Autumn in the North Cemetery.

Sixty miles west of Boston, Massachusetts there is the small New England town of Sturbridge. Located at the junction of I-90 (The Mass Pike), and I-84 it has become known as the "Crossroads of New England". The town was first settled over 300 years ago, and like other small New England towns it has grown just enough over the years to be in a difficult place today. How do we embrace the future without forgetting how we got to our present? How do we attract the right kind of growth, and maintain who we are? And, what about our culture out here in Central Massachusetts?



These pages will cause one to think about how to protect what we have, our future direction, and how to move on in the very best way.


Those thoughts, and other ramblings, will hopefully inspire more thought, conversation, action, and occasionally a smile...

...seems to be working so far

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Well, So Much For Priorities

Inside The Head of a Politician


I like brick sidewalks.
I would like to have the money to install brick sidewalks.
Brick sidewalks add a homey, warm touch to a town, or area.
Brick sidewalks are seldom historic in a particular area, but they look nice.
Brick sidewalks need to be installed in a way as to be maintenance free.
Bricks do cost more than concrete.
But...
...bricks do look nicer.
I would like brick sidewalks installed right down Route 20 
in Fiskdale...
...with brick crosswalks, too.
I would also like the money to install them there, too.
If I don't have the money to install the sidewalks along the Common,
Then I would like to use money set aside for other things.
Because I don't plan too well.
Because I decide things on impulse, 
And, because when I do plan well,
I spend the money on others things instead.
I don't think on where I am going to get more money right away.


I am really a mess.


But,


I am a mess that is going to have some mighty fine new brick sidewalks.


I'm feeling better already.


                                                              The End

As a matter of record,  I am all for brick sidewalks in town.  They look great, and they add a certain ambiance to an area, historic, or not.  I am also big on setting priorities, and having the funds to do projects without putting other, more important, things in jeopardy.  

If that can be done, then I will feel better, too.  If not, then I will live with the decisions that have been made.  What choice do I have?

Well, there is always the town elections.  I'll have a choice then.

I'll wait, and in the meantime, I'll write.

I'm feeling better already.




5 comments:

  1. I like brick sidewalks in sunny gardens with trellises, and flowers and grapevines, and gazebos, or as a pathway across old New England town commons. There they look soft, quiet, old-fashioned and homey.

    I'm not fond of the thought of brick sidewalks placed by busy, highly traveled roadways where one might have difficulty walking steadily on icy or lifted bricks close to traffic, where the bricks will be pelted with road salts and chemicals in winter and, hit with plows.

    If the people of the community fairly decide they want a brick sidewalk along Route 131, as you wrote, I "have no choice" and have to go along with it. And that's okay.

    As a member of this community, the brick sidewalk idea came as a surprise to me, and, I am sure to many others. Did we make a community decision on this? No. Did we knowingly appropriate money for this? No. Did we as a community approve paying for this surprise added expense. No. Therefore, I am not very happy about having to go along with this plan.

    When we questioned the plans we were ignored and dismissed.

    The flashing smiles, shy smiles, and the non opinions of some members of the BOS when they were candidates didn't get my votes when they were candidates, and the fact some, once quiet, are suddenly quite opinionated and speaking for us without our authority now, sure won't get my votes next time around. I can't wait for my chance to dismiss.

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  2. The bricks were part of the original plan, but dropped due to cost overruns. They became an issue when they were brought up again, and people wanted them. They will be set onto concrete. Not sure if there will be a space between each one, or not. They will be flat so walking and plowing will be fine. I watched them pouring the concrete today. The bricks are on the common.

    They just are taking $$$$$ away from fixing that intersection.

    Safety vs. abiance.
    I agree, it is all about setting priorities.

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  3. I've heard one of the selectmen state more than once at BOS meetings that the bricks were not part of the original plan.

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  4. The selectman is wrong.

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  5. They are not our OverlordsThursday, September 16, 2010

    They went ahead and spent our money without asking permission, or seemingly even giving any weight to the pleas of the citizens at the BOS meeting before the vote. Now they'll be either using up some of our Chapter 90 funds, and/or Community Preservation funds. These folks asked to be public servants, but act like Overlords. (In a position of supremacy or domination over others.)Since when are we supposed to be working for them?

    ReplyDelete



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