Spring Walks In My Small Town

I should really count my blessings. I have been happily married for 24 years to a wonderful man and we live in paradise. I am disabled with low stamina, but I try to stay in shape by walking every day. Actually, I am well known around town, since I do all my errands on foot and try never to drive my gas guzzling Jeep Wrangler unless I have to.

Spring is my favorite season. If it is going to be a hot day, I will set out in the morning as I did on the day I took some of these photos.


I surprised this bunny and was no more than 10 feet (3 meters) away when I got this photo. Notice the poison ivy in the background.

We have two public accesses to the river in our town. This one, was designed by Sean gratis for the town almost 20 years ago. His design included the gazebo and a viewing deck, as well as park areas with a free flowing sidewalk, a parking lot and boat loading ramp. This is only 5-10 minutes walk from my house.


The gazebo's initial design had turned wooden balusters under the railing, but vandals kept breaking them. That doesn't keep wedding couples from having their photos taken here though.


Across the river is a State Park and creek for kayaking and some small boats can get through at high tide. You can get there from the landing but you have to cross river traffic which can be daunting in the summer for a lone kayaker when your visibility is nil and boats are heading for you at 30 knots.


These are some roses that I lust for down the street from the landing. I can't tell if they are teas or wild, but I really want to steal them. I'm sure the people wouldn't grudge me some! Aren't they beautiful!


These roses growing on a fence seem to be doing very well. They look large and healthy. We had some pink ones like these growing on a stone wall at our other property that we now rent. We have some dark pink ones like these where we live now. But if you cut them, they don't last.



I also have a thing for columbines. I have not had any luck with them since we left our old property. These are some purple ones that I pass on my walk. I could have just ripped out a whole plant and taken it home and put it into the ground. But the owner was right there. Shucks! Below is a close up of them.



I love how these johnny jump ups have volunteered right at the sidewalk in the shade.


More pretty columbines for me to lust after.


Another well tended garden that I visit and watch as the seasons go by. Great gardeners, like this one, plan for something to bloom each season.


Here is the second public water access in our town. On this side of the stone bridge, opposite side of the road, there is a boat loading ramp into the cove. If you put your kayak, row boat or canoe in, you have to go under the bridge and towards us to go out the cove and into the river. There were some plein air oil painters that I had to push past to get this shot. They were painting the marina at the other end of the cove. I hate marinas. They are an eyesore in my opinion.


Here is the other side looking up the cove. You can see the steam from the scenic railway steamtrain that has just passed. I wasn't fast enough to get the train. Sorry. Tide is up but going out. I took this photo standing on the end of the ramp.

So you might ask me "Sue, it looks like you live in the kayaking center of the world! Why do not go kayaking?" Well, you're right, I do live in the kayaking center of the world. But I'll tell you why I don't go that often.

Because by the time I drag my kayak out of the metal building and heave it into my Jeep, drive my Jeep down to the landing, haul my kayak into the water, park my Jeep and launch the kayak (okay, now I am ready to roll) I might be already exhausted from my disability. And, even if I am not, I still have to haul my kayak out of the water when I get back and into my Jeep and drive home and put it away. Plain and simple I require assistance to kayaking. What can I say, my disability makes me a pussy.

So I stick to walking. I can do right from my front door.

Winter Sunrise Over the Coves

This is how sunrise looked at 6:30 AM this morning out our front door. It was pinker than this photo shows. In the very foreground you can see the edge of my koi ponds. They have ice on them, but there is a little pump to keep a small area clear of it. Then there are thorny raspberry and blackberry bushes as well as wild roses and the land falls about 40 - 50 feet (12- 15 meters) off into a meadow with small trees and bushes where turkeys, foxes, deer, raccoons, and various other wildlife live. Song birds love the fruiting bushes and we also have woodpeckers and hawks. You can see we still have a little snow on the ground and the temperature was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6.7 Celsius).

Towards Pratt Cove, a fresh water tidal marsh and also the curving body of water that is predominate in the view, the land is wetland and swampy and there is a train track for a scenic railway. We can just see the antique train as it goes by with tourists in the summer months. The cove itself sees kayakers, canoers, and other small boaters. Duck hunters come during the season. The cove is rife with water birds and we see eagles notably in the winter and some are resident year round. There are even some birds in the photo, but I'm not sure you will be able to see them.

Around the cove is a protected wetland where wild rice and various other wetland plants grow. In times before Europeans came to the Americas, the Native Americans used to harvest the wild rice from their canoes.

Beyond the wild rice area is a string of trees growing on spoils that were thrown up by dredging from a marina you can't see that is on the left of the photo. (You can't see it because we let trees on our property grow up to cover it.) Those trees were not that big when we moved in over ten years ago. Anyhow, through those trees is the Connecticut River.

We own a little more than 9 acres of land and have water views like this on much of it. You cannot see any houses in this photo, but that is because of the poor lighting and there are actually a couple in the distance but they are not easily seen. We feel we live in paradise. In the future I will take more photos of our property and try to get more stunning photos of sunrises as well.

Most Exciting News!

I have the most exciting news! I was out in the yard with Sean, and I spied something in our meadow that didn't quite belong. I went out to investigate and look what I found!

Click to enlarge

A lupine had volunteered in our meadow! When I was a kid, Verne and I used to ride our bikes to a meadow a mile or so away that was filled with lupines because they drew butterflies and we used to catch them. My hope is that this plant will go forth and multiply and become many plants filling my meadow with lupines. It is so exciting! (Can you tell how dull my life is?)

Memorial Day

I haven't painted anything yet.

I’ve been busy doing other things and I’ve had this migraine. So, you may ask, what has Sue been doing? Well, I’ll tell you. I’ve been working on the Veteran’s Memorial in our town. It is on Main Street and was beautiful, until they chopped down the two rows of Northern pine trees on each side of it that were at least 40 years old.

You heard me right; they just lopped them right off down to the nubs, and then chipped the stumps out of the ground. It all started because a certain WWII vet, who was a colonel, wanted to see the memorial from everywhere on the planet and those damn trees were blocking his view. He failed to notice that the trees were providing shade, shielding neighbors from noise, covering the back of the memorial which is not supposed to be seen as it has the mechanical stuff and adding beauty to the site. Okay, a couple of them were dead or dying, but hardly all of them. Many towns’ people complained to town hall when they were cut down. I was one of them. But, I was lied to. The clerk I spoke with told me the cutting would stop. Plainly, he lied. The cutting continued. Now, there is just one tree left.

