At the last Town Council Regular Meeting, the group Concerned Citizens of Cape Charles addressed the council about what they perceive to be the threat posed by Coastal Concrete. In a statement, the group noted that the noise and dust created by the plant would drive away tourists and visitors, as well as harm the transient boater trade at the harbor.
The following letter was sent by resident Dave Parham to several citizens:
Dear All;
As a fellow boater, I am writing requesting your support. Since starting operation approximately one year ago the Coastal Precast Concrete Plant has continuously disturbed the peace and serenity at the harbor and to residents. I am not sure how many of you experienced the unacceptable dust and debris on your boats docked in the Town Marina last season compliments of the Coastal Precast Concrete plant. It got so bad on docks A&B that my son will no longer dock his boat at the Town Marina. I have heard similar complaints from other people docked at the Town Marina and boaters who stopped in for a few days as they cruised the Chesapeake. There is a good probability that most of them will not be back.
The dust & noise was a daily problem. Now I hear that there is a possibility that the plant will go to a 6 day work week and potentially look for increased land and rezoning so they can take on larger contracts. I am uncertain what your thoughts on this are, but feel you should be aware as members of the Cape Charles Yacht Club.
I know my family and I always appreciated the convenience and ambiance of the town marina. Unfortunately, we no longer feel that way after the problems created by the Concrete plant last year. I also believe with increased operations, the noise from the concrete plant will become louder and more frequent, perhaps reaching and disturbing the residents of the Bay Creek Community. This will be especially true if the plant expands their footprint.
I hope you will join me in writing to the Town Council and Planning Commission urging them to enforce the light industrial zoning requirements for the Coastal Precast Concrete plant and assure that actions are taken to reduce the noise and air pollution emitted from the plant to acceptable levels at acceptable times. Secondly, that the Town Council does NOT endorse or approve any expanded or new Industrial zoning of any kind in the town limits or surrounding environs.
For your convenience, I list the email addresses for the Town Council and Planning Commission below.
While most of the county, especially locals see the dust and noise as a blessing of good Northampton jobs for good Northampton people, a handful of mainly wealthy white retirees from the north see the plant as a disrupter of peace, quiet, and the ability to stuff the greasy till.
The extensive, new concrete plant is a considerable source of noise and dust for the harbor. Attracting transients and keeping annual slip holders is a must. A sudden considerable rate hike when the peace and quiet have been diminished is confusing. – comment posted by concerned citizens.
The group told the council that if allowed to continue working as they do, Coastal Concrete will drive away homeowners and tourists, and the town would return to “being a dump”, like it was before they decided to move here and clean it up.
Others see concerted conspiracy the town and the Cape Charles Yacht Center, as is voiced in this comment, “Yes. It’s all about money at this point. Eyre Baldwin sold the town out right from underneath us. The principals of the CCYC are all about the dollar. They do not provide good service at a reasonable rate, nor do they have the best interest of the town in mind. It’s their best interest, and I feel like Eyre and the town have just rolled over. The biggest moneymaker in the town will now be the Yacht Center. A Maine-owned organization. The town won’t see a dollar outside of a little storage (which won’t be much as the local waterman will NOT pay the yacht center a dime to store their gear/boats after they’ve cut them off from fuel sales). The town loses. The local boaters lose. Everybody loses. Except Eyre and the new owners of the yacht center. What have we done?“
How this will end is anyone’s guess, but the war is just beginning. These rich, white retirees tend to always go on and on about how successful they were in the previous life. A dull, meaningless existence tends to grate at type A personalities—they need something to give them purpose.
Cape Charles is already a greedy, pathetic joke, so if these bored northeast liberal Bourgeoisie put in the effort, will they be able to shut down the plant and destroy local jobs? Sources tell the Mirror the plant is a big concern for members of the town council, especially the ones that are business owners.
The end game appears to be removing any reminders of Cape Charles working class heritage. In less then two years, the remaining few commercial watermen will be run off. But the real rub was the end of the railroad.
Now that the old railyard sits empty, developer and town council mouths are drooling over turning it into ‘something’. We all know what that will be, but can it ever happen if the concrete plant continues to provide jobs for Northampton County?