Dear Editor:
A couple of points to consider:
Snowshoe has grown. On a winter weekend the Snowshoe community is the 10th largest community in the state of West Virginia. Neither Pocahontas County nor the state is prepared to fund the infrastructure that is needed to handle this many individuals on a given weekend. The roads, common-areas and police/EMS services need additional resources to provide the needed services to protect the tourists coming in the county. The folks who use Snowshoe should pay for these services not the residents of Pocahontas County.
I keep hearing rumors the RAD process was secretive with little or no input. As a person who talked with Frank Deberry during the process, who participated on the public conference calls, and received many letters from Snowshoe about the RAD, I am appreciative of the high level of transparency. People who are claiming no one told them about the RAD should have paid more attention to the e-mails and letters that have been sent over the last couple of years.
If I were a citizen of Pocahontas County, I would welcome the RAD. It will mean that less of my tax dollars are being used to provide support services for out of area individuals who use Snowshoe. Those of us who use the place will be covering more of the cost when we visit Snowshoe.
The RAD is a creative vehicle to improve the Mountain. As a property owner it will increase the value of my property. If the RAD does not pass and the needed upkeep cannot be paid for then Snowshoe will no longer be competitive which will negatively impact property values, jobs and hotel/motel tax collections. We will all lose.
I urge the County Commission to support the RAD, those who are trying to scare folks into opposition please get your facts straight. If the againers are successful the price will be paid by the county and citizens of the area who may not even use the mountain.
Tom Susman
Charleston
Susman is a former member of the House of Delegates and was a member of the Governor’s Cabinet during the Wise Administration. He owns property at Snowshoe.
Dear Editor:
I’m writing this in response to the most ridiculous article which I read in the Sunday Gazette-Mail on June 29 concerning the opposition to the proposed natural gas pipeline.
I’m so tired of these environmental groups trying to control everyone’s lives. Reminds me of the nuts fighting the Keystone pipeline.
This group should change its name to the “WV Wilderness Lovers vs Economic Development.”
Just imagine what it would do for the economy, not to mention how wonderful for the citizens to have gas available to them, especially considering what our electricity is going to cost due to the far reaching EPA imposing the farce “global warming” on us after they shut down coal fired generating plants.
I imagine the people of Pocahontas County wished they had a little “global warming” last winter.
The spokesperson of this group said that they wanted to educate the public. And so do I.
How many of the people in the county know that the EPA wants to regulate wood burning stoves?
Anyway, I own 300-plus wilderness acres bordering the Monongahela National Forest and I would be proud to have however many pipelines run through my area.
Sincerely,
Lewis Collins
Charleston