Example of letter to former Commissioner Mark Stoops

Dear Mr. Mark Stoops,                                                                                      March 9, 2013

As a responsible citizen of Bloomington and owner of property in close proximity to the proposed Vernal Pike Transfer and Recycling facility, in Bloomington, I am very disappointed that you would, as former County Commissioner, send a letter of recommendation to IDEM for this proposed facility.  We feel that in doing so, you were obviously either misled by the present owners into thinking this was singularly a recycling facility or your priority was with saving the City money in trash transportation costs and recommending yet another recycling facility (within a few blocks of City Hall’s recycling station) without any consideration to  1) the placement of this facility within city limits  2) the fact that this facility is surrounded by low-income, high density affordable housing projects with compact urban form which City gov’t has reinforced  3) the fact that this facility will compromise quality of life for surrounding neighborhoods and the health and safety to the public as well as school children and B-line trail users  4) the inability of large trucks to access this facility due to inadequate infrastructure and only one possible exit route which will be THROUGH a core neighborhood  5) the sale of this facility, which is highly likely, which may compromise the existing contract the District has with Hoosier/Republic which may also INCREASE dumping/tipping costs to the City  6) further reduced property values of an already depressed area for up to a 1 mi radius  7) the mission statement of District Solid Waste Management. 

We, Crescent Bend Neighborhood Association, respectfully request that you rescind your letter of recommendation and that you make it perfectly clear to IDEM that your interpretation of the proposal/application was for primarily a recycling center and not a trash transfer station located in a densely populated part of town.   We also request that you point out that you are concerned that this noxious land use (according to a BBC study done for Carbondale, CO) will definitely affect the quality of life as well as health and safety of the surrounding neighborhoods and that the existing infrastructure, which cannot feasibly be changed (ie: railroad crossings situated on inclines and low train trestles) will not support the required large truck traffic with defined exit routes through local neighborhoods.  Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Respectfully,