The owner of the Bed & Breakfast adjacent to the memorial, Ms. E, has been protesting the tree cutting formally with town hall, by writing letters. If this last tree is cut, she will lose much of her protection from the light and noise of downtown. As the selectmen gathered evidence that the tree was ailing, she gathered more than 50 neighbors’ signatures on a petition to stop the cutting of the last tree.

In addition, a row of new trees have been planted. They are ornamental cherry trees that only grow to about 20 feet tall and die after about 15 – 20 years. They are very susceptible to disease and pests, and also to nicks on the bark. Susceptibility is increased because we have them in monoculture when they are supposed to be a show tree. Our specimens are already showing nicks on their bark. They hide nothing and will never give us shade that we need during parades.

So, I was thinking that what we really need is a landscape architect to take a look at this memorial park. I was sure that since it had to do with the veterans and the park that we could get one to volunteer their services to the town. I mentioned it to Sean and he thought it was a no brainer. So, I mentioned it at our next party meeting and no one was interested. I was bummed. But, I resolved that I would go to the town meeting about the tree and sell it there.

But I had a mega migraine, so I took my drug to fix it so that I could attend the town meeting about the tree and the park. At the meeting, I stood up and spoke briefly about how our town is about volunteerism and how we constructed the gazebo at the town landing and how it is now such a beautiful spot that is enjoyed by all. An architect offered his services for free (Sean), materials were donated, and it was constructed by townspeople and pretty much didn’t take any funds to complete. I pointed out that we could work on the veterans’ memorial park in the same way. We could get a landscape architect to donate services, we could get a grant to pay for plants, and the towns’ people could plant them. The whole enterprise could be completed for free. Town management would look good, the people would benefit, and the veterans’ would be honored in a way they deserved.

To make a long story short, my talk started a cascade of action that ended with the veterans’ park committee being extended by 3 people, having a volunteer landscape architect added, and donation checks were flying to the group. Now, a new arborist has examined the tree in question and declared it healthy. So it will not be cut down. A new park plan has been developed and will be planted next spring.

I think it is okay that I haven’t begun painting yet.

WE LOST BIG!

UPDATE:

I guess we got overconfident after the Town Hall Addition was defeated so resoundingly. We live in a very small town and about 1800 people voted. For all of the town's positions, the votes were about 1050 to 750 in our opponent's favor. We were all caught off guard by the loss.

This was our first time running a campaign and was our experiment in democracy and forming a party. We had a great time and I met lots of neat people who were very dedicated to making a change for the better in our town. We did get a third Selectman in. Now he has to sit there with the two incumbents and be in the minority. We have vowed to be there and support him. I am sure we will.

The fight continues to protect our town from going to hell in a handbasket. Unfortunately, the government stays the same, and now it will have the same first selectman for 20 some odd years, or grows in incestuousness. We just heard that a new position has been formed for the sister of the second selectman who has just been elected to serve for his 18th year.

The people of our small town are just not ready for change. To a large extent they continue to be uninformed of the issues and satisfied with the status quo. They will stay with a government that has given them one of the 5 the lowest credit rated of all the towns in the state, a Planning & Zoning Commission that has broken the law on the gas station proposal, proposed a $3 MM addition to Town Hall that was rejected, a $3.7 MM addition to the firehouse that will come up for a vote in November, is currently building a huge ugly Walgreens on Main Street, proposed a horse crematorium, has approved a large 200 per day ton rollover waste facility for construction garbage from all over the state (soon to be increased to 5oo tons), and our major money earner is a sewage treatment plant that processes sewage from other towns. Frankly, our quaint little berg earns its money from taking garbage and sewage from all over the state.


We sought to find a better way for our town, but not enough people heard us. We fought the good fight. Maybe this explains the problem with the USA today. Not enough people are informed of the issues. Apathy rules the day. George Bush is President for two terms. I think I understand now how he won.

Back to the hot guys.

A Big Day for the Campaign

We had a tremendous win on the campaign trail today: a proposed addition to Town Hall that would have cost nearly $3 million was defeated by a vote of 308 to 646!

That is me standing in front of my Jeep that I plastered signs on saying "Avoid tax increase VOTE NO on TOWN HALL". My Jeep was parked in front of Town Hall last Sunday. What a commotion it caused! The first selectman showed up around 10:00 am to photograph it and I ran down there. Sean followed me to make sure I wasn't making a scene. Moi? Make a scene? Then the architect walked in, followed by the town clerk and right behind her was the cleaning lady. (The cleaning lady???) So, I told Sean that I was going in there to take a pee and see what was going on.

So I went in and there was no one in sight. So, I did my business and when I came out the town clerk was standing there with the cleaning lady. I told them that as a citizen I was exercising my constitutional right to free speech using my Jeep and if there was any problem with it, I was right here and just let me know. The clerk said that if this was part of the campaign, I needed to say who purchased the signs. I indicated that I got the signs for free (which I did) and that they were not part of the campaign. (Actually, I had to go rogue to do this because the campaign did not think this was a good idea. They thought it was too risky. Fools!) Then the cleaning lady (!?!) said that my Jeep had been out there for 3 hours and I was going to get a ticket because the signs were for 2 hour parking only. I pointed out that I was not parked in between the signs. She countered with, then you are parked illegally. I said, well it is not posted, but I will move my car. So I went outside and backed my Jeep in between the signs. From then on, I moved it every hour.

Also, we had teams at the town dump handing out cards with bullet points on why not to vote for the Town Hall addition.

Then Tuesday, I parked it at our polling place, the library. Everything was fine until Sean went down to check on it at 5:00 pm and called me to say that someone had ripped off the signs. I ran down there with the one extra sign I had and we filed a police report immediately on the stolen ones. Then we both stayed there until 7:00 pm and he stayed on until the polls closed at 8:00 pm and called us with the results.

This result bodes very well for our campaign overall. The people have spoken and they want no new taxes. This is what we have been saying all along. If all the incumbents can muster is 300 votes, they are in big trouble come November 6th. There is still lots of work to be done before then. But, the future of our town looks far brighter than it did this morning.

Small Town News - Indecision 2007

I thought I would just let you know that I am working very hard on a local campaign to oust the current leaders of our small town. I find that I cannot just sit idly by and watch my lovely small town continue to spin recklessly out of control and become another strip mall or industrial nightmare. Things in town have gotten far worse since I last posted.

