To the Editor:

I have to be honest, I am personally offended. I, too, attended the Feb. 14 Knox Town Board meeting.  I must say, I do own a pitch fork; however, I did not bring it. I have been to Salem, Massachusetts but I’ve never burned a witch.  I am college-educated, and I have lived in the Hilltowns for more than 40 years.

I went to the town board meeting because I had heard through the rumor mill that there was discussion of putting electric car-charging stations in the town of Knox.  I have solar panels on my house, I had insulation blown into my 200-year-old farmhouse utilizing a NYSERDA [New York State Energy Research and Development Authority] loan, and I believe in global warming.

But I just could not fathom why we would need EV stations in Knox. We are not a tourist area and the four residents in town who have electric cars also have their own car-charging stations.  

I listened to what was being said, I asked questions, and I still could not justify being in favor of spending tax dollars to install EV stations. I know we got a grant for 80 percent of the cost. Well, my college math says that that still leaves 20 percent to be paid using tax dollars.

And then there are the costs of the yearly computer software and we would have to foot the bill to have our highway workers dig the trenches and lay the groundwork just so that we would then be eligible to apply for a grant.  No guarantee we would get the $100,000.

For what, so that in two years when the EV stations are not being used, we can pull them out and sell them per Amy Pokorney.  Really?  How is that not wasteful?  There were 10 action items listed on the grant.  There were other options for us to choose from.  I believe that Knox needs to move forward and be proactive instead of reactive but I also believe we  need to be smart about how we do that.

I believe that we need to be “greener” in our homes and in our town buildings. I believe that we need some businesses in town.  Historically, we have always had them.

I do not believe we should base our business district plan on the opinion of the two people who were asked if they wanted one, one of whom was the former town supervisor, Mike Hammond, according to Councilman Earl Barcomb. The entire proposed district at routes 156 and 157 are currently all businesses already, one of which is owned by Mr. Hammond.  That makes no sense to me.

On a final note, I believe that we, the adults in the town of Knox (and worldwide for that matter) need to lead by example. What are we teaching our children in this town when every week there are letters to the editor where we are fighting, calling names, and bad-mouthing our neighbors? We are better than that and we should be ashamed of ourselves.

Amy Anderson

Knox

Editor’s note: The town highway workers’ labor was to be the 20-percent in-kind contribution for the $11,835 Department of Environmental Conservation grant.