Having been in close proximity to the town highway barn for the last twenty five years, I'd like to set a few things straight. They are:

1. The people who operate the highway department travel all over the island, so no one location is better or nearer than any other. In fact, more work is usually done at the north end than at the south end of the island.

2. The highway barn has not polluted my groundwater, nor any of the neighbor's groundwater in the twentyfive years they've been at Ft. Wetherill.

3. Yes, there is a "rushhour," about ten to seven when four or five cars go to the highway barn and about ten after seven when the town's three or four trucks (if they are already not elsewhere on the island) go up the street. Similarly at about half past three another "rush hour" occurs, that is if you can call a total of about ten vehicles and a backhoe a "rush hour."

4. The value of my property, nor my neighbors' property, has not decreased due the highway barn being a couple of hundred yards away.

5. No trees were cut down when the highway barn was set up.

6. The area around the highway barn is generally well maintained, although, many tools must be left outdoors and tend to look like piles of rust after a couple of years.

7. The big advantage of the highway barn being at the end of the street is that the street gets plowed first in any snowstorm. Plus any potholes get filled first, but don't tell anyone.

8. From my perspective, the NIMBYs at the north end should ask themselves how much they have cost the town in the 20 years they've been fighting the barn, and what their intransigence has cost the rest of us. Expensive tools have, of necessity, had to sit outdoors and rust. The workers have to operate in very cold conditions during the winter to repair tools because there isn't enough space in the present barn to do repairs without moving a lot of equipment.

9. The present location is very exposed to saltwater and to strong winds, which corrodes machinery and tools even faster.

10. Seems to me that no matter which way you slice it, the town is going to spend close to the same amount wherever the barn is located. If you look at the figures for Taylor Point and for Lot 47, they work out at close to the same. Each side has distorted the numbers to suit their own purposes.

If you want my two-cents worth, the highway workers should be the ones who should decide where the barn should go. They have to work in it, commute to it, and use it on a daily basis. Put it on Lot 47 where the workers want it, where there is space for a barn of the right size and space for expansion. Don't cut down trees at Taylor Point and ruin the views for anyone coming across the Newport Bridge. Not to mention the cost of purchasing additional land from the Bridge Authority. The bridge approach gives people traveling from Newport a sense that Conanicut Island really is a haven of open space and tranquility. Why ruin it?

Roger Marshall Ft. Wetherill Road