Dana Warren's concerns don't hold water

Posted 10/29/15

To the editor:

The letter from Ms. Dana Warren of Adams Lane published in your Oct. 28 edition of the Warren Times-Gazette seriously misrepresents the long, costly and arduous process which WaterRower has gone through to attain Final Planning …

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Dana Warren's concerns don't hold water

Posted

To the editor:

The letter from Ms. Dana Warren of Adams Lane published in your Oct. 28 edition of the Warren Times-Gazette seriously misrepresents the long, costly and arduous process which WaterRower has gone through to attain Final Planning approval.

We have passed through many, many levels of local and state government approval including four town Planning Board meetings, two Technical Review Committee meetings, two Zoning Board meetings and one Town Council meeting. All of these meetings were open to the public and, although all were not formally public hearings, public comments were allowed at all of these meetings, at which Ms. Warren and others were able to have their say. And did. Except in the case of last Monday’s Planning Board Meeting, where Ms. Warren chose not to speak.

We should applaud the members of these volunteer boards, made up of a cross section of our community and donating their time selflessly to guarantee the oversight of the townsfolk to projects such as ours. All those involved in these forums, who are aware of the process and procedures that WaterRower has adhered to, will confirm that the public has had ample opportunity to speak on this project. And have.

The fact that the weight of evidence for the project has vastly outweighed any arguments against it may disappoint Ms. Warren, but her voice has certainly been heard.

Adams Lane is an historic easement dating from the 1870s giving holders the right of passage over WaterRower-owned land to Metacom Avenue. There is no determination in the position of the easement, nor is there any guarantee of the quality of the easement, nor obligation for the land owner or the town to maintain it. It is simply a right to pass which the neighbors were aware of when they purchased their properties. Notably, such an arrangement would be impossible today given modern zoning ordinances.

From its inception our campus expansion project has given high priority to providing the neighbors with an easement of far greater utility than what they currently have. A professionally engineered roadway, with drainage and run-off filtration meeting or exceeding modern standards, providing them with autonomous access to their properties, separated from WaterRower traffic, commercial buildings and car parks. The design has been professionally certified by our engineering consultants, reviewed and approved by objective Engineers hired by the Town and approved at various levels by both RI Department of Environmental Management and RI Department of Transport engineers. Even the neighbors ‘engineering adviser (who was never professionally retained) has discussed and agreed to the design. This offer they have rejected.

Finally, contrary to assertions, WaterRower is not a developer destined to profit from this plan. WaterRower is a manufacturer with more than 25 years tenure in the town. We have grown steadily over this time and now employ 140 people from the region and export our products across the globe. If profit was our primary motivator, we would have left Warren long ago. We have not. Instead we have grown to appreciate the importance of businesses like ours to the local community, and we take that responsibility very seriously. Our campus development represents a very large investment in our Town from which we hope everyone, our employees, our suppliers, our customers, the town and the community will all profit.

Peter King

500 Metacom Ave.

Mr. King is CEO of WaterRower.

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