You may have noticed a slacking off over the past couple of weeks of my regular posts and this is due to my work on the campaign. Lately, I have devoted almost all of my free time to this campaign leaving little if any time to write posts. I will dedicate myself to writing the Friday Fantasy posts since they are the most popular and of course keep up with the Pleasant Dreams.

I promise I will do my best. Thanks in advance for your patience.

Hey, if Sue says that she is busy, cut her some fucking slack!

Small Town News - Town Spins Out of Control

Town Hall Expansion Committee

An informational meeting was held at town hall last night to discuss the findings of the Town Hall Expansion Committee. This was the first anybody in town had heard about this committee. Of course, our little concerned citizens’ group had the inside scoop, including drawings of the plan and costs as well as other alternatives explored. Sean and I grabbed some Chinese take out and attended the meeting.

Actions of the committee were presented by the chair who has been a local architect for 30 years. The committee was comprised of residents including the chair of the planning and zoning commission. The following was his presentation:

They began by having each Town Hall resident complete a questionnaire indicating how much space they would like to have. Then they made a table of how much square footage each resident has and next to that the “wish list” square footage. The next question was where to build. Then the chair presented a drawing of the floor plan of town hall with a good sized addition coming off of the side and closing off the cut through road, and this side of the building is not thought to be off historical value since it does not have a curved edge and is not currently very nice to look at. This drawing is not available electronically, but I have used and old drawing from the Walgreen’s Pharmacy project and boxed in the new addition in black. As you can see, the planned addition would cover the town hall parking spaces, so the original spaces planned to be in front of the curved part of town hall are back in the plans. Architects have been working on this plan for a year.

Then he went into space allocation which was arrived at with “bubble” design and planned square footage was added to actual and wished for.

A consultant architectural firm was hired to maintain the historic character (“vocabulary” – geesh) of the town hall in the addition and she showed how this had been successfully accomplished in other projects.

My cobb job of representing the town hall addition. Town Hall in red, addition in black. See how it overlaps planned parking, where the cut through was, and new parking is now in front of the curved part of the building. Front view photo (above) taken from acute angle in street.

The presentation was then opened up for questions.

I asked if alternatives would be discussed as had been mentioned in the card mailed to all residents of the town. For example, the town had looked at buying a local funeral home and a local residence as town hall annexes, plus there was an option to rent a large local business with 43,000 square feet of office space for $8 a square foot. Had the committee looked at those possibilities? The answer was that no, they were only charged to develop this expansion. I answered that the mailer was misleading to residents then.

The citizens’ group’s eloquent architect had figured out a way to gain all of the square footage without an addition (by squeezing in a second floor – see explanation below) and wanted to present that, but he was disallowed and told it wasn’t his meeting.

Squeezing in a second floor – The town hall has a first floor with a high ceiling and an auditorium with a 17 foot ceiling. There is plenty of room to squeeze in another floor and still have a usable auditorium space.

A fireman with 35 years on the force indicated that closing the cut through could be a major problem as each foot of hose laid cuts water pressure and he wasn’t sure that the fire department could service down town adequately and keep the town’s high fire protection rating. That issue will be looked into.

One resident stood and said that she was appalled that any addition to our historic town hall was being considered at all. There was applause for her (myself and Sean included).

Sean stood and said that the town should really take a step back and look at other alternatives to building a major addition to town hall. Also, he wanted to know if any costs for the project were available. The chair acknowledged that costs were available and passed out the handouts with the costs. The bottom line was $2.6 million hard costs. Joe, the first selectman, said that the committee had looked at other alternatives first including the funeral home and the private residence. Then, the planning and zoning chair piped up and went through her litany of why they had turned down those other alternatives. I just couldn’t stand it that they had said that they didn’t look at this, and then did. So I interrupted with, “Did you consider renting at the industrial complex for $8 a square foot? Did anyone look at that?” Then I looked at Joe, and said, “I don’t understand why people on these committees don’t have any imagination when it comes to spending our tax dollars and protecting our town hall. I’m sorry, I am interrupting.” And then I shut up.

Someone asked what the next step was and the chair indicated that it was schematic design at 15% of the architectural fee or $25K. This would have to be decided by referendum. There is $100K in grants available to the town for this purpose.

Then, one of the committee members stood to sing the praises of the members of the committee and while doing that she mentioned that they had looked at squeezing in a second floor, but found it unworkable because of the cost of structural work. I thought that the eloquent architect, who was sitting next to me with his drawings of those very plans, would rocket out of his seat in replying to this. Again, they had said that hadn’t done something, but then did. And worse for him, they wouldn’t let him speak. He said, “I have those very drawings here. It is possible and if you would like to see how, I would be glad to show you.” As he rushed the stage, the meeting broke up.

Everyone was very frustrated and nothing much was accomplished. I honestly don’t know what will happen next. By the way, a Dunkin Donuts is being built behind a house right next to the new Walgreen’s. At least it won’t be on the street and won’t have a drive through. The citizens’ group is not going to fight it. We have bigger fish to fry with our court case ongoing.

Small Town News - Vote on Planning & Zoning Chair

I was at the most infuriating town meeting last night. As you may recall, the town had voted twice against the P & Z chair being on this commission since there is an ordinance precluding town employees from being on the P & Z and Wetlands commissions and the Chair is an employee of the town. However, he has continued in that capacity since then, as Joe, our first selectman of 17 years, arrogantly ignored the wishes of the town. Well, his term was up on December 1, and there was a vote last night on whether to confirm him again.

Joe turned out all of his cronies and we called out as many of our members as we could. But this is the third vote on this issue and folks are beginning to give up. Sean had written a letter to Joe earlier in the day pointing out how what was being done was not in line with the ordinance and mentioning that a motion was going to be made at the meeting. However, shortly after the meeting started, Ricky, one of the selectmen that everybody hates, piped up with a motion to approve the slate as proposed, before we could make our motion. There were cries of protest and frustrated motions being flung, but it was too late. The vote was held and the P & Z chair was confirmed until 2009 by a vote of 44 to 21.

Add to that that earlier one of our citizen group members, who is the eloquent architect, was tossed off the economic commission for voting against the Cumberland Farms project and publicly chided by Ricky, and you have a perfect evening. The architect had produced a wonderful village plan, but taken heat for doing so from the P & Z chair, because the town development plan was not complete and village plan was supposed to be done after. You know, the development plan needed for the land swap that the public is not trusted to see. So there this architect stood giving Joe a well deserved piece of his mind.

