Mayor Michael O?Brien, D-Winooski, provided a summary of his trip to Valparaiso, Fla., to hear the F-35 in action, but stopped short of saying whether he supports basing the planes in Chittenden County.
O?Brien joined Gov. Peter Shumlin, D-Vt., and Mayor Miro Weinberger, D-Burlington, on the chartered flight last Wednesday. The trip was paid for by the Greater Burlington Industrial Corp., which has endorsed bringing the jets to the Vermont Air Guard.
According to the draft of the Air Force?s Environmental Impact Statement, nearly 2,000 homes in Winooski could be deemed uninhabitable because of noise produced by the new planes.
According to the dEIS, 1,578 homes already lie within the 65 DNL contour. That number could grow to as high as 2,944 under an Air Force scenario, the document said.
A Winooski resident said the numbers crunched by the military are from 2000 Census data. Horace Shaw said with the 2010 Census, 4,200 housing units would be within the 65 day-night average sound level (DNL) area.
?I'm reluctant to start building and remodeling a house here, because I feel that a designation that's unsuitable for residential use will adversely affect my ability to sell these properties,? said contractor and Winooski resident Brock Richardson.
To try to get a sense of the noise, since the F-35 will not test-fly over Vermont, O?Brien accepted an invitation for a seat on the GBIC flight.
He even brought his iPad and downloaded an application to measure sound. He admits his tests are unscientific, but said the trip provided an opportunity to see the planes in action.
?To my ear, there wasn't a big difference in noise volume,? O?Brien said.
He said he was positioned on the air field similar to where Winooski lies in relation to the air guard base.
harper lee mega millions numbers the fray seahawks new uniforms 2012 tornadoes in dallas anchorman 2 kentucky basketball
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.