Westwood Organic Recycling. I had the opportunity to attend the Town Board Meeting with my daughter Sage Scoli on Thursday, Feb. 11th. My daughter has always been interested in the type of work I do for a living. I wanted to address some concerns that the residents had that were not answered and clarify some main points that were brought up in the meeting.
1) Westwood will not be composting leaves at this facility. Any leaves that are brought in will be removed from the site and composted at other locations. Traditional composting of leaves do release odors. Again, since leaves are not going to be composted at this facility, the residents will not have to be concerned about these odors. 2) The large heaping piles of waste that were mentioned at the meeting are in fact processed wood & chips from trees, processed into landscape mulch that is going to be used to beatify all your public places and parks in your town, and available to you the residents to be picked up for FREE. This part of the program for residents to pick up topsoil, finished compost & landscape mulch was designed for those who enjoy recreational gardening. (Flower beds & Vegetable Gardens) 3) There were concerns about traffic, It is my understanding that all of the towns highway trucks, Deliveries, etc are now directly traveling threw the historical district of the community, their have been a lot of concerns from parents who’s children walk to town during a large part of the year to enjoy pizza & ice cream after school. Around the same time the workers are heading back to the yard at the close of a hard days work, I also had a woman thank me one morning on my way in, she said that she was happy that I was here, how she enjoys gardening, and that as part of setting up this program there will be a new driveway onto a state road for the trucks, I cant speak for the town but during my conversations with them they thought this was a great benefit to finally get this driveway built and traffic away from the center of town, the historical districted and most important away from endangering the children of the community. 4) There were concerns about being able to see into the site. My self and the town have been discussing a few different ways to properly screen and make it as green as can be. There has been a fence placed up for review to be installed along Rt-128. I offered to donate the labor, wild grasses & roses to be planted in front of each section, Westwood also is donating the labor to plant all other trees entering the facility, this includes building and planting the rest of the burm along Rt-22 as mentioned at the meeting. I know they are working on this and had asked for any suggestions from the pubic.
At the meeting my agreement with the town was read page by page but the last 2 pages some how were left out. These are just some of the ways your town will save and benefit by this program. For your review, I have attached the last 2 pages of the agreement at the end of this letter.
As mentioned at the meeting I can assure you that we are in compliance with all regulations from the DEC and Westchester County and that I am very meticulous as to how I run my business.
I would also like to point out that I was born and raised in Westchester County, and grew up a couple of towns away I am your neighbor and currently live only a few miles from town. Westwood is one of a few companies that handle this type of work. We are Westchester based and have been working with other local towns to process their organic materials into a positive recycling process. The way nature intended it to be! In return this saves the town and the taxpayers money an ads points towards the responsibilities of our future solutions to help the Earth’s environmental challenges. I am committed to making a difference in this county and will continue to do so.
I am always available if someone would like to contact me.
Sincerely,
James Scoli (914) 273-1112 Jscoli@westwoodorganic.com
How Will The Town Save By This Program
1) Westwood is able to save the Town and tax payers' hundreds of thousands of dollars a year by recycling the organic materials through composting & processing. 2) Westwood's program is more cost effective than hauling the materials to dump sites or landfills out side of the county. 3) Materials processed are being recycled back into the community. 4) Eliminate the costs of handling all of your own organic materials. 5) Save on labor for reloading, handling & managing these materials. 6) Eliminate fuel costs! (running equipment) 7) Eliminate maintenance & depreciation on equipment. 8) Save on not having to purchase processing & other machinery for handling these materials. 9) Saving money buy not having to purchase topsoil, mulch and other organic materials for the town.
How Will The Town Benefit By the Program
1) Make the town a cleaner and greener community. 2) Be able to maintain your town's storm water systems with out having to endure the expense in disposing of materials. 3) Ensures the burden of hauling and processing organic waste no longer falls to the town and their tax payers. 4) Be provided with the organic materials needed for your town and community at NO COST! 5) Towns and residents will enjoy the environmental benefits of recycling, while help in protecting the environment. 6) Be a partner in earth-friendly solutions such as organic recycling to help the Earth's environmental challenges.