I piped up and said, "I don't understand how after two town votes to remove the chair he has just been voted back in against this ordinance, yet you have no place for this gentleman here on the P& Z."

Joe sputtered something about the ordinance not being legal and said that there was no spot open, and when there was he thought he needed another woman. I elbowed the architect and said something like, guess it's time to reconsider that sex change.

The architect said, "Oh, so it's all about gender balance?"

Joe shrugged.

I said, "I think there are too many women and old men on the P & Z."

Then Sean came up to yank me away as they were trying to close town hall.

At least before the meeting I had a nice visit with Sean's nephew and his family who showed up to vote. Even though they live in town, we don't get to see them nearly enough. Sean's nephew was stationed in Afghanistan for way too long. But he is back safe and sound now. Focus on the positive.

Small Town News - Bluebird Box Trail & Updates

Land Trust Builds Bluebird Box Trail

Our town’s Land Trust is putting together an Eastern Bluebird box trail. The state has donated the wood for construction of nesting boxes. Twenty boxes have been built by our local Girl Scout Troop and more are planned. Land Trust members are assembling the posts and predator guards with materials they have donated, and installing them at proper locations around town. The one pictured is in our local cemetery.

Enlarge photo if you can't see it

Eleven have been installed so far. The next step is to begin a project where towns’ people, including children can adopt a box to monitor and clean throughout the year. That way we will know how many bluebirds we have nesting in our area.

Bluebirds are here in our town, we have all seen them. They visit the blackberry bushes in my yard and must live somewhere close by. We may even put a nesting box near our koi pond and see what happens. We also have other birds that may use the boxes such as tree swallows and wrens. Our neighbors have a box up and a pair of bluebirds nests in it.

Walgreens Pharmacy Update

Today, the First Selectman will break ground on the new Walgreens Pharmacy project with a shovel painted gold. Reportedly the contractor presented the citizens' group's reworked plan to the Planning & Zoning Commission and that is what will be built. I will post photographs of the finished building.

Cumberland Farms Gas Station Update

An impressive list of expert witnesses have been gathered by the citizen's group's lawyer. So much so that the depositions have been postponed by Cumberland Farms. The hearing date to challenge the appellants is in January.

Small Town News - Walgreens Wrap Up

Previously on Small Town News

Land Swap Petition

Background

In 2004, our town voted to give the selectmen the power to swap the parcel of land owned by the town for the parcel that was adjacent to the town hall. This was accomplished in conjunction with the then owners of that parcel. So, looking at the town map, the town owns the piece that the Walgreens would be built on, and would then swap it for the piece that would become the parking for Walgreens. Walgreens would then have an easement on the property. In addition, the town would receive $100,000.

Possible Contentions

Pro Land Swap:

1. It has already been approved.
2. The value of the completed parking lot is $484,000 compared to the current property value of $280,000. Most of the parking can be used as municipal parking.
3. Assures the town gets a pharmacy.
4. Town hall will not be harmed.
5. The town gets $100,000.

Anti Land Swap:

1. Why is the rewording of the land swap contract not available to the public prior to the vote?
2. Is it true that Turnpike Properties has threatened to sue the town if the land swap is voted down?
3. Has the town ever dealt with Walgreens directly or come to know their requirements?
4. Walgreens would have to maintain the parking lot for their operation anyhow, so it is not an outright financial benefit for the town. Also, the number of parking spaces is required for their business, and cannot be deemed municipal parking.
5. The land swap is a major subsidy for this business to come into town.
6. The town wants more control over the land swap.

Land Swap Town Meeting

A town meeting was called by the selectmen to discuss the land swap. It was run by Joe, our first selectman, and he was assisted by our town lawyer. About 90 citizens attended. They reviewed the basics of the swap (see bullet points above) and explained that no contract was available because it took so long to get feedback from the concerned parties and they didn’t want opinions on drafts circulating (read: gossip). The town lawyer said that she did not think that Turnpike Properties would sue the town.

The meeting quickly devolved into a “what is wrong with our town” discussion.

One of the citizens’ group’s members stood and said that her Elm Street house’s value had dropped by 20% just since the approval of the Cumberland Farms and Walgreens Pharmacy projects. Joe looked her in the eye sympathetically, and said, “Tell me what you want me to do.”

She replied, “I want you to promise me that you will accept a more historically sensitive design from a team of objective architects.” (In other words, not these trouble maker ones we have in town.)

Joe looked tired and beaten, but he agreed in public to go along.

He fell right into our plan. But, the vote was scheduled in just two weeks time. We had to work quickly to make it all happen.

Walgreens Redesign

As part of three meetings, a small group of three out of town architects, working pro bono and led by the citizens’ group retiree, came up with the following suggestions and a drawing based on another pharmacy in our state:

1. The Corner/Entry Element could be inspired by the Southbury Model, and, especially, the corner element at the Elementary School.
2. Incorporating some brick helps to gravitate away from a residential appearance. We recommend the Entry Elements + Arcades be brick. (The brick should be standard size, preferably molded and a color different from the Town Hall.) The main body of the building could be painted brick (like the back of Liberty Bank) or Handiplank.
3. The Entry Element should be an open pavilion for its full height. (Its position should be as shown on the plan, NOT at 45 deg angle as the Southbury Model)
4. A simple but significant cornice might be used to finish the top of the wall.
5. We recommend that brick paving (to match the brick at Adam’s Shopping Center sitting area) extend under the Arcade and out to meet the sidewalk.
6. Lowering the slope of the roofed element over the Arcade to 3 or 4:12 and lowering the bottom of the eave to 10’ will aid the proportions and scale.
7. We suggest a bulletin board in a niche centered on the southernmost arcade termination Pavilion.
8. Recommend deleting the sloped roof on the canopy at the Drive Through. We assume that the canopy cantilever will be reduced with only (1) drive through.
9. On the North Façade, locate the terminating Pavilion centered on the doors. Delete the Arcade beyond the Pavilion.
10. The color scheme should contrast with that of the Adams complex.
11. We suggest that signage be mounted on wood panels.
12. 

Southbury Model

Old design (top) / New design (bottom), click to enlarge

This redesign was forwarded to the Turnpike properties architect and Joe prior to the land swap vote. Word was that Turnpike Properties indicated that the plan was doable and they would present the changes to the Planning & Zoning in the fall.

