Residents of the small northern New York town of Lewis are not happy with what is moving into their backyard.Michael Hopmeier is the president of Unconventional Concepts, a national security consulting firm. He has owned the old missile silo in Lewis for a decade.”We are not here to cut down trees. We’re not here to create a bombing range. We’re not here to blow things up,” Hopmeier said.On Thursday, inside the town’s fire station, he talked through a proposal from the U.S. government that would contract him and his team to transform it, allowing them to experiment with weapons of war, including cannon barrels.Things got heated. The people who live near the proposed site say it will be noisy and that experimenting with these weapons is unpredictable, making it dangerous for their families and farm animals in a town that right now has no noise regulations.”I think it’s a bunch of nonsense,” one Lewis resident said. “It’s very misleading; he’s trying to minimize the impacts of what he is trying to do.”Residents are also frustrated with the lack of transparency from town leadership. The town supervisor understands his neighbors’ concerns.”Knowing the people he employs, they are concerned about safety,” said Town Supervisor James Monty. “The noise is just going to happen.”Those test runs would happen up to 30 times a year at the site if it is approved. The Adirondack Park Agency will need to approve the proposal.
Residents of the small northern New York town of Lewis are not happy with what is moving into their backyard.
Michael Hopmeier is the president of Unconventional Concepts, a national security consulting firm. He has owned the old missile silo in Lewis for a decade.
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“We are not here to cut down trees. We’re not here to create a bombing range. We’re not here to blow things up,” Hopmeier said.
On Thursday, inside the town’s fire station, he talked through a proposal from the U.S. government that would contract him and his team to transform it, allowing them to experiment with weapons of war, including cannon barrels.
Things got heated. The people who live near the proposed site say it will be noisy and that experimenting with these weapons is unpredictable, making it dangerous for their families and farm animals in a town that right now has no noise regulations.
“I think it’s a bunch of nonsense,” one Lewis resident said. “It’s very misleading; he’s trying to minimize the impacts of what he is trying to do.”
Residents are also frustrated with the lack of transparency from town leadership. The town supervisor understands his neighbors’ concerns.
“Knowing the people he employs, they are concerned about safety,” said Town Supervisor James Monty. “The noise is just going to happen.”
Those test runs would happen up to 30 times a year at the site if it is approved. The Adirondack Park Agency will need to approve the proposal.
