At the upcoming annual Town Meeting and town election, we face divergent paths for the future of our town. One choice is to continue to invest in our infrastructure. The other is to defer or avoid spending to limit immediate outlays.
In my 23 years living in town, I have watched the vibrancy of the town center wax and wane. Activity has waned when focal points and gathering places moved from the town center. These included the Garricks’s closing of the camera store and pharmacy, the closing of the old library, and the moving of the post office. Conversely, activity and the spirit of the town and town center increased when attractive, flexible facilities for people to gather, meet, and interact materialize. Examples include the Pilot Project, the old Library, the General Store, the resurfaced tennis courts, and the new library. Notably, our schools provide constant and vibrant centers of activity.
The projects and infrastructure that have contributed to the appeal, energy, and property values of Harvard were not free. These projects required investment and continue to require maintenance for our use and enjoyment. In the past, our town’s leaders and citizens had the wisdom to see over the horizon of the immediate costs of these projects. They recognized the additions to our quality of life, the vibrancy of our community, and, indeed, to our property values that each project would bring.
At this Saturday’s Town Meeting and during the election on May 1, we have measures before us to invest in and revitalize our town center infrastructure. These include the Town Hall Building Project (Article 18), the Ongoing Energy Project at the Bromfield School (Article 23), and the Bromfield School Tennis Court Lighting and Resurfacing (Article 26).
In the interest of keeping our town center vital and our community energized, I not only support these measures but I hope that town meeting will amend Article 18 to provide funds ($28,000 by the estimate of the town administrator, or as reported by the Press, $57,000 as estimated by Selectman Bill Johnson) to save the Pilot Project the Old Library–a welcome new hotspot of community activity. Further, I hope that as a town, we support and elect town officials who have the vision to see past the short-term costs of these investments so that we can realize their long-term value.
James Elkind
Slough Road