The Land Swap Vote

It rained the day of the land swap vote. I decided to vote against the swap because I am just so tired of all of the bullshit in our town. The planned ugly new development, unsafe new gas stations, our stupid P&Z, our first selectman who jerks us around and after 17 years just needs to go. I have just had enough. Plus, I think the town would do much better to just sell the land and take the cash. So, I voted against the swap. The remainder of our citizens’ group was to take the stance that since Turnpike Properties had accepted our design; we were going to vote for the swap. “A win-win for the town.” Yippee!

Sadly, I was in the minority. Of the 700 or so people voting, it was about 3 to 1 in favor of the swap. The elderly turned out in droves to support getting a pharmacy in town. So, I guess we are getting a new pharmacy. It remains to be seen what it will look like. Will it be brick and look like the redesign? Or will it look like the crappy Adams across the street?

The Press

Meanwhile, our citizens’ group has suffered in the press, especially in editorials. To wit:

Concern Growing in Town

To the Editor:

Sean Fairview and the citizens’ group is leading the townspeople down a long slippery slope. The petition to hold another vote on the approved land swap filed by this small group of 20 people indicates that they believe their vision of our town is preferable to those of us who voted and passed the land swap by a margin of 2-1 over a year and a half ago…

It then continues in that venomous attacking tone about how we are spending their tax dollars, causing Turnpike Properties to sue, and all that jazz. Moreover, the attack is personal. By the way, it was written by the husband of the P&Z zoning enforcement officer. We do live in a small town. After that editorial came out, a response was written reiterating how the group’s goals are the same as the town’s, signed by myself and others, and Sean was retired from the forefront for a while so others from our group could take the heat.

Small Town News - Walgreens Pharmacy - Continued

Citizen Group Strategy Meeting

Our Citizens’ Group meets every now and then to direct the functioning of the group at large. Quite a lot of work goes into opposing applications to the P&Z and coordination is also required. The group has several ad hoc leaders: our member lawyer, Sean, the woman whose house we are at, and our retiree who has worked with historical preservation in Brooklyn Heights.

The Citizens’ Group held a quick strategy meeting about the Walgreens Pharmacy application at one of the member’s houses. The meeting was run by the member lawyer. He predicted that the P&Z would approve the Walgreens application (hardly a revelation) and then outlined our strategy going forward:

1. Appeal grounds: a) Town development plan not updated since 1992 (required every 10 years) – assigned to Sean

b) Finding that special permit will not lower property taxes – assigned to woman

2. Historic preservation angle

a) Contact the National Trust for Historical Preservation which works with pharmacies not to demolish historical buildings – assigned to retiree

b) State Environmental Protection Act now includes intervention to protect the public trust in historic structures. One of the members (Bobby) is doing this and has a pro bono lawyer. This person is automatically an appellant after approval.

c) Involve the State Attorney General (in an extreme case) – assigned to member lawyer

3. Interfere with the Land Swap by getting 20 signatures on a petition to call a town meeting. Vote down swap. – assigned to Sean or member lawyer

A question came up at our meeting. Many of the 200 to 300 members of the citizens’ group are looking for things to do to help. How can we get the message out for them to vote down the land swap? Cross that bridge when we come to it.

P & Z Vote on Walgreens Pharmacy

A motion was made to approve the special permit at 7:10 pm, was seconded and the discussion was opened. The chair recused himself for health reasons and sat to watch while the acting Chair took the reins. Receipt of a petition to revisit the Land Swap deal at a town meeting was noted. Since the petition did not change the status of the swap, the meeting continued.

The Intervenor issues were addressed in a memo from the Zoning Enforcement Officer. (The intervenor himself, Bobby, was sitting in front of me, and I asked him if he had seen any memo and he said that he had not.) From the acting chair’s comments it was evident that she did not understand the point of the intervention and thought it was all a matter of taste rather than preserving something historic. She said, “How could we ever get anyone to agree to one design?”

Some of the public’s questions were answered but so superficially as to be insulting. Correspondence was mentioned, but many times it would be something like, “Oh and so and so wrote a letter but I don’t remember what it said.” Liability for accidents on the shared parking lot was a matter for the Selectmen and Turnpike Properties so not in the P&Z jurisdiction. The new town plan is 80% complete and only needs approval and the Greenways amendment is within 10 years so that is okay too. Many topics were just mentioned; not even answered. Oh, and by the way, 10,000 square feet is not a big box store, it has to be 60-70,000 square feet to be a big box store. The professor that came and spoke pro bono was not a resident and did not present a net impact.

The acting Chair’s tone was arrogant and dismissive. I was disgusted and left before the vote. I could see the way it was going to go.

The permit was approved unanimously with some small changes.

Our bright shiny new pharmacy!

Next…

The Land Swap meeting.

Small Town News - Walgreens Pharmacy - Public Hearing Part 2

The continuation of the public hearing was called to order at 7:12 pm by the P&Z Chair. The applicant, Turnpike Properties, presented some changes made in response to last week’s comments. These included removing parking from the town hall lawn, removing the four street parking spaces, widening the entrance from 15 feet to 25 feet to allow easier truck egress, and addition of handicap ramps.

Ten letters opposing the application for various reasons were read into the record. One of them was from the Town’s Merchants Association opposing the application.

Public Comments:

A professor from the University of Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis who had provided data for two major state projects made the following points:

1. A letter from the Merchants Association indicates that everything Walgreens will offer is already available in town except for prescription drugs. The new Walgreens will compete directly for sales with other stores in town, as well as with other towns. People often make a decision based of distance of travel.

2. Net impact needs to be calculated when bringing in new development. The need for government services, such as fire equipment will increase. If traffic on Elm Street is increased, it will reduce the property values of the residences there.

3. A decision would have long term implications if successful at the proposed scale. A 10,000 square foot building is a substantial size store. A pharmacy could be 7,000 square feet. The size would have a significant demand to the core area. Traffic controls may be increased. He noted that it was important for towns to have an updated plan of development.

A P&Z commissioner asked the professor if he was a resident of the town, if he was an expert, and if he was being paid and if so by whom. He responded that he was a resident of another town in the state; he was present as an expert witness on a pro bono basis by the request of one of the members of the citizens’ group.

The adjacent property owner on Elm Street mentioned some concerns along with saying that he thought that approval was in the best interest of the town. Specifically, his concern was for HVAC equipment noise and protection of property values.

Another town resident was in favor of a drug store, but did not feel that the design of the store as presented was a fit with our town or town hall.

One of the selectmen, and a former CVS pharmacist for 18 years, spoke in favor of the pharmacy and noted that it would be most profitable.

