One Egremont Meeting

There is a One Egremont meeting this Saturday, December 1, at 9:00 at the North Egremont firehouse.  The subject is cell phone service, with three credentialed speakers.  Don't miss it.

"One Egremont"

Here's a report on the first meeting of the citizens' group that has named itself  "One Egremont":

09/01/12

The first meeting of the Egremont citizens group went off with a bang. Better than 30 people showed up for the meeting and there seemed to be a good response from all those attending. While most came for their particular issue, everyone was interested in discussing the many issues that affect Egremont.

We were pleased to see that many second home owners took time out from their last summer weekend in order to attend. One of the objects of forming this group was to give these nonresident taxpayers not only a venue to find out where their tax dollars are being spent, but a place to express their viewpoint about where they feel those tax dollars should go.  Since this is where many of these second homeowners plan to retire, they are all future full time residents and have a vested interest in what happens to their town. They may not yet have a vote but at least we can give them a voice.

Much of the meeting was spent going over the formation of the group. We somewhat followed the agenda and covered most points outlined in the agenda including naming the group. The group decided to  call itself “ONE EGREMONT,” which is fitting because it reflects the spirit of the group. After all, we are all members of the same community, that is  the town of Egremont. We are all equally vested in the town’s interests and as such we are responsible for the town’s future.

After the organizational agenda was cleared, the group agreed that discussion meetings should be held on high speed internet and cell phone service, the town water department, our schools, potential large capital expenditures, our zoning bylaw and the police department.  We briefly discussed some of those issues, including technological advances, or rather the lack thereof, the water company, and the police department. Jonathan Taylor, the town’s representative to Wired West, was there and answered many questions regarding the progress of wiring the town with fiber optics.  Fiber optics is the technology that may eventually allow every Egremont household to have phone, television and internet service at the lowest cost. In regard to the water company, many people did not realize that there were any problems with the water company. This fact underscores why we need a vehicle to get out the information.  As to the police department, there were mixed views, again underscoring that “One Egremont” can engender productive discussions of issues in town.

 

             As we build the infrastructure of this organization, we hope to have an interactive website and/or a bulletin board, thus allowing people to discuss any and all issues on an immediate basis. We also  plan to send out a hardcopy newsletter to ensure that the maximum amount of townspeople will be reached, especially those who do not take advantage of the limited technology that we do have. We will be asking people to help in any way that they can to bring these plans to fruition. Some may be able to give time and expertise to build  information sites, others may be able to finance  mailings. All are encouraged to participate in any way that they can.  Remember, we all have the same goal of ONE EGREMONT.

New Citizens Group

TO ALL EGREMONT CITIZENS, RESIDENT AND NONRESIDENT

On Saturday, September 1, at 9:00 a.m., an open meeting will be held at the South Egremont Congregational Church to establish and organize a broad-based citizens group that will hold regularly scheduled meetings and forums to learn about and discuss issues of importance to Egremont and its citizens.  Every Egremonter is invited and encouraged to attend this open meeting. 

Examples of topics that the group might address at one or more meetings include:

• Broadband access and cell phone service:  How to get it for everyone in Egremont as soon as possible
• The town water company:  Its costs and benefits, the subsidy by town taxpayers, and possible alternatives
• Our schools:  They’re 40% of our town budget; possible closing of the satellite schools
• Large capital items and their cost:  The police station, fire equipment and a community center
• Zoning:  What changes should be made to our zoning bylaw
• Other issues of interest to the group

We also plan to hold candidate forums for town offices.

Please join us on September 1.  An enlightened citizenry can make Egremont better.

Initial Organizers:  Richard Burdsall, Chet Delaney, Kevin Zurrin, Bruce Bernstein, Frank Penglase, Lita Moses, Richard Allen

Conflicts of Interest

Last year members of the finance committee - and others - pointed out the potential conflicts that would arise if we elected a selectman (Charlie Flynn) who was on the school committee when one of our sitting selectmen (Bruce Turner) was the business manager of our school district. For that sin, Flynn and Turner engaged in a vendetta to force those finance committee members to resign, which they eventually did out of disgust. (See other entries on this blog for details.) Both Flynn and Turner are on record saying the finance committee members were wrong in raising the potential conflict issue.

While I like the new members of the finance committee, their collective experience is significantly less than the previous ones. I expect and hope that they will perform well. But the town was not well served by the actions of Flynn and Turner.

So is the conflict of interest issue real? There certainly was and is the potential for conflict. But what are the chances that potential becomes reality?

Flynn - in his role as selectman - was outspokingly instrumental in successfully fighting the recent attempt to close the three satellite schools. That opposition led to the school committee formally censuring him last Thursday for his "commingling of interests." (See the Berkshire Eagle for Saturday, March 3.) But Flynn apparently sees nothing wrong with what he did. The paper quotes him as saying "I don't have a loyalty to the school committee. I have a loyalty to the people who voted for me." Come again? You have no loyalty to the committee on which you serve? And which voters are you loyal to, Charlie?

Spend, Spend, Spend

There are some big spending issues facing the town.

The school budget, and the related proposed school closings, are really causing heat. There can be no doubt that closing the three outlying schools will save money. Is it worth $330,000 (or whatever the "right" number is) to keep them open? The school budget is about 40% of the entire town budget, so we should be very careful about making decisions that will have big financial impacts for a long time.

The police building committee keeps lumbering along. I have no idea if that committee will be able to produce plans for a building that will be within budget. But I do know it's a BIG number. We voted at the special town meeting to go ahead in a moment of passion (or were we just smoking something), but why shouldn't we reconsider that decision at the May meeting? I've complained for years about pushing through expensive projects with inadequate vetting at a special town meeting. Why not give everyone a meaningful chance to decide? It's not too late to stop.

The water department study committee has submitted its report and it smacks of whitewash. (I was on the committee and dissented via a minority report.) The town's subsidy just grows and grows. I suggest you read the reports carefully and then ask lots of pointed questions.

The voters may be asked in May to appropriate money to acquire the Egremont Inn property. How much is it worth to get that property? Personally, I think the property should be used to provide some affordable housing, whether the town does it or someone else. But how much should the town spend?

Please come to the town meeting. When you add these things up, it's real money. And if you really support a particular one of them, you have to think about opposing the others. Do your homework. As Craig Elliott has often said, make spending decisions as if it were your own money, because it is.