Westwood Organic Recycling
Westwood Organic Recycling is committed to making a difference for Westchester County and the communities within. Westwood offers municipalities a menu of services which include complete organic waste management and at the same time helping communities become one step closer to becoming a greener place to live. By reusing the local organic material here in Westchester and in our back yards, it's all part of the future in the "recycling circle".
I would like to personally say thank you for the opportunity to be working with the Town of North Castle and the people that help make it such a great community. I believe this is going to be the start of a new beginning.
Dear Supervisor Weaver, Adam Kaufman, and Members of the Board - The Town of North Castle,
We are writing to voice our strong opposition to construction of a Verizon tower on the Middle Patent site. As physicians, we are well aware of multiple studies detailing the health hazards of chronic exposure to cellular radiation. This radiation damages DNA, which means CANCER. While we are aware that some dispute these findings, we chose not to take any chances when we bought this house. As I remember, homes near cell towers were substantially less money. The study from Australia by Dr. Hocking found TWICE the rate of LEUKEMIA in children living near these towers as children living 7 or more miles away.
Dr. Gerard Hyland, twice nominated for the Nobel prize, says “Existing safety guidelines for cell phone towers are completely inadequate…Quite justifiably, the public remains skeptical of attempts by governments and industry to reassure them that all is well, particularly given the unethical way in which they often operate symbiotically so as to promote their own vested interests.”
This proposal will certainly negatively affect our home value. My husband and I will inform our neighbors, many of whom are away this week, of these plans and we plan to attend any meetings regarding this site.
We could see the “balloon tower” constructed this morning from our bedrooms and kitchen and entire backyard. The orange balloon on the tower was very helpful for me to judge how close this is to my home. It is ridiculous that this “tower” was put up for 3 hours on a weekday when half the town is away on vacation. Unacceptable!
We moved to the far reaches of this town to enjoy shelter from intrusions such as phone towers and dumps, and the potential health hazards they pose. We don’t enjoy the convenience of close proximity to town because this privacy and SAFETY is very important to us.
Thank you for your time.
Very Truly,
Dr. Lorraine Ronca & Dr. Emanuel Wurm 24 Windmill Place Armonk, NY 10504
Middle Patent Cell Tower
April 7, 2010
Dear Supervisor Weaver and Members of the Board of the Town of North Castle,
We are Windmill Farm residents who are deeply concerned about the proposed Verizon cell tower at the Middle Patent Road site. We understand that the town is "surprised" that some people are against this proposal. Town board members need to ask themselves if they would like a radiation-emitting tower placed in their own backyard. Most of us take pride in living in Armonk; we relish the lack of noise, pollution and hazardous conditions present in other communities. We work hard and we pay the town taxes that have risen to astronomical levels. In return, we expect the town will help preserve our serenity, our safety and our health. When a neighbor is planning a major home renovation, the town notifies us so that we can raise any possible objections. How can that same protocol not be followed for a decision as far reaching as this?
Selling out to a huge corporation, for a measly few thousand dollars, is a crime. You were elected to represent our best interests. Please explain how the concerned residents of Armonk will benefit from this ill-conceived proposal.
Respectfully,
Stacy Wilder and Allen Blum 14 Windmill Place
North Castle Highway Department
March 13, 2010
Dear Supervisor Weaver, Members of the Town Board and Residents of North Castle,
During the end of February Westchester County experienced one of the worst winter storms of recent times. The Town of North Castle received over 18 inches of mixed precipitation over a 3 day period. During this period the Highway Department worked over 56 hours straight in an attempt to keep the roadways open and the citizens safe. This letter to the board is not intended to congratulate ourselves, rather to acknowledge that this could not have been accomplished without the leadership of Craig Useted, Rich Fon and the support of Supervisor Weaver and various board members who stayed and assisted by answering phone calls from concerned residents. Craig Useted was able to manage and direct our short staffed department with efficiency, compassion and humor through a physically and emotionally exhausting storm. He balanced our needs for rest and food, managed equipment breakdowns, and coordinated with other departments based upon the changing demands of the storm. Because of Craig’s leadership and application of team approach, the roadways were cleared and safe enough for Fire, Ambulance, Police and Emergency Services to operate during the storm. This collaboration allowed residents to return to their normal routine and enabled Con Edison, phone, and cable services to be restored as promptly as possible. When the town works together we all benefit.