Another citizen spoke in favor of the pharmacy, but was concerned for the competition for the other mom and pop stores in town as well as the large parking lot.

Sean read a letter into the record and asked that the application be denied with prejudice.

One resident stood and commented that the streetscape as presented by the applicant did not represent the parking and was not to scale.

Another resident noted that he is in favor of the pharmacy, but questioned the legality of the land swap. The parking lot will be owned by the town and used by the pharmacy. A leasehold agreement should be in place for liability and taxes.

Bobby, a citizens’group member, stated that he is opposed to the plan presented. He read a letter to the commission asking that the application be denied and then submitted a Notice of Intervention (more on this in next week’s post) in connection with the application.

A resident who lives behind the grocery store plaza across from where the pharmacy is to built requested that the P&Z to require a sign regarding truck idling and also no dumpster pickup before 5 AM. He also asked that the P&Z reference state statute with regard to HVAC noise standards.

The architect member of the citizens’ group referenced his letter already read into the record and asked that the roof be lowered. [BTW – his letter was eloquent again, "dummy portals", gotta love it.]

Another selectman, who is a member of the merchants association, said that he did not know about the letter opposing the permit and does not agree with the letter.

Another resident noted that he opposes the big box store/chain harming the flavor of the downtown. The local stores would be impacted negatively such as the hardware store and card shops.

One of the members of the citizens’ group presented slides showing various Walgreens Pharmacies throughout the state illustrating the variations of quality in each town. The point was that our town could get better quality design and building if we bargained for it. Sean showed a photoshopped image of the streetscape as it would look with the Walgreens next to town hall.

The P&Z asked the applicant if two drive thrus were needed.

The attorney for the applicant responded that that was what was specified by the client. He also noted that the HVAC design be reviewed by the Commission engineer to reduce noise and the applicant would agree to meet state noise standards. He noted that the application is a plus for the town and would provide parking at no cost to the town.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:41 pm.

Small Town News - Walgreens Pharmacy - Public Hearing Part 1

Per the local news paper, about 90 residents were still in attendance as the Planning and Zoning meeting continued from the application to the public hearing after a break at 8:40 PM. Correspondence was read into the record. The local architect who is a member of our citizens’ group wrote a letter which reminded the P&Z that as guardians of our town’s future they should set their sights a bit higher. It further described the building as dwarfing those nearby with oversized 34 foot tall corner towers, undersized portals, cheap looking materials and skimpy details. This design is fit for a Route 1 commercial strip next to a gas station, not small scale Main Street of down town adjacent to town hall. Also, it breaks the zoning requirement for no greater than 30 foot length of façade next to town hall. The letter then eloquently ripped the design to shreds architecturally for its crass insensitivity to the times, as the designer slumped in his chair as if having just committed hari-kari. The letter also said that if we go at this negotiation with an, “uh oh, if we ask for that they may cut and run” attitude, we will never find out what they are willing to do for us. We need to find a strategy to preserve our small town character and charm.

Another citizen noted that he wondered how many parking spaces were needed. Would there be a second story addition to town hall. The shopping center and pharmacy across the street line up and will there be the need for another traffic light? What will happen if the shopping center expands and needs more parking? Will the pharmacy portico be used as outdoor retail space as it is across the street? The rental property next to the pharmacy, will it become a bank? Will Turnpike Properties landscape town hall?

Yet another citizen noted that the land swap is very restrictive to town hall expansion and the land should be retained.

Another citizen noted that he has no problem traveling to out of town pharmacies. If parking in town is such a problem, then pave the town’s lot; no swap or building is needed.

A member of the local citizens group stood and made a motion that all citizens be heard and have their questions answered since they were not at the Cumberland Farms hearing. Applause sounded from wall to wall. The chair mentioned that two hearing dates had been set for just this purpose.

He also said that he is 100% opposed to approval. He agreed that we do not need a pharmacy in town. He also thought that only 2 handicapped parking spaces were not adequate. He also wanted to know who would be liable for accidents on the shared property of the parking lot and why the Cumberland Farms traffic was not taken into account in the traffic study. He also wanted access to the land swap documents and he wanted to know where parking for town hall would be in 20 years.

Another citizen shared that we are losing green space in the town center and increasing traffic and cars and emissions. Would an environmental impact study be conducted?

One of the town’s selectmen indicated as a citizen that he thought the town needs a pharmacy.

An elderly female citizen said that some folks need a pharmacy in town for their emergent health conditions when they don’t have a spouse to go for them.

The lawyer from the citizens’ group said that he was hoping that there could be mediation with Walgreens, as they have worked with other towns, to get it right.

Sean read his letter into the record which was signed by three other citizens including myself. The points made in the letter include:

1. A completed and approved Comprehensive Plan for Development for the Town Center must be present. It was begun in 1999 and worked on until 2004, but never finished. It was initially designed to preserve the historical nature of the town.
2. The town’s Plan of Conservation and Development is out of date (required by law to be updated every 10 years).
3. A new vote is needed on the Land Swap. Many things have changed since the original vote in 2004. Details are not currently available to citizens of the town as I found when I went to town hall recently. (Will be covered in a separate post.)
4. Please use the full 60 days allotted to approve this permit and allow the public to respond. A single night disenfranchises the public.

An elderly resident said that the shopping center across the street was using two handicap parking spaces to sell plants (the whole front of the store’s parking is filled with plants this time of year) and that just should not be allowed. There was a round of applause for that sentiment. He mentioned that Veterans’ Memorial Way should be preserved to honor the veterans (the alley next to town hall). He went on to say that our town hall was one of only 6 flatiron town halls in the country, and the only one with an upstairs auditorium. Thus, we should not ruin it by expanding the original design. We should buy the Swan's funeral home for sale down on Main Street and create the offices there. Applause sounded loudly for that.

A former resident of a nearby town, who had just moved to our town, said that there was a similar pharmacy in her old town (see photo below) and come to see it because it is an eyesore and does not fit in with anything else in town. She opposed the building, not the pharmacy and felt that we were owed a better plan.

Another resident, who had just moved in, was worried because she saw so many boarded up windows in town of failed businesses. She worried about her property values and was thinking of moving out. “If we scare away Turnpike Properties, will anybody come?”

Another elderly resident, who is a member of our citizens’ group stood and said that he thinks we need a pharmacy. He would like to know the details of the land swap before we agree and that traffic needs further study as regards Cumberland Farms.

