by Frank Schroth
The Board of Selectmen heard from the Airplane Noise Advisory Committee at their meeting on November 12th. The committee, co-chaired by Roxanne Musto and Denis Keohane, is unanimously recommending that the town file an injunction to slow down the effort by the FAA to implement the 4L RNAV at Logan. Ms. Musto described a RNAV as a “highways in the sky, a concentrated flight path” and the committee is seriously concerned about the health effects such additional traffic over town would create.
Ms. Musto, Chair of the Board of Health, was joined at the table by committee members Caroline Kinsella, Public Health Director, and Cindy Christiansen.
The committee does not believe the proper noise and population assessments have been performed. The committee is recommending a multifaceted approach. In addition to the injunction, the committee is asking that efforts be made to reach out to Milton’s congressional leadership for the purpose of convening a public forum that will permit residents and officials to voice their concerns with the issue.
Milton receives ~36% percent of arrivals when we should only be getting 18% according to Ms. Christiansen. “It is a health crisis that cannot be ignored”. She said that in addition to the noise there are serious health risks posed by the particulates that the planes emit. Brookline was cited as an example of a community that has had success in preventing flights over their town. Member Keohane said it is “a well known fact” that when there flights are over Brookline, a federal lawsuit is filed and that is the reason there are no planes over Brookline. Keohane said, and Ms. Fagan, Town Administrator, confirmed that one comment made was that “Milton has been asleep at the wheel” on this issue. According to Mr. Keohane, one reason for number of flights over Milton is Milton’s failure to complain. Ms. Christiansen stated that no other community at the same distance from Logan as Milton experiences as much air traffic over their town.
Musto also said the committee has heard concerns from residents regarding the effect of the air traffic on home values. Chair Conlon concluded the discussion saying that this is something they want to take up under advisement and will confer with town counsel on in the next couple of weeks. Town Counsel Flynn was present to hear the discussion. Musto again recommended setting up a meeting with Congressman Capuano and other congressional leaders. Keohane said Assistant Town Administrator Michael Blanchard was reaching out to the leadership on this “as we do not want to delay on this any further.”
Earlier in the session Sheryl Fleitman of the Boston Fair Skies Coalition spoke during Citizens Speak to voice concerns about the testing of the new RNAV. She said members of her committee had met with the regional director from Senator Warren’s office to review their concerns and seek the Senator’s support. She recommended the town bypass the Logan Community Advisory Committee if they want to make progress.
Other business included but was not limited to the following:
- The board approved an extension to the MPEG contract with Milton Access Television. The board had deferred approval to allow for a public comment period. Ms. Conlon said that two comments had come in. One was recommending that there be more programming targeted at an audience younger than 40. MATV board member Marvin Gordon appeared before the selectmen to discuss the issue. He read a letter from Mary Gormley, Superintendent of Schools, into the record. The letter was an endorsement of the MATV and supportive of their continuing to provide local cable access. The board vote unanimously to extend the contract with Mr. Keohane recusing himself as he sits on the board to MATV.
- The board approved a motion to request a reserve fund set aside to finance the cost of the demolition of the Hendries building at 0 Central Avenue, the portion of the building owned by the town. Town Meeting approved $250K for the demolition. The bid recently accepted by the board is $317K. An additional ~$67K in funding is required. Member Hurley noted that the issue with a set aside is that it cannot be used for any other purpose. Despite that there was agreement on the need for the funds and the vote was unanimous to make the request of the Warrant Committee.
(Note – there was an extensive discussion of Ulin rink which will be reported on in a separate post.)
The town should focus its time and effort on the several issues that are much more important than aircraft noise. We are making the issue of noise appear more significant than it is and that is what risks an adverse impact on property values. Moreover, the town should not be incurring legal expenses related to this issue.
Mr. Balfe, with all due respect, property values are already being affected. This is not just an issue of noise. There are many more ramifications, one of which is environmental pollutants and illnesses. I invite you to our meeting this Thursday evening at 7 p.m. At the Milton Library.
Respectfully,
Sheryl Fleitman
Co-Chair
BOS FairSkies – Milton
Sheryl
Thanks for you response and invite. Unfortunately, I have a prior commitment on Thursday evening.
I will say that all the studies I have seen quoted or referred to (including by members of your committee) indicate that pollution effects and related illnesses are limited to communities immediately adjacent to airports.
Mike Balfe
Pp
I’m dying to read your report on the Ulin rink situation
Thanks Tom – though I am not sure it will be worth the wait. I am collecting some background materials and at same time attempting to stay on top of Hendries hearings, East Milton restaurant development etc – there’s a lot going on!
Mr. Balfe,
There is much scientific evidence that pollution from the aviation industry affects the health of many more people than those close to airports. One recent example is the LAX arrival study where the scientists took actual measurements of ultra fine particulate numbers as far as 10 miles from the arrival runways. Also, the excellent speaker at today’s Rotary Club luncheon, Dr. Steven Barrett from MIT, has done much work in this area and in today’s talk showed how the pollution from jets spreads. He also quoted startling figures on real estate values for those affected by aviation noise. The 4 concentrated flight paths over Milton are a serious threat to this town – its health, its property values, and the quality of life we expect. It won’t go away by not talking about it and it likely will get worse if the town continues to take the no-action approach to the problem. (USC press release on LAX arrival study https://news.usc.edu/63466/new-concerns-raised-about-air-pollution-at-lax/)
Sheryl,
Please keep up the great work that you and your team are doing. You have more support than you know, a lot of people are watching closely. The facts you have gathered overwhelmingly support your stance.
Congratulations to Sheryl Fleitman and her committee.
This is something I called for more than 20 years ago but it fell on deaf ears… or perhaps ears that could not hear because of the airplane noise.
To quote Winston Churchill, ” Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
More to the point: “Never give in–never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
– Winston Churchill
I may have relocated but my town still matters.