Random Thoughts

Just a couple thoughts.

• About Facebook:  I love it and use FB all the time. I've been a part of 2 town oriented FB groups from the beginning and read pretty much everything on them. But if you have an idea that you would like to share with the powers that be (i.e. Town Council, School Board, etc) posting it on FB is not the way to get it addressed. It's a great and useful tool for sharing ideas and information, but cannot and should not replace formal venues for addressing concerns. If you want to make sure that you are heard, please contact Councilors directly. Their contact info is listed on the town website.

• Full Disclosure:  I'm a realist and I completely understand that many people enter politics for some self serving reason and not just because they want to make the world a better place. Maybe it's because they don't want taxes to go up, maybe they want to protect what's theirs, maybe they just like to see their name in the paper. Newmarket is no different and it's completely natural and understandable as far as I'm concerned. Through my crash course in town politics I have been trying to understand what people's motives are and one of the things that I like about attending meetings is watching how people interact with one another. WHAT one says is important, but HOW one says it can often fill in the blanks. So this brings me to the Black Bear TIF.  I mentioned before that I think Black Bear must keep Mr. Levy up at night and I don't think I've attended a meeting where he hasn't brought up closing down BB. Is it really only because he wants to see any captured revenue returned to the taxpayers? It's my understanding that Mr. Levy is building a new home off of New Road, which is either in or abuts the BB area, so is his opposition because he would prefer not to have 200-300 acres developed right next door to him for potential industrial uses?  Like I said, it's completely understandable, as long as we all understand it.

• Taking Sides:  Last week Mr. Bentley approached me before the start of the Town Council meeting just to say thanks for taking an interest in what's happening in town. (When the same 3 or 4 people attend the meetings, a newcomer is pretty obvious, I guess.) He mentioned that it's nice to see someone from the "school side" take an interest in what's happening in the town. He was being sincere and I know that when someone says something nice you should just smile and say thank you (which I did) and not complain. But I hate the perception that there's a "school side" and a "town side" and what I hate even more is that it's probably true. Sigh. 

• Cable Access: I watch a lot of Channel 13 these days and it rocks. In addition to the live broadcasts on Channel 13, they offer live streaming, a video on-demand site, some footage on Youtube and you can check them out on Facebook.  Most recently they posted this video--Government and Municipal Accounting 101.  It's a great resource for our community. Check it out!

About last night...

From last night's Town Council meeting:

"It's not a cash issue, it's an accounting issue."
--Mr. Nazarro, in regard to closing out the Downtown TIF
Basically this gets to the idea of the "missing money" that was reported a while back. It's not like a pile of cash had vanished. There were some accounting errors/stylistic problems, that needed to be addressed. After last night's meeting, it seems to finally be resolved.


"I really don't care"
--Mr. Zink, regarding the Black Bear TIF
Personally, I think this is a problem. I hope that was his frustration talking and that he does care, at least a little, about the TIF.


"We've been put in these seats to make decisions"
--Mr. LaBranche
Well said Mr. LaBranche. I couldn't agree with you more. As a taxpayer I might not always agree with the decisions the Council makes, but PLEASE start making some decisions. It is a miracle that anything gets done.


"We are mired in yesterday"
--Mr. Nazarro
Yup.


"To complicate this with the Black Bear TIF is absurd."
Mr. Zink, in response to Mr. Levy's insistence on inserting Black Bear TIF funds into the Downtown TIF/water fund conversation.
Yes. Absurd and irresponsible. One thing that's clear about the Black Bear TIF, is that it must keep Gary Levy up at night. He says that he just wants it closed and the money returned to the taxpayers, but  I have a feeling there's something else. At one point during the evening, Mr. Bentley suggested that if anyone has any extra "dogs in this fight" they should disclose them. I wonder what Mr. Levy's dog is?


"More about Black Bear next week."
--Mr. Nazarro
I have little doubt.


"I have a fair amount of skepticism about the numbers and where they've been."
--Mr. Levy
OK, this just made me giggle. It was a long night.


"Is he really comparing running an entire town to his business?"
--Overheard in the audience
Yes, he was.

"I'll make the motion now and it'll probably fail and that will be that."
"OK, so one dumb question."
"I'm just confused, but that's OK."
"I have just one dumb question."
--Mr. Levy
I wrote these quotes down and had some very snarky things to say about them, but on the advice of my husband, I deleted those comments. Here's the thing, though: Mr. Levy starts A LOT of questions with this sort of comment. It's frustrating. Mr. Levy, there are no dumb questions.