Burlington-area business leaders are stepping up their offensive against opponents of basing F-35s at Burlington International Airport.
At a press conference inside the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, three business and real estate big-wigs accused opponents of the fighter jets of “fear mongering” and spreading “vicious misinformation.”
“There is a lot of misinformation out there by people who misunderstand property values and people who really don’t want a military presence here,” said chamber president Tom Torti (pictured).
Torti, Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation president Frank Cioffi and realtor Ernie Pomerleau also unveiled a new petition in support of basing the warplanes at BTV signed by almost 11,000 Vermonters.
Torti said claims that noise from the F-35s would harm property values were a “red herring.”
“If it has such a dramatic effect on the prices of home values, why are they putting up luxury condominiums under the flight path?” Torti said, referring to a new apartment project that broke ground in Winooski this week. “It’s not true. It’s a red herring and we have the statistics to prove it. Don’t let people buffalo you.”
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Finally the proponents hit back and it’s a knockout blow. Thank you Ernie and the rest of the smart people.