Preserve The Path is a group of local citizens with a keen interest in preserving the aesthetic ideals of the town we love. In the long run our goals are not that much dissimilar to those of the town who can count themselves as the sons or daughters of this storied hamlet for seven , eight, or ten generations. This town like any other town is made up of a collection of people who are all striving to create the very best for our present generation and those not yet realized generations that will continue this great town forward in the future. We wish to create a community with a bold vision for the future that is inclusive enough to embrace anyone who has the desire to see Windham thrive. We hope to create this community together with all the different groups that reflect our shared commonality and differences to better construct the future of Windham that will benefit all.
Perhaps Mr. Ryan, in his most recent article “Enter Stage Left… The Barrister”, misconstrued our frustration and disappointment at being continually denied what we feel is a fundamental democratic right to have meaningful discourse with the town board and its members. Perhaps, Mr. Ryan felt this was an overstep on our part. It is his right to express that sentiment. We only ask that the community is given a complete picture of our positions and that they understand we are not attempting to overstep our bounds as a private citizens group, but to broaden the framework of local democracy in the town for all. It is after all one of the most American of all activities in one’s civic life to express and expand the ability for themselves and others to safely and effectively voice their ideas to those we’ve elected to office. This is partly why the members of the Preserve The Windham Path feel so strongly that the creation of a “working committee” made up of a broad coalition of people from across the town is an important step in this process.
The process of resource allocation is never one that is not without a few wrinkles. However, we as a community must not allow these minor wrinkles to become major tears in our social fabric that leave the community diminished as a whole. We mustn’t allow emotions to distract from our goals of cooperation and consensus that will ultimately win the day over and create stronger bonds amongst the community as a whole.
While it is true that we are engaged in the process of retaining legal counsel. It is not for a nefarious act of legal obstructionism, but for our group to understand the difficult environmental and town law that is required for the ultimate mission to preserve the Path and create a viable solution to the Mountain Top Little League’s lack of parking. Hasty words in email flyers are often blown out of proportion and give little insight other than to disrupt the ability of others to see our true intentions. We apologize to the community that unfortunately these documents have been distributed in a manner that doesn’t clearly show our true intent. We wish to make it clear that sabotage to potential funders of the future Sports Complex is not our intent. In fact our only goal is to make the entire community aware of the project's potential costs and develop ways of funding projects that benefit the Mountain Top Little League Sports Complex in a cost effective and fiscally responsible way .We have no other desire than to create a facility that will benefit present and future generations without undue financial burdens to the community.
We hope to engage the entire community in meaningful discourse at some point before October is over. It is time for all of us to cool off the heated rhetoric in social and print media and to come together in an open forum like our democratic forefathers did in Virginia or New England to express ourselves in a civil manner. It is our hope to reach out to the Mountain Top Little League Officials so they too will join us in this meeting. We hope this meeting will create a space for meaningful understanding of each other’s positions and where our common goals overlap. These common areas are where our future dialogue can be both productive for the community and meaningful to the participants that partake in it. This is after all our greatest right and what America is all about.
Please Join Us At Each Meeting on the Second and Fourth Thursdays of the Month for Town Board Meetings and The First and Third Thursdays of The Month for Planning Board Meetings. We need your support now more than ever!
Find Us At:
and
Facebook at The Mountain Issues Coalition Group or Preserve The Windham Path Group
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Please save the Windham Path! It’s wonderful!!