Yet another elderly resident, who is a member of our citizens’ group, stood and said that he established the Brooklyn Heights Historic District and that then the money poured in. The P&Z has the power to decide the fate of downtown going forward into the future and he hoped that they understood the gravity of this task as they considered each decision. He mentioned each project for perspective: Cumberland Farms, Walgreens (He said, “Walgreens store, and I call it that because it is 90% store and not pharmacy.”), and Swans funeral home. “Consideration should be given to preservation of design. It would be a win-win for the town. The project outlined today would result in a net loss for the town. The town’s greatest assets are older buildings and houses and tree lined streets.”

Another resident who is a member of our citizens’ group indicated that a town is people and land. She is not against a pharmacy, but against a big box store across from Cumberland Farms which will increase lights, traffic and noise.

An elderly citizen who is also a veteran really lit up the room when he said that what was on the town’s property used to be a saloon with a whore house upstairs. An elderly woman in the audience screamed, “No it wasn’t!” But the rest of us wondered how he knew it was. [Hmmmm.] Anyhow, he continued to say that historically our town had many pharmacies, stores, movie theaters, until 1968 when the local highway was completed and was nowthe town is at its smallest ever. Development was needed in the center of town to generate business.

A citizen who is a member of our citizens’ group spoke against the proposal calling the new pharmacy a “big box” store at 10,000 square feet of retail space. the P&Z took issue with calling the design a big box store.

Another resident spoke of her concern for children walking in town to and from school through traffic from the new pharmacy’s drive through adjacent to the town hall.

The first selectman spoke as a citizen in favor of the proposal and submitted a petition in favor of the pharmacy project with 200 signatures.

A final citizen spoke about why Cumberland Farms was ignored in the traffic study as well as lack of attention paid to stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks, even when a constable is present.

The chair then noted the late hour and the meeting was adjourned at 11:15 PM. The P&Z instructed that the second day of hearing would not allow a rehash of ideas expressed at this hearing. Stay tuned...

Small Town News - Walgreens Pharmacy - The Application

The Planning and Zoning (P&Z) commission held a meeting in Town Hall to hear an special permit application from Turnpike Properties, also commonly known as Walgreens Pharmacy, to construct a pharmacy with a double drive through facility for prescription service, together with required off street parking. The statement of use reads as follows:

The applicant proposes to construct a retail pharmacy containing approximately 10,000 square feet on the first floor and 3,500 square feet on the second floor or mezzanine level. The plans also call for two drive through windows for prescription service only, and parking spaces, some of which will be located in a common parking area to be used jointly with the Town Hall on land to be owned by the town and known as 180 Main Street. The proposal includes access from both Main Street and Elm Street, together with the other improvements as shown on the accompanying site plan. Proposed signage, elevations, a traffic study and engineering designs are also submitted with this application.

These notes are from both the application meeting and the represented application at the public hearing. The project requires a land swap with the town whereby the applicant will receive the subject property and the town will receive 180 Main Street. The applicant will demolish the building at 180 Main Street and construct a parking lot with 49 spaces. Two driveways are proposed on Main Street and one on Elm Street. Forty-four parking spaces are required for the proposed pharmacy; 49 spaces are proposed, including 42 off-site spaces. Subject to DOT approval, 6 spaces may be located on Main Street in front of the pharmacy. Nine spaces are presently located on Main Street in front of Town Hall and 10 spaces in the grocery store parking lot will be dedicated exclusively to Town Hall use. The pharmacy and the Town Hall will share 49 parking spaces.

Click image to enlarge

A registered architect presented the pharmacy design. The architect stated that the use of traditional materials would give the appearance of wooden slats and the addition of a widows walk was intended to be in keeping with local buildings built in the late 1800’s, and yet similar to the design of the shopping center across the street. [Mmmm, lovely. Sorry, couldn’t restrain myself here.]

Click to enlarge

The parking lot was designed so that it would not be a thoroughfare between Main Street and Elm Street. The buffer has been increased between the drive up kiosk and the neighboring properties.

A traffic study was presented that essentially reported that there would be no impact on local traffic. Of course the Cumberland Farms gas station expansion was not taken into account. (Off the record, the traffic engineer said that the Cumberland Farms thing was a complete disaster from a traffic standpoint.) A project site engineer presented plans indicating that drainage would be better than at present and a registered landscape architect happily presented a plan that would return hardy elms to Elm Street.

A statement of Findings was made available to the P&Z as follows:

1. When approved, the special permit will be in compliance will all zoning regulations
2. The development will be in harmony with the orderly development of the town
3. The proposed use will not depreciate adjacent property values and shall be in harmony with the existing character of the neighborhood.
4. There is adequate access for purpose of fire, police and other emergency protection or equipment.
5. The streets are adequate to carry all prospective traffic; adequate provision is made to for entering and leaving the subject site; adequate off street parking and loading is provided.
6. The landscaping will suitably buffer the adjacent properties.
7. The proposed use had adequate provisions for water and sewage disposal as well as for storm water drainage.

All I could think was, “Geez, it would have been great to have all of this information for Cumberland Farms.” We would have if it was a special permit.

Next… The public speaks out. But what could anyone possibly have to complain about in this rosy picture?

Small Town News - Cumberland Farms: the P&Z Votes

The view looking South down Main Street. Town hall is on the right, and the Cumberland Farms on the left.

The view looking North up Main St. The Cumberland Farms sign is seen as well as the Gulf gas station with one island and Coke machine. Make a left down Elm St. and within a mile you reach a highway.

The P&Z Vote

The P&Z vote was held in the downstairs meeting room at the town hall that can safely hold about 40 people per fire regulations. That night, it was standing room only and people were waiting outside to get in. Before the meeting started, it was proposed by the citizens that the meeting be moved upstairs to the auditorium that can hold 150 people, but the P&Z refused with stony faces.

The meeting was called to order. The chairman recused himself from the Cumberland Farms matter. More about that later. At some point the issue of correspondence was raised. Apparently, the petition with 350 signatures to reopen the public hearing was dismissed after the applicant’s (Cumberland Farms) Lawyer wrote a letter citing a Supreme Court case indicating that such motions are not in order. The citizens' group’s member lawyer wrote a response saying the applicant’s case was off point (and he should know, since his job entails following Supreme Court cases). The applicant’s lawyer’s letter was accepted into evidence and the citizens’ were not. So, even though no more evidence was to be accepted, the applicant’s evidence was. That did not seem right to anyone.

