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Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
May 19 - May 25, 2005 Edition
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The Martha's Vineyard Times May 19, 2005 Edgartown ZBA action defies town voters To the Editor: This is a copy of a letter to the Edgartown board of selectmen: I feel obligated to voice my dismay and concern over the recent decision by the Edgartown ZBA against the library expansion project. This decision is in direct conflict with the desire of the people of the town of Edgartown and is a severe strike against the democratic process. Regardless of how one feels about the library design and project as proposed, the fact remains that the voters from of the town of Edgartown supported the project. In fact, the voting public supported the project three times, twice at town meetings and once at the ballot box. The fact that one of these town meetings was a special town meeting is a moot point, as the exact purpose of a special town meeting is to approve matters that need to be addressed in a timely fashion, rather than waiting up to a year for a regular meeting. One may recall that the Edgartown Town Hall, the Edgartown Police Station, and the Edgartown School projects all passed, at least partially, at special town meetings, as opposed to the annual town meetings. This was due, at least in part to the fact that there was a certain financial benefit to acting sooner rather than later. The chairman of the ZBA has stated publicly that the decision of the board was supportive of the majority of town members who were, in his words, afraid to speak up at town meeting. When last I checked, the job of our town officials is to represent the voting majority, regardless of the number of attendees at a meeting. If there was a quorum at town meeting and the majority of voters there supported a motion, it passes. It is actually that black and white. Or at least it should be. Apparently in Edgartown, which up until now was perhaps the last bastion of respectable politics on the Island, that is no longer the case. There is no longer the sanctity of the one man, one vote, majority wins philosophy. Yes, turnout for the town meeting was small. But a quorum was reached. It is not up to the ZBA to decide that the silent majority was afraid to speak up or that the meeting size was too small to get an accurate view of the situation. If people do not support a project, it is their obligation to attend town meeting, speak against it and vote against it. If they choose not to go, they lose. If one does not stand up for his views, one is not entitled to a victory. If one’s voice is to be heard, it must be in the public forum, not on the street after the fact in private conversation with a member of the ZBA. This is the way the democratic process works. I cannot see how that could be any more clear. The apparent justifications for this decision are that the project is too large and does not provide ample parking. With regard to the size of the project, why were the questions addressed to the former highway department superintendent, and alternate member of the ZBA, rather than the library expansion committee? While I have great respect for Larry Mercier and his long career in town government, I question whether he is the best resource for gathering information regarding a library expansion. Does it not make sense that the focus group responsible for the needs assessments of the town and the design of the building would be more informed with regard to current standards and anticipated growth? Yet no member of this knowledgeable group was queried with regard to the scope of the project. Without question, parking is a problem in Edgartown. However, the proposed parking area was a significant improvement over the three 15-minute parking spaces that have been available to library patrons lo these many years. The Edgartown Public Library cannot be held responsible for single-handedly resolving this parking conundrum. The number of spaces available in the application met the requirements, within the scope of the proposal. In our little, overcrowded town, 10 additional public parking spaces is an asset at this point in time. To be perfectly honest, I have some misgivings about the library project. However, the democratic process worked as it was supposed to. The town meeting was held, the motion to approve the product was made and the motion passed by a majority vote. This decision by the ZBA has gone against the will of the people, and the board of selectmen should feel an obligation to review this decision, regardless of each member’s personal opinion of the project. By denying this project, the members of the ZBA have cost the town millions of dollars and set the project back at least four to five years. Denying the proposal may have been within the jurisdiction of the ZBA, but the means by which they came to their decision are questionable, at best. I am disappointed by the actions of this committee. Gail Gardner Craig Edgartown Don’t confuse housing with rentals To the Editor On June 13, the residents of Chilmark will be asked to vote on the Middle Line Road affordable housing project. We are members of the homesite housing list and could benefit from this project. We applied to the homesite housing project because the town leaders created the program and offered it to