List Serve Alert - Town of Norwich

List Serve Alert

Today is December 20. 5 Days before Xmas, but more importantly smack in the middle of holiday season in the US. Here in central Vermont snow has graced us with its presence for about two weeks, and as I write this the sun is getting ready to rise, the kids are counting the days until Santa comes, and I have to say when I arrived home from a long day in Boston yesterday I felt good that I could breathe. Unless you look at the latest news feed or twitter feed, all is good in the world. Kids are ecstatic as the last day of school is upon us. It’s hard not to allow that unfettered enthusiasm take over the household and the neighborhood.

But not so fast. I forgot about the ListServe. Innocent in its consistent format, and easily skimmed by the average citizen (actually, let’s be honest, not so easily skimmed, it’s a brutally outdated format)… there’s usually one nugget buried in those numbered messages that quickly moves aside thoughts of gingerbread houses and mistletoe. And as a Selectboard member, one always has to keep a somewhat watchful eye lest someone write something related to town issues that you miss and then, weeks and sometimes months later, in public meetings risk getting called out for not having kept one’s self adequately informed.

This morning’s post related to, no surprise, the recently submitted (not approved) draft of the Norwich Town Plan. Again, like the many similar posts that have preceded it, it boasted sarcasm, distrust and skepticism that, while certainly permitted, do not necessarily support what is often refereed to ironically as the “rural character” of Norwich.

Let’s do a little dissection.

Is everyone in Norwich aware that the Planning Commission has submitted aplan to the Select board without having done any professional impactstudies?  

I have to ask myself “who is Everyone?” Anyway?  I am sure of one thing… everyone is not reading the list serve or this post. I actually want to know how many people really do read the List Serve… I will report back.

Related to impact studies, let’s be clear: the plan that the Selectboard received from the Planning Commission does not require impact studies as there is no major development, or any development, specifically contemplated in the plan.

The Planning Commission claims that the 350-acre "Village" thathas been proposed for "development", is not in the current plan that hasbeen submitted.  However, the development of the 350 acres along Route 5South, River Road, and Route 5 North, is still very much alive.  Norwichiansneed to get informed and involved.  The Selectboard has scheduled twohearings on the current version of the Town Plan:  January 20, 2018 andJanuary 23, 2018.  Why so close together - three days apart? 

Open discussion of planning and development in our town and nearly every other town in this country will always remain alive… I think that’s ok. Previous posts look at the words “to be studied” and quickly assume that means there is a sinister plot to trick the town in some way. There is no such trickery taking place. There is no plan to develop 350 acres along Route 5 South or any other place. There have been discussions and I suppose those will continue. They will be studied, as they likely should be. Just as people have a right and in some cases an obligation to call out and question governmental bodies, there are also rights to explore and study options for the future for municipalities.

Regarding the meetings being 3 days apart, that’s when the Selectboard could all be available. We chose a week night and a weekend day and the reasons for those choices were discussed and debated publicly at length. No dates will be perfect, but we tried to accommodate those who can’t attend during weekdays and also tried to choose times and days that didn’t have obvious conflicts with other happenings.

Norwich citizens need to attend these meetings and start asking questions to findout the answer to this question - and many questions.  

I, too, wish more Norwich citizens would attend. It would be really nice if we had a balance of people who felt positive about the efforts made on a daily basis by the employees of Norwich, including new Town Manager Herb Durfee and his entire team, as well as approached elected and appointed volunteers with an attitude of partnership and collaboration versus constant skepticism and negative will. We get asked many of the same questions over and over again. As though the answers must be untruthful and that by asking again somehow we will trip ourselves up in a web of lies. No such lies exist. With the Selectboard specifically, by law and by our own self-governance, what you see is literally what you get.

You all also need to educate yourselves on the negative affects of massive development,especially in a small town like ours.  Just imagine: daily traffic jams onRoute 5 South; imagine if the cost of services that accompany any suchdevelopment usually ends up costing tax payers more because the "rewards" ofthe development do not even come close covering the demand for expandedservices such as police, fire, water, sewer, etc.  That shortfall will haveto be made up by you, the tax payers of Norwich.

"Just imagine"… I think those are the key words written above. Let’s just imagine a world where the fears of the vocal minority (a word the vocal minority seem to really resent, but is actually factually correct and nothing to be ashamed of) came true and life as we know it came to a grinding halt. Let’s lean into those fears, imagine them to be true today, work ourselves into a frenzy of distrust, and continually write posts such as this to spread uncertainty throughout the town for things that aren’t even true and in all likelihood will never be true.

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More Thoughts

At the end of the day, we are lucky our town has outspoken citizens willing to spend time paying attention and asking questions. 99% of the time I really am eagerly listening, wanting to make sure people know they are being heard and that their voice counts. As an elected official, it's also my job. Just as it has been my job, and my passion, as CEO of Boloco for nearly 21 years.In my first months as Selectboard member, I assumed that those speaking had been ignored because that's what they were often saying - and some had. I took their words at face value. I dug in and listened with every fiber of each of my ears. It felt good and I learned a lot from this exercise. I've made friends as a result, too.  I encouraged people to speak up, to voice dissent, and I felt an obligation to shut down those who were possibly trying to silence these voices of the public (whether it was intentional or simply habit to try to move meetings along, I can never be sure).But here's the thing. Just because each of us has the legal right and human ability to speak up does not mean that always doing so is in anyone's best interests. Speaking up on anything and everything is actually very rarely helpful. Nobody knows everything, and doing so takes away from the areas one might actually be an expert in and be able to make contributions to. And, I have to say this, publicly smacking down town employees as well as elected and appointed officials (mostly volunteers) is something that should be reserved for only the most egregious of situations.Some, not all, of the voices who show up regularly at town hall meetings are there to play watchdog on how the town is run. That, in and of itself, is fine, and although I wish they trusted us more, I understand there are historical reasons why this isn't always possible. But when the minutia of each action or discussion are picked apart over and over again, by the same voices, with distrust and conviction of foul play in their words and their tones, this is no longer helpful. It's hurtful."But, Pepper, people have the right to share their opinions!" I'm reminded repeatedly.Yes, they do. But should they always? Is it always wise to share your opinion? Speaking from personal experience in countless situations, I am positive the answer is an emphatic no. Wouldn't it be terrific if instead of glaring at us and saying things like "we are watching you... we have our eyes on you"... people stood up and acted as our partners, our allies, and offered to respectfully help town employees and volunteers do the work that needs to be done. We are elected, sure, and therefore subject to whatever people choose to throw our way, but we aren't superhuman and we can't possibly do everything that is requested of us. We are elected to office, not because of our direct experience necessarily, but because of our hopefully good intentions and our ability to sift through endless amounts of information and make reasonable decisions on behalf of the town. It's a lot harder than I thought.Back to the very beginning of this post... the sun is now up and shining, the day calls. For anyone who really wants to read more about sinister governmental activities, perhaps turn to FOX and CNN, or order a copy of my brother's recently released novel, political thriller "The People's House". That will more than adequately satisfy even the most distrusting imaginations, believe me ;)

"Much like author John Grisham did for law firms, Pepper pulls back the curtain on how local political races really work. The result: A can't-put-it-down novel that's part thriller and part reason to pay attention to the election process -- no matter where you live."  - Cincinnati Enquirer