Tuesday night’s BOS meeting was an example of dysfunctional government at its worst. The issue at hand was whether the town should allow an arts collaborative to have space in the old library for its activities. This seemingly innocuous proposal drew a level of vitriol that was totally unnecessary. It also occasioned a lengthy, tortured discussion aimed in large part at preventing additional cost to the town. Scant attention or respect was paid to the desirability of such a proposal for the downtown area or the wishes of a strong cohort of residents who have urged support for the proposal.
The final vote to have the town hire an architect to assess repairs necessary to comply with disability access rules is ironic given that the HCC had offered to pay the cost of an architectural review with its own funds. What is really motivating the BOS to try so hard to defeat this proposal? I wish I knew.
Deborah Thomson
Poor Farm Road