their residents. The selectmen are reviving the issue of maintaining the entire Middle Line Road Project as rental units. Chilmark residents responded to a survey a year ago, and a majority of respondents asked for a combination of rentals/home ownership. We want to remain residents of this community. We want to continue to be a link to Chilmark for the five-plus generations of extended family that gather here each year. During this process of working with the housing committee, we have met teachers, policemen, students, mothers and fathers, gardeners, artists. It is exciting to think of these people as potential neighbors in the Middle Line community. The town of Chilmark invited us to participate in their program. We hope that the town leaders don’t lose sight of the vision they created in establishing the homesite housing project. We are concerned that the selectmen are trying to confuse matters by adding additional warrant articles. We hope that the voters will talk to the members of the housing committee before the June 13 vote. Let’s work to build the Middle Line Road Project and any other homesite housing projects that will come in the future. Mary and Perry Ambulos Chilmark Protect the filibuster To the Editor: Let’s stand behind Sen. Edward Kennedy, Howard Dean, the National Organization for Women, and others who are brave enough to expose the disturbing practice of demonizing and threatening federal judges. We must protect the built-in checks and balances of our democracy (such as filibusters), and oppose those who would stack the courts with partisan extremists. Please join me in writing to the President, Sen. Bill Frist, and our representatives, Sen. Robert O’Leary and Rep. Eric Turkington, to express your concerns. Lynn Ditchfield Edgartown Brilliant To the Editor: This is a note to Pat Waring, the Times Calendar editor and author of the brilliant story about the excellent adventure of John Early and Steve Schwab going to the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. Thanks so much. It was lovely to have us with you and obvious that you were really listening to all of our excited voices telling their story. What a feel-good way to start the day. I’ve sent the story link off to Marty Homlish. I know he’ll be pleased. Please share our appreciation with Ralph Stewart. Jan Hatchard Director of Development Martha’s Vineyard Community Services Dedicated ferry To the Editor: Speaking on behalf of the residents of Chappaquiddick Island, we would like to thank all the captains and crew that ran the Chappy ferry this past winter. Their dedication and professionalism is a perfect 10. Now, good luck this summer. Tom Kent Chappaquiddick & Scottsdale, Arizona Impressive office seeker To the Editor: After our return as alternate delegates to the Democratic convention in Lowell this past weekend, we and many other delegates were very impressed by the brilliant, articulate Deval Patrick, a young African-American Harvard graduate lawyer who is seeking the office of governor of Massachusetts in 2006. Patricia Force and Anthony Guyther Vineyard Haven Who were those guys? To the Editor: A fresh look at World War II from the vantage point of 60 years might lead one to conclude that Germans both won and lost World War II. To wit: the largest single ethnic group in the United States is still German. The British royal family has been almost exclusively German for several centuries. Add to this that many of the top generals of the Western Allies had German or Aryan surnames such as: Eisenhower, Eichelberger, Krueger, Geiger, Spaatz, Buckner, etc. To be sure, popular history books have long held that the Third Reich and Imperial Japan were defeated by mass conscript, Soviet, Mongoloid armies on the one hand and by mass conscript, American, mongrel armies on the other. But, I wonder. Peter Josephs Chilmark Support NSTAR strikers To the Editor: This is a short letter to support the men and women who work for NSTAR. These are the people who make sure that the lights stay on in hurricanes, blizzards or in the case of a car accident. They and their support personnel are always there for us in all kinds of dangerous situations. I encourage the members of the police, teachers, hospital and any other unions on the Island to stand in solidarity with our fellow union members. Drop off some cookies and coffee; join them on the picket line or just honk your horn to show your support as you drive by the plant on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road. Nancy-Alyce Abbott West Tisbury $24 billion budget decided in private To the Editor: There are significant reasons for readers of this paper to ask why the $24 billion state budget was decided by our current legislators behind closed doors without much public scrutiny. Some legislators say that it was more efficient to rush through the budget process and not hold hearings because the public had, according to Speaker DiMasi in the Boston Globe of May 1, 2005, “significant opportunities to influence the process … “ I offer the following questions for readers to ponder the answers. Do the majority of taxpayers know what those significant opportunities were? I regularly visit the State House as an official serving on both local and state boards. I know that there wasn’t enough time for the public to comment on the $24 billion worth of budget items which were decided on by the