We continue to work diligently to educate the public regarding local issues that impact quality of life, our fragile environment and our limited infrastructure.

We continue to make rational suggestions. Is anyone in Village Hall listening?

I am compelled to respond to the ridiculous assertions made at the baseball field discussion last Tuesday.

To be clear, our position, from the beginning of this issue, has been asking council to adhere to the procedures and rules imposed by our Village.

That request has been ignored.  The baseball preliminary design was in the agenda as a discussion item only.  Yet they broke with their own rules and voted to approve the design which included the controversial artificial turf.

Our position on the “turf or grass” is simple — Have council and the public hear both positions, pro and con, and make the right decision consistent with the Villages’ mission statement.

Additionally, to be clear, this newsletter has over several thousand readers, certainly not a small voice of loonies, considering only 3-4,000 residents vote in our elections.

There is not a movement of people who would “be happy if the baseball field and other sports fields used by our entire community disappeared.”

There is more nonsense in the actual quote from last Tuesday but this is the crux of the statement and I don’t want to bore you. Suffice it to say it was a stupid, insulting, ill advised statement that has zero factual basis.

Shameful.

 

Our position remains consistent. To ask Council to hear the people and ensure the correct decision is made. For some this is hard to do because many officials do not seek opposing opinions but rather operate in their own bubble.

Example:

A  Baseball Field Task Force  of residents, authorized by our Village manager, made the recommendation to do a survey of residents to address the baseball field controversies. The task force request was ignored by Council who did not want to “kick the ball down the road.”

It would not take a great length of time or effort to settle this issue by hearing from  constituents.

Unfortunately, many residents are afraid to comment publicly. They fear both personal and commercial reprisals. This has been expressed by many readers.  

Power, bully politics, with occasional name calling in public, is now the norm in the village council meetings and other forums. We reject childish behavior.

Real public servants adjust their positions when given additional information. Not in this Village. Some council members were predisposed and made campaign promises.

We will never shrink from reporting issues as we see them.

As always, we welcome rational discussion in whatever forum is appropriate.

The “Will of the People” is more than a slogan.  It is the basis for political decision-making, underscoring the belief that our government should act while considering the wishes of its citizens. 

As a community we must do better. Remember, elections have consequences.

Tom Raffanello