Don't fix trucks in Blackwell preserve

In response to DuPage Forest Preserve District President Dewey Perotti's letter of April 28: Mr. Perotti, I commend you for your outrage that Naperville would profit from having a cell phone tower erected on land sold to Naperville by the forest preserve district. The mission stated on your Web page is to maintain open space, flora and fauna for the benefit of all. In that regard I have to ask why the district has a plan being implemented to build a 32-foot-tall, 25,000-square-foot, 16-truck bay industrial building in the middle of Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville. The building will be constructed just north of the just completed alternative fueling station (gas station) on Mack Road at Williams Street. The addition of this large, unsightly metal building adjacent to McKee Marsh and the regional bike path is certainly not in keeping with your mission statement. The district has explained to me the need to consolidate their truck repair and painting operations in one location, which will lead to more efficiency. That sounds commendable, but should be done in an industrial park location, not Blackwell. I have completed an initial study and find many alternative sites within a two-mile radius of Blackwell that could accommodate this operation. For the sake of the DuPage taxpayers who paid for land to be preserved, all nature lovers and neighbors of Blackwell, please stop this plan and explore alternative sites. I would request that you give Blackwell the same consideration you are requesting of Naperville. I also ask that all residents contact forest preserve commissioners and ask for reconsideration of the Blackwell truck repair facility.

Charles Hold

West Chicago