A P&Z member made a motion to approve the application and after acceptance of the motion the matter was open for discussion. The mostly female P&Z kibitzed endlessly and in an uninformed manner about the canopies, roof pitch, pumps, number of islands, pumps and the like. Thirty minutes were spent trying to determine how big 18 inches was. They were obviously biased for the applicant and the one dissenter was viciously attacked. It was like watching cats on a mouse. Things were said like, “Well Jane, I wouldn’t know, you’re the scientist.” They were obviously biased, bitchy, uninformed, unprofessional, and an embarrassment to the town. Everybody thought so. Our P&Z in action. Gotta love it.

I worried that they would ignore the nonconforming issue (triple the gasoline within 200 feet of a school and place of assembly on an unapproved site) and went to Joe, the First Selectman, and whispered to him about it. He said that he would mention to them during the break. Later in the meeting they did ask the P&Z lawyer about conformance. The lawyer advised that when weighing conformance one has to look at the big picture. The total conformity of the current sites versus the conformity of the future site needs to be compared. So, the proposed redevelopment will result in a single lot which is significantly less non-conforming than either of the two lots which are to be combined. The acting Chairperson smiled. She summarized as follows: the new lot will either be in compliance with regulations as to gross lot area, impervious coverage, and landscaped area, lot frontage, building setbacks, parking and delivery. The new development will be in conformance with the Greenways project, will not depreciate property values, will improve public safety by upgrading fuel systems, new traffic flows will eliminate unsafe conditions, and the two service bays at the current station will be eliminated.

I, as well as the rest of the audience, was so frustrated and exasperated by this time that I couldn’t help it and I cried out, “Yeah, and three times the gas is so much safer!” At least I got a laugh from the people around me and a stern warning look from the acting bitch chair.

It was announced that hours of operation would be from 5:00 am to midnight. There was a pained groan from the audience.

The P&Z reduced the number of islands from 4 to 3 and approved the application in a vote of 3 in favor and 2 against. So, just like that, we have a new Cumberland Farms gas station in our town.

The Appeals

Shortly thereafter, the citizens' group hired a lawyer and filed two appeals: one with the Zoning Board of Appeals and the other with the Supreme Court in our State. We had a tough time finding appellants, but we located some. The aggrieved are a couple who own a local Bed and Breakfast down the street from the proposed gas station who filed based on possible loss of business, and family who live on Elm street who filed based on loss of property value due to increased traffic from the highway to the new station, and a couple who own a business adjacent to the gas station who filed based on possible loss of business and decreased property values. The next step is waiting for Cumberland Farms to challenge our appellants. Money to pay the lawyer was collected from the citizens' group and letters for further donations were sent to people that signed the petition. More money is still needed.

I served the ZBA appeal myself. I drove to the ZBA Chair’s ranch house and knocked on his door and then stepped back a few paces (as I was taught in sales school). It was a lovely day. He answered and I served him. He signed, but was grouchy. He said something like, “Well it’s summer and so no one may be around to hear this.”

I responded with, “You have a lovely garden. Are those lupines? I can’t even get them started in my garden.”

And so we talked about his garden. It turns out that he had just had a cherry tree cut down and had split the wood himself. He had humming birds coming to a feeder. His house was on a beautiful spot that I had never been to in our town.

Anyway, back to the story. After the Subway ZBA precedent, the ZBA voted that it was not their role to overturn P&Z decisions on matters. At their next meeting, they were reminded of this and although our matter was not on their agenda, they decided to drop it altogether. The town squandered an opportunity to settle this matter on the cheap. That is how I see it.

Our hired lawyer feels that we have a really solid case so long as we can get our day in the Supreme Court. So, here we sit, waiting for a challenge from Cumberland Farms to our appellants. People are talking about mediation. But we are just waiting. I will report on any action on this matter as it happens.

The Recusant P&Z Chair

By the way, the P&Z Chair recused himself because he was a town employee. About six months ago, there was a town vote on whether town employees could be on the P&Z and Inland Wetlands Commissions (as there is an obscure writ in State law indicating that they cannot). The town had voted at that time that they could not. However, the town ignored that vote and the Chair continued on the P&Z. We still don’t know why he recused himself on the night of the vote.

But, sometime later, there was another town vote held on whether town employees can serve on the P&Z and Inland Wetlands Commissions. There was heavy turn out for the vote. Of course our entire citizens’ group was there (now up to some 30 in number) and all of the town employees and Joe’s cronies. We had even turned to the anti-government group in town by mentioning it to our mailman and he made sure all of his buddies showed up to vote against it too. Networking at its best!

The meeting was held in the upstairs auditorium at town hall. Joe ran the meeting. As soon as the meeting was opened Sean moved for a written ballot. This was readily seconded and approved. Many folks were pissed because we had already voted this down. Why was Joe raising the issue again? Joe explained that he thought that the town lawyer had confused the issue the last time by indicating that it was not needed to the public and that might have been why some voted against it. But, now the town has been sued for it (it was included in the citizens’ group lawsuit since the chair closed the Cumberland Farms hearing so suddenly) and it has been brought to his attention by the P&Z lawyer who feels it could be a problem.

A citizen (from our group) asked how we could change appointments of P&Z members to elections instead of selections by Joe. Applause sounded for this comment. The town lawyer answered that that could be done by getting a petition for a town meeting and making it so, but that in her opinion that would be a mistake, since volunteers were hard to find. (Though, with enough meetings like the P&Z vote, we would not have a problem finding them, was my thought.) The citizen asked how many signatures such a petition would need. No one knew. After the meeting we found out it was only 20. The same citizen also asked how we could make the vote so that if it was decided that town employees could not be on these commissions, they could be removed, since we had already voted such, but they were still acting on the commissions. Applause sounded for this comment too. It was explained by the town lawyer that it was too late for this as the vote was already written and published, but that the town could make this happen by petition.

Discussion continued. Sean said that his concern was improper influence, loss of objectivity and fair representation for the town by having town employees on town commissions. He noted that the P&Z Chairman’s office for his town job, he assists Joe, is right outside Joe’s office in the town hall.

Sometime later, the written ballot vote ensued and took quite some time since there was a big crowd. The final vote was 40 for having town employees on the P&Z and Inland Wetlands Commissions and 56 against. The motion did not carry. Hooray!

Unfortunately, now the town is emotionally split. Town employees have taken all of this very personally since it was personal for them right from the start. The P&Z Chair continues to lead the P&Z meetings, showing an arrogant and dismissive regard for the vote of the people as if daring them to change it.

Stay tuned for the next big chain invasion next week...