PARIS Businesses forced to install two enormous – and noisy – diesel generators near residential homes on Silver Street are moving quickly to reduce the nuisance factor while keeping employees working.
The neighbors – while willing to endure a temporary situation – were horrified this week to learn that the tractor-trailer size generators that have been rattling their walls and china cabinets, could be in place for up to two years.
“The idea that this could take two years is unacceptable,” said Tom Sumner, one of a small group of neighbors who met with The Expositor to discuss the problem.
Sumner’s home, just across the street from the companies, is exposed to both the noise and the diesel smell of the fuel that’s constantly being pumped into the machines.
The transformers that used to power two companies – Andritz Hydro and Metalzr – on Silver Street blew one after the other over the last week, shaking nearby homes and causing a mad scramble to ensure dozens of people who work at the plants could continue at their jobs .
Andritz is a large global company working in the hydroelectric industry while Metalzr Profiles creates laser-cut parts.
“Why can’t they move the generators behind the building where there’s a treeline to absorb the sound?”
It turns out, that’s exactly what the landlord of the property is working on.
“This will be gone by tomorrow,” promised Pete Marshall, waving at the giant generators.
Marshall is the facility administrator for the building which houses the two businesses.
“This was just the solution to get everyone up and running. We need to keep going and they rushed this in as fast as they could to get us going.”
But Marshall said workers were already running a series of wires through the building and planning a temporary plant shut down on Friday in order to move the generators behind the plant and reconnect power.
Marshall confirmed that they’ve been told it could take up to two years to replace the blown transformers so the landlord is also trying to source some used ones.
“I can’t blame the neighbours,” Marshall said about the upset the situation has caused. “But the landlord was right on it.”
Several people called the county’s bylaw enforcement office to complain about the sound, including Mike and Joanne Boisvert.
“It woke me up in the middle of the night,” said Joanne. “And for people who have tinnitus, that constant sound day and night is the worst.”
Her neighbour, Eric Cowan, said the generators even overpower the sound of the white noise machine used in his child’s room.
Neighbors who complained to by law enforcement were told the office had reached out to the business and been told they had no option but to keep running the machines.
But Greg Bergeron, the county’s enforcement manager, said the owner had met with the county to explore options and was cooperative.
“He’s going to resolve this as soon as possible and we anticipate this will end our involvement.”
@EXPSGamble