From the August 11, 2009 Candidates Forum in Carmel:
Supervisor Kenneth Schmitt on blasting in Carmel:
“If anybodies life or anybodies property was in jeopardy or if anybody was in imminent fear or imminent danger of being injured by blasting, we would be the first ones, I would be the first one to go out there and stop the project. I don’t believe that is the case. Alright? I’m not saying that what’s going on out there is not disruptive, I’m not saying that it’s not creating a disturbance and it’s not causing a quality of life issue for Ms. Kemp, But when I took office in January, this was just winding down, this whole discussion over a proposed blasting ordinances in the Town of Carmel. I came in, there was a month or two left, and a vote was taken not to pursue creating a blasting ordinance for the Town of Carmel. But we would certainly not put anybodies lives in jeopardy, we would not do that, anybodies property, I’ve been out to Ms. Kemp’s house – not while the blasting was taking place – but I did go out to Ms. Kemp’s house and the New York State Department of Labor already has regulations in place that govern blasting in the State of New York, they issue licenses and as far as I’m concerned right now the ordinance, um, is not something that we would consider.”
Q: “Mr. Schmitt, Have you been to Lori Kemp’s property, have you seen what construction site around her property looks like? Have you been informed of the fact that she has an engineers report that stated if further blasting closer to her house would take place that her house might collapse? Were you aware of these things? You were just saying right now that if somebody was in imminent danger you would have been out there, or you would have been concerned about it. Have you been there?”
A: “I have been there. I’ve been to the house, I’ve been to the site adjacent to the house, the Pulte home site that you’re referring to, I’ve been there. There is a lot of construction going on there, it’s permitted construction. They have a site plan approval that was issued by the Town of Carmel, the DEC has been there, the DEP has been out there. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t support revisiting this issue, I am in favor of 24 hour notification to the residents that are being impacted by the blasting and as far as I’m concerned there should be face to face notification. Never mind just picking up the phone and calling, never mind knocking on the door and be sure you get somebody at the house. Notification is important, I fully agree with you. I think we should revisit this and if we could create something on the town level that would support that I have no problem with that. So, I’ve been to the site, I’ve tried having a conversation with Ms. Kemp, she doesn’t want to listen to me, she won’t even talk to me. That’s the truth. You say hello to her, she says, “why are you talking to me, I don’t like you.” So, if she doesn’t like me then I can’t…”
Q: “If you don’t think this is dangerous, why do you think the US Bureau of mines recommends a 300′ distance from inhabited structures for mountaintop removal, which this is. It’s an inherently dangerous activity and I think you should definitely reconsider a blasting ordinance”
A: “Yes I will”
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