PROPERTY IMPACT LETTER
Garett & Megan Triplett
Maple Drive, Neosho, MO 64865
Almost three years ago, my husband and I purchased 12 acres of land that most people probably wouldn’t have looked at twice. When we first visited the property, we could see something others may not have seen: the beginning of a dream for our family.
For the past three years, we have poured everything we have into making that dream a reality. We put every penny we had toward paying off the property, while spending countless hours planning our future home and discussing the life we envisioned there for our three boys. My husband and I both work 40-hour weeks, and on weekends, he often spends 16-hour days working on our property. When he isn’t working on the land, he takes on construction jobs on the side to help us get one step closer to building our home. We have sacrificed, saved, worked, and planned for years to make this possible.
We were finally within a month of beginning construction when I started hearing more about the proposed transmission lines that would run through Newton County. I had a strong feeling that I needed to look at the proposed route map. I never could have imagined that simply looking at that map would make the dream we had worked so hard to build feel like it was suddenly slipping away through no fault of our own.
We didn’t make a mistake with our plans. We didn’t recklessly spend our money. We didn’t fail to plan ahead. We did everything we could to make responsible decisions for our family, and now, everything we have worked toward is at risk.
The proposed route would run directly next to the site of our future home, within mere feet of where we planned to build.
When we purchased this property, we knew it was not a typical piece of land. As I mentioned, it was land that many people probably would not have looked at twice. Because of the terrain, there is only one practical location on the entire 12 acres where a home can be built. That is the exact location where we have spent years clearing trees, preparing the property, and leveling the land in anticipation of finally building our home.
If an easement for these transmission lines is taken in the proposed location, our property will no longer be usable for the purpose for which we purchased it. We cannot simply move our house to another part of the property. There is nowhere else suitable to build. For us, this is not a matter of making a small adjustment to our plans. It is all or nothing.
We are now living in a home that our family has outgrown, and every bit of extra money we have has been invested into this property and the future we planned to build there. We had a clear plan to provide our children with more space and a place to call home for years to come. Now, that plan is in jeopardy because of a decision completely outside of our control.
This isn’t simply about a piece of land. This is about our family’s future.
If this transmission line is placed on or immediately adjacent to our property in a way that prevents us from building our home, the consequences extend far beyond the property itself. Our children may be forced to change school districts, leave behind friendships, and lose opportunities that are important to us. If we were to remain in their current school district, tuition would cost $8,700 per child each year.
That tuition figure is their statement. Confirm it with the district before anyone uses it as a campaign statistic.
There are no comparable properties available in the same school district that would allow us to recreate what we have spent the past three years building. We cannot simply sell this land and find another piece of property that provides the same opportunity for our family. We have invested years of hard work, sacrifice, and financial resources into this specific property.
We did everything the “right way.” We worked hard. We saved. We paid off our land. We planned carefully. We sacrificed weekends and countless hours to prepare the property. We were finally within reach of building the home we had dreamed about for our children.
And now, through no fault of our own, that dream could be taken away from us.
If this route ultimately moves forward through our property and prevents us from building the home we have spent years working toward, we believe our family deserves to be fully and fairly compensated for what is being taken from us, including the very real loss of the ability to use our property for its intended purpose and the significant financial and personal consequences that would follow.
This property represents much more than 12 acres of land. It represents three years of sacrifice, hundreds of hours of labor, every extra dollar we could put toward our future, and the hopes we have for our three boys.