legislature. There wasn’t time for much public scrutiny at all. Where was there time for debate? Why don’t legislators show their willingness to be forthcoming and allow the public to hear what is being debated on? Why can’t amendments be heard in a room that can hold more than 100 people? Why is posting amendments on the Internet considered by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association as sufficient communication with the public? Was the public invited to see and hear the process? What does the word dialogue mean to our legislators? Was there time for anything more than rushing through the process? It wasn’t fair. Pamela Wilmot of Common Cause was absolutely right when she said in the recent Boston Globe report by Janette Neuwahl and Scott Greenberger, “debating individual amendments’ is the public’s business, and it should be conducted in public.” Does the average Massachusetts taxpayer know that the state House of Representatives conducts its ethics committee meetings behind closed doors? Hmmm. What does the open public meeting law really mean to our legislators? It’s time for change and disclosure. What else is going to be decided behind closed doors? Don’t we elect legislators to speak on our behalf? Under the open public meeting law, we as taxpayers and voters have the right to know and be present during meetings of a quorum of our elected officials. What do they really have to hide that shouldn’t be common knowledge under open public meeting laws? And how about the comment by Rep. Eric Turkington that, “A lot of things that would involve controversy and debate aren’t there.” “This is just a budget.” Well, let me explain one important point to Mr. Turkington: there are many things in the $24 billion budget that are controversial and hold significance to many people throughout the Commonwealth. Why are our legislators missing the point? Whose money is it, anyway? Who is serving whom? $24 billion is an awful lot of taxpayers’ money to explain away with a comment that shows blatant disregard for the concerns of thousands of taxpayers who really deserve to know how decisions are being made which affect their schools, jobs, roads, health care, pensions, environment and future. Maybe it’s time for the status quo legislators on Beacon Hill to pay greater concern for how flippant they are in the budget process and allow better public comment and shirk the appearance of secrecy on how $24 billion is spent. After all, with a $700 million surplus, the taxpayers have the legal right to know how and where the legislators decided to spend it. If the legislature isn’t going to roll back the tax rate, which was decided by the voice and vote of the Commonwealth, then doesn’t the public have a greater legal right to know what process the current elected officials went through to spend all that money? Jim Powell West Tisbury Jim Powell of West Tisbury is a teacher at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. He serves on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, the West Tisbury finance committee, and the Massachusetts State Workforce Investment Board. He was an unsuccessful challenger in 2004 for Rep. Eric Turkington’s seat. Global concerns impinge To the Editor: Sunday’s forum on mental health and substance abuse was eye opening and complex. We learned that depression, alcoholism, “cutting” and suicide are illnesses, and their levels are rising. We were told that medications coupled with talk therapy can be helpful. We were warned that environmental pollutants, including mold, can trigger mental imbalances. It was agreed that children need regular supervision and loving communication. Supportive words were given to the Vineyard’s 12-step programs and newly established teen center. And, of course, there was talk about money — about the cost and red tape of health plans, and the funds needed to expand teen programs and recovery houses. Of the many important issues, I believe that one received inadequate attention: The impact that world events have on mental health. It’s difficult for us to be energetic and cheery (and be good examples for our children) when we are burdened by the confusion, violence, injustice, and suffering of the world. If Martha’s Vineyard could insulate itself from world problems (and be more like the idyllic Island that tourists imagine), we and our children would likely live healthier and happier lives. But this is not reality. What happens around the world does greatly affect us. So, to effectively reduce our illnesses, we need to participate in solving the big and difficult problems — those involving competition for oil and other resources, response to genocide, dictatorships, consumerism (and sweatshops), pollution, violence in movies, and tendencies to view outsiders (people outside a community, religious group, race, gender, and/or nation) as separate and inferior. While a few forum attendees alluded to these important issues, most remained silent, possibly because the issues seem overwhelming. I’m hoping that as we continue with the forums and other efforts, we will courageously talk about and upon conditions around the world, not just those on Martha’s Vineyard. P.S. As a source of encouraging perspectives and activities, I recommend the web site of the American Friends Service Committee. Chris Fried Vineyard Haven |
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