Letter to Editor: Complaints about charrette, ORV park

I was quite disturbed by the manner in which the meeting of July 29 was conducted.
Participants were given little tabs of red stickers and told to put them where we approved of some of the features of 3 various plans. We were not given any other colored dots to place on the features of which we disapproved.
Placing red dots for approval of certain features and no ‘distinguishing disapproval? dots to annotate features that we did not approve was slanted and did not give an accurate accounting.
Features which we might approve would not come into being unless the ORV park was first approved — which leads to tacit approval of the ORV feature of the park.
Nowhere was there a way a CITIZEN OF OXFORD could indicate disapproval of the ORV park.
When some of us objected to this ‘chicanery? we were told that since we disapproved of the ORV part of the project, we should vacate the room where the voting would take place and wait outside in another room until they were done voting, and then they would talk to us. We refused to leave. As Oxford residents we had every right to sit in on this ‘meeting.?
We were given little ‘clickers? with which to vote. Just like any election there was no way of telling if the voting system was legitimate or ‘rigged.?
Many of the people who were given the privilege of voting were obviously not of Oxford Township. In fact, it seems that the people who live here and would be affected most by the noise and offending parts of the proposed ORV park were being discouraged of voting their objections.
There is no guarantee that if and when the ORV part of the park is constructed, the other desirable parts would be added. We may just wind up with a noisy and dust ridden ORV park without any of the desired ‘other? features. Frosting on a lopsided cake that may never be realized.
People of Oxford need to take interest NOW – before outsiders are permitted to plant this NOISY and dusty park in the middle of our township. Anyone who doubts the noise and dust is welcome to come and sit on my porch weekends on Ray Road, immediately opposite the proposed site, and experience the noise and dust raised by illegal ORV’s playing in the Koenig area. Or ride a horse through the midst of that chaos and see how well horses and ORV’s co-exist.
Nancy Gleisner
Oxford Township