WALDO — Jason Dahm has called his Waldo property home for 15 years, but a proposed power line project could force him to leave everything behind.
"It's a betrayal to landowners, is what it is," Dahm said.
He's part of Neighbors 4 Neighbors, or N4N, a group opposing the Plymouth Reliability Project run by power company ATC.
The project aims to bring more reliable power to four key locations: the ANR gas pipeline, DNR fish hatchery, Kettle Moraine prison and the town of Mitchell.
However, the project would mean power lines running across and over people's properties.
In the Waldo and Cascade areas, eight houses, including Dahm's, fall under the proposed path, according to N4N.
"What you're seeing here is the center of the proposed line. I understand that's going to be far enough away from the house, but the easement that they're asking for is 8 feet over the edge of my house," Dahm said, pointing out the pink-flagged stakes lining his yard.
In his opinion, the easement "deems it basically not livable."
The next hearing is on Tuesday and will determine if ATC needs to submit a relocation plan "for the different landowners who have the transmission line devastating their property," said JoAnne Friedman, one of the leaders of Neighbors4Neighbors.
Friedman and co-leader Chris Kestell face the same situation as Dahm.
"If it actually does happen, it's going to be pretty costly for American Transmission Company," Kestell said.
Dahm explained ATC could help affected homeowners "either move to a different property or to build a new house somewhere else on your property if that's feasible. And that offer was never made by them."
But these landowners would rather keep their current homes.
"We love our community too," Kestell said. "We love living in this area. There are a lot of special people around here."
