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Last Updated: Nov 14, 2008 - 12:49:26 PM |
“Have you ever played the game telephone or telegraph?” asked Chester Community Association president Dr. Robert Owens. “It starts when one person whispers something to another person and then when the game ends, what was initially said is totally whacked out.” Owens then quizzed the Chesterfield Board of Supervisors, “What happens if the first person doesn’t say anything? By the time it gets to the end, whatever was said doesn’t mean anything, does it?
“We, the Chester Community Association (CCA), are not getting the information from our elected officials that we deserve,” he said during last Wednesday evening’s board meeting. Owens was pointing to plans for the off-site roads that are to be built as part of the Branner Station development planned on Branders Bridge Rd.
The CCA along with Bermuda Advocates for Responsible Development (BARD), has been trying to get information about the design and location of the road since May, when a handful of citizens got a chance to talk with Chesterfield’s transportation department and HH Hunt, the developer.
According to both groups, since that time there has been no information offered by the developer or the county. Meanwhile, local residents have reported surveyors driving stakes in their yards, leading many to think that the design process is well underway. Rumors about where and how the roads will be built continue to circulate through the community.
“In the absence of information, misinformation sounds pretty good. In the absence of facts, rumors gain credibility,” Owens said.
BARD president Mike Uzel spoke before Owens, laying down the background information before Owens made a case for better communication.
Uzel said, “The public is still in the dark. We have had no update to Hunt’s timeline, which we
understand is no longer valid.”
Asking for a written commitment from the board for the county and HH Hunt to hold public hearings, he said BARD was proposing a series of four public meetings, which would include HH Hunt and county transportation representatives and allow time for public response and written comments for up to 15 days after the meeting. At least 30 days later, a second meeting would allow viewing of a final plan that would include addressing comments made by the public. A third meeting would be with affected property owners and address speed guidelines, sidewalks, and sound attenuation. A fourth meeting, after an additional thirty days, would show the plan with the integration of all citizen comments.
Bermuda District Supervisor Dorothy Jaeckle responded that she didn’t want to call public meetings when there was nothing to talk about. She said people already have busy schedules and wouldn’t want their time wasted if there wasn’t any new information.
Jaeckle said she would contact HH Hunt the following week to see if there had been any progress made on the plan.
Meanwhile, reports have surfaced that the county transportation department is asking HH Hunt to spend more on off-site roads than its initial proffered amount, which could have totaled $100 million.
mfausz@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421
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