LTE: Response to Savage Letter

Please note that Letters to the Editor reflect the writers’ views only.

This is in response to Maureen Savage’s December 6, 2019 letter in the Cavendish Dish about the Savage’s proposed quarry on Tierney Road.

Tierney Road is a mile-long, dead-end, unpaved Class 3 road, serving an area identified on Cavendish Town Maps as “rural residential”, “forest”, or “deer wintering”, and the Town Plan states that rock quarrying must take place in a location “sufficiently distant and isolated from residential properties.”

When the Savages decided to buy their 177 acres at the top of Tierney Rd in the spring of 2016, they were living in Chester. They had to have known that Tierney Rd residents, who have owned their homes there for two and some for almost three decades, went through litigation led by the CCCA over a proposed McLean quarry in early 2000’s. Cavendish residents, supported by the Planning Commission and the Select Board, eventually prevailed in March of 2006.

Almost immediately after the Savages bought the property, they started making plans with Jason Snow to operate a quarry on under an acre of their land and got into a joint venture contract. On 03/04/2017 they promised to present a written disclosure about the proposed quarry operation, but never did.
At the 06/12/2017 SB meeting Justin Savage agreed that the Savages and Mr. Snow would be willing to provide info on the proposed quarry. This “informational meeting” was held on 06/26/2017, but did not provide any information, as the Savages did not speak and Jason Snow did not show up.

On March 15, 2018 The Purchase and Sale Contract between the Savages and Jason Snow was modified to address the concerns of the District Coordinator.” This contradicts Maureen’s statement that she and her husband “have been fairly quiet, letting Jason Snow take responsibility of the legal charge.” “Quiet” means quietly modifying the contract to enable Jason Snow to file an appeal, taking us on a long and expensive path of litigation.

Mrs. Savage states that “It is important to understand how and when Snow will remove the stone, which is in the same manner as he had done with the Cavendish Gulf Rd, where no objections or issues from the town or neighbors were raised.” In fact, Cavendish Gulf Road is a sparsely settled, wooded area, and there are only two homes on the road to the so-called Graham quarry, one “the castle” at the top of the hill, which is for sale, and the other on a dead-end offshoot, immune to traffic. The closed Graham quarry, while not dangerous, has hardly been restored to its natural, pristine state, as a drive-by or Google Map search will show.

For the Tierney quarry, according to Mrs. Savage, the stone would be “remove(d) and split by hand”. The only equipment she mentions is a “Ford F550 (landscaping truck).” She does not mention the 16 yard dump-truck with trailer, the Cat 312 Excavator, the Kubota mini-loader, or blasting equipment noted in Mr. Snow’s testimony at the May 17, 2018 Vermont Superior Court Environmental Division hearing. Note that this equipment will not pass by the Savage’s house, but will pass all of the rest of us when driving or being transported on Tierney Road, and the sounds of drilling and blasting will not be confined to their property.
Mrs. Savage states that “Shortly after acquiring the property, Jason Snow, of Snowstone, contacted us.” It was a bit more complicated. According to the transcript of the May 17, 2018 Vermont Superior Court Environmental Division hearing, Page 43, Mr. Snow learned of the quarry from Michael O’Neil of M&M Excavating, and we would like to know what M&M Excavating might have to do with this enterprise.
Mrs. Savage states that “It’s clear the assessor was lied to by Mr. Watson and took his word as fact without confirming…” This not the only place Mrs. Savage accuses Mr. Watson of lying. If it is true that Mr. Watson lied, Mrs. Savage ought to be able to prove it, but she gives no actual evidence for this libelous charge. The statement also implies that the assessor was less perceptive than she appeared to those who met her.
Mrs. Savage states that “Mr. Snow set up two meetings with the neighbors to describe his operation in 2016. Bruce Watson, who lives at the beginning of Tierney Rd, never attended either meeting.” She neglects to say that Linda Watson did attend at least one of those meetings, and that Bruce Watson attended the meetings of the SB mentioned above. Note that Mr. Snow did not attend and Mr. Savage was silent at these SB meetings.
But, speaking of statements that may diverge from the truth, consider this: As above, Mrs. Savage states that “Mr. Snow set up two meetings with the neighbors to describe his operation in 2016.” However, in a 2018 Mountain Times article, Mr. Savage is quoted as saying that “no one showed up” to site meetings. In fact, as Mrs. Savage now states, there were two such meetings, and most of our group attended them, including Linda Watson.

