“When the homeowners on White and Yale Ave and , indeed, the entire town were trying to save their homes from the Straw Pond developers one person sent a letter to the developer and told them that they should put an access
road into White Ave! This individual apparently didn't care what such a road would do to the residents of White, Yale, George, John, Steinman and Foster Streets. Who did it?”
“Again, the developer in their lawsuit rely on Perrotti's statements ( not the FIRE DEPT , it was Perrotti who sent the letter to the developer urging them to use White Ave.”
Apparently, Mr. DeAngelis does not know the definition of an EMERGENCY ACCESS ROAD. The proposal was not to build an interstate highway from White Ave. to the Straw Pond Development. The proposal was to put an emergency access road on White Ave.
An emergency access road is just that. It is only used during emergencies, and only when conditions at the emergency warrant not using the main entrance. It would not be used at any other time. These roads are not unique to Middlebury. There are similar arrangements at Timex, Steeple Chase, and other locations.
The main entrance to the Straw Pond development would be located on Straits Turnpike. Because of the size of the development, and the number of people living in the area, an emergency access road is necessary. So where do you put it? From a Fire Department standpoint, the optimum location is from the opposite side of the main entrance.
Former First Selectman Ed St. John proposed that the emergency access road run through the Town Yard. There are two problems with this scenario.
1) The emergency access road would be situated on the same road as the main entrance. From an emergency response standpoint, it is not practical. If there is a natural disaster such as a tornado or hurricane, or even a motor vehicle accident that brings down the telephone poles on Straits Turnpike, making it impossible to access, how would emergency vehicles reach Straw Pond? They could not. The emergency access road must come from a different road.
2) In order to access the development from the town yard, emergency responders would have to enter through the Town Yard and have to unlock and open 3 gates before reaching the development. That would reduce response time. When you consider that a fire will double in size every 15 seconds, this is significant.
The emergency access road on White Ave. would not impact the residents in the neighborhood one bit, unless there was an actual emergency, and access through the main entrance was impossible. It would remain closed at all other times.
“Again, the developer in their lawsuit rely on Perrotti's statements ( not
the FIRE DEPT ,”
The Fire Chief speaks for the Fire Department Mr. DeAngelis. Chief Perrotti made his recommendations on sound fire fighting principles. But it was not just him. The Police Commission voted and recommended that an emergency access road be situated at White Ave. It was also the recommendation of the Police Chief to put it there as well.
You are asking Chief Perrotti to compromise “Public Safety” and the safety of all those who would live in the development for your benefit. You are asking Chief Perrotti to do something dishonest. He is not responsible for the Straw Pond development. I think you used up enough pixels on your website in years past pointing the finger at someone else for your Straw Pond woes. I guess you forgot about that.
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From a public safety point of view, Chief Perrotti made the correct call on the best emergency access road. Anyone who inspected the property surrounding Straw Pond would have to agree that the White Avenue path was the best choice available.
It is to Chief Perrotti's credit that he was not influenced by political considerations in this recommendation. I'm sure many of his friends and associates were not pleased with this choice -- but he did the right thing.
The point that Pat doesn't want anyone to know is this: The MVFD and the MPD were not asked their opinion on Straw Pond. They were not asked anything other than where they would recommend placing an emergency access road to the PROPOSED development. No one asked them whether they wanted Straw Pond, what they thought the environmental impact was, how that access road might affect the property owners in the area. They were simply asked "Where is the best location for an emergency access road?". Whether or not the PROPOSED development was good for the town, the taxpayers, the environment, was and is not the jurisdiction of either the PD or the FD. In fact, if memory serves correct, both agencies voiced, and continue to voice, concerns about the additional burdens this and other developments place on our Public Safety agencies. Whether or not ANY development is acceptable is the jurisdiction of various land-use boards in town. So, stop trying to make the Chief the scapegoat for every wrong you percieve around town, Mr. DeAngelis!!!!
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