A different view

First thing for today is a reminder that the second candidate's night will be held tonight. It will start at 6:30 P.M. at Carousel Skating.  Note the date is today, a Tuesday. Note the time is 6:30 P.M.

The public service announcement out of the way, let's move on.

You have hear me note in the past my three prong test for some matters.  That being my head, my heart and my gut.  When all in sync, all is well. Two out of three in sync, well life goes on and is usually not to bad.  After all, how many times can you expect the "perfect game" on issues.  No one syncing with at least another, equals a long and painful season.

Reality is we are involved in another budget season that as always starts too late, and at this point really is coming to an end very shortly.  Personal perception is this one is dragging on, and may never end. 

However, if there is any synergy to be found this budget season the key element is as put in a comment to yesterday's post "I guess my point was that we all need to be prepared for changes around here. Some of them are going to be difficult to accept, but necessary none the less."

We all need to be prepared for changes.  The "We" is not just the departments and the rank and file.  It most definitely has to include department heads, administration, elected officials, appointed officials and most importantly, the general public.

"We" means you, me and every other person involved in this town either passively or actively. "We" means every group in this town.  

It means acknowledging that everything presently going on is in fact subject to review, criticism and change. What has been the tried and true of the past has to at least be acknowledged as presently being as very tired and less reliable system. If you can't acknowledge that, how about cumbersome and inefficient.

More worrisome to me is not that change is needed, is what will be the change we get.  

Right now we have a whole bunch of coins adding up to a dollar.  A lot of loose change.  Some will argue so what.  A dollar is a dollar right.  True.  

Some people have no problem carrying around a pocketful of change.  No issue with grabbing a handful at the check out counter, picking out the pennies and dimes, nickels and quarters, counting it out.  

The biggest problem with loose change is of course it is loose.  You think all those pennies, nickles dimes and quarters you find on the ground are there because some individual walks around intentionally dropping them?  Carry around to much loose change and let's face it, you increase the odds of loosing some every time you dig into your pocket to pull out change or something else, open up that coin purse, or simply sit down.

I don't know, maybe this is a really foolish way to look at it.  It may not make a difference what you need to dig out to make a dollar's worth of the coin of the realm. Seems to me though there has to be a reason why most people use paper currency vs. coins.

Anyway ...

Speaking of money, I am going to note I didn't see last night's selectmen's meeting.  I just caught the article in this morning's edition of The Standard Times. The article reporting the request for "enhancements" to the former Roger's Elementary School building.  

Dividing the land? Probably have to do that anyway, or at least a portion of it. Parks will want and deservedly be entitled to more money for maintenance.  It is what it will be on that one.

Other Enhancements? You spruce up your building for sale because you are usually told it needs it to get a better price. What you do can determine what you get.  It also comes down to what buyers want.

Which also comes down to what a buyer can do.  If we were going to be selling a turn key building, heck I could see some potential in certain aspects for an expanded parking lot.  What I can't see is expanding a parking lot to expand it.  Who do you foresee buying the building and for what intend use and for what need of parking?

How many parking spaces will be needed for say a residential project? Say a nonpublic school? Anyway allow use under existing zoning? Are we talking about just doing an expanded area, or a total redo for a brand new parking lot? 

Dump the building.  Period.  If the decision is a sale, get it sold.  

You want to put conditions on use, exterior, etc., knock your socks off.  Just get to it.  Don't forget to add the condition to retain the uppermost levels, not to mention the slate roof requirement. And the addition, of course keep "neighborhood character" of the addition.

Just don't go throwing town money at it to enhance a sale. If you feel this will enhance it, tell us more as to why that is going to work?  

Be interesting to determine what good an expanded parking lot will do for a potential buyer who will have to meet use requirements for zoning will be.  You know, an unknown buyer at this point, with a yet undetermined use. 

Maybe the answers were given last night.  I will watch the meeting to see.

By the time this one gets to the voting block to authorize the sale that is town meeting, I am guessing, and a very big part of me hoping, I will be sitting in the audience.  At which point the only people seeing me shaking my head will be those sitting behind me. 

This one actually has my head, heart and gut starting to gel on one thing though. We should all be very careful for what we wish for, we just might get it.

That's all you get today too.

Be safe.