Mrs. Savage notes that the Watson’s appeal quotes a 2008 study of quarry effects, but the appeal actually quotes several studies, all showing decreases of 15-30% in property values, hundreds of thousands of dollars if applied to Tierney Road. The Savages are not engineers and have no qualifications to evaluate those studies. In any case, there is one test that should be convincing: the red face test. Can anyone say without blushing that a quarry on their road would not degrade their quality of life and property values?
Mrs. Savage states that “a small group has chosen to make this very personal and attack my family”. This “small group” includes a majority of the 17 properties on Tierney Road, and none of us has any interest in attacking the Savage family, only in reestablishing peace and quiet on Tierney Road. The false suggestion that we have attacked them is itself a form of attack; there has been ongoing harassment against us from the Savages and possibly their acquaintances.

Mrs. Savage also noted that: “Watson Stated in 11/14 (2019) Cavendish Board of Civil Authority meeting he showed the assessor where the quarry was – YOU CAN’T SEE IT FROM THE ROAD” (emphasis hers). (Apparently, using bold capital letters gives credence to an argument.) It is not necessary to see the quarry to point out where it is, about 100yds off the end of Tierney. For example, you might point and say that Bill’s house is “up there 100yds on the left, just around the corner.” In any case, it may be hard to see the quarry through the many No Trespassing signs surrounding the property, signs which don’t exist on any other Tierney Road property. The Savages claim to be “respectful”, but surrounding one’s property with No Trespassing signs is hardly respectful of the neighbors.

Mrs. Savage goes on to say that among the neighbors “there wasn’t an overall objection to the scope as a small operation with an ending to it.” This is the crux of the problem. All things come to an end, but the neighbors have become very skeptical about when this will happen. The Savages claim that since most (but not all) of their property is in Current Use, they will not quarry further. However, aside from several acres not in the program, land can be quickly taken out of Current Use, and if the area is relatively small, this will cost very little, especially when compared to the large profits to be made on granite. In fact, in the transcript of the May 17, 2018 Vermont Superior Court Environmental Division hearing, Page 184, Justin Savage was asked “Is there a chance in the future that you're going to sit down and negotiate with somebody else for development of other stone quarrying parcels on your land?” Mr. Savage’s answer was “Yes”, and that he would expand his plans for the proposed quarry if the arrangement is financially advantageous for him. To be taken seriously, the Savages should produce a legally binding document that forever prevents any quarrying beyond the one acre currently proposed. Statements are made by the Savages about the nature of the quarry operation are prospective, verbal claims, and are not guaranteed. The very fact that they resist having a legally binding procedure makes us think that they indeed have further plans for the quarry.

The Savages close their letter saying that “The NIMBY’s … are killing small businesses, VT generational craftsmen and farmers.” Playing the “VT” card is not an argument; it’s just annoying. The group of us opposed to the quarry are people who have worked all our lives, some having retired, and who want to live here in peace and quiet, hosting our children, grandchildren, families and friends. Just like the Savages “we purchased our property to live on it, enjoy it recreationally, and have no desire to live next to a quarry.” Four of us are Vietnam or Vietnam-era veterans. We pay our taxes, we patronize small business. Our real estate taxes have probably brought over a million dollars to Cavendish over the years. We support local businesses, and are happy to support local schools and roads with our taxes. Has anyone ever shown any value at all to the town from a quarry?

Tierney Road Residents Against Quarry, Cavendish