Granby01033

I haven't posted on MassLive for since August 2008. After accusations of stalking people and rumors of my wife leaving me, it seemed like the prudent thing to do.

I miss conversing with a lot of the people on the Granby Forum, SBGR, Rams15, ClancyPants, GreenMtMn, and Mike Ribeiro, but you can only wear so much mud before people think it's your regular garb.

GreenMnM asked the following questionson the Granby Forum. I'll answer them here. Comments and questions are, as always, welcome.

What are your views on the new school building plans that are in the works?

The school building plans don't relate directly to the Select Board. It's a school committee project. As an elected body, the school committee is directly accountable to the voters, not the Select Board.

With that said, voters expect the Select Board to take a leadership role. My support as a selectman will depend on the cost of the project, not the overall dollar amount, but the cost to Granby taxpayers. Before townspeople are asked to support an override, they should know its impact on their tax bill.

the future of the dump...

The town is currently negotiating its last contract for the existing landfill, and the permitting process is underway for an extension on the Allen property off of Morgan Street. I recently served on an ad-hoc committee considering the landfill's possible usage after closure. It's too early to tell how much land will be usable after closure. Because the landfill is a mountain, rather than a filled in valley, most of the land is unusable post-closure.  There were too many unknowns for our committee to consider post-closure use in detail, but we suggested things that might help the process along when it closes.

 ...future uses for West Street School if/when the new school is built.

The use of West Street School will depend on how much it costs to renovate. I had been operating under the assumption that the entire building would have to be brought up to code if its use were changed. After speaking with Supertindent of School Pat Stevens who spoke with the engineer of the proposed complex, it seems West Street School will not have to brought completely up to code. School use building codes are tighter than the business use town offices would fall under. The costs of renovation would determine if we use West Street for town offices and meeting spaces or put out a request for proposals to see if anyone in the private sector wants to develop it. We could conceivably have a mixture of public and private uses in the building. I'd like to see the building preserved for old time's sake, but there's the twin issues of money and practicality.

What do you have in mind for improving our town?

 My ideas for improving town are primarily organizational. As it stands right now, there isn't good communication between the Select Board and the citizens of  Granby. Channel 15 is great, but you have to want to watch a long, dull board meeting to get information. There are more channels we should use for communicating with citizens.

On the technological level, these channels include email and a town website. On a personal level, I plan to hold office hours some time during every month. I would also like to have hearings, not meetings, which are for conducting board business, but gatherings where citizens can speak their minds and ask questions. 

One of my major goals is to get more citizens feeling like they are welcome to participate in town government. That sounds simple, but it's difficult. People don't have to give their lives to town government, but I think many more would be glad to do something.

I have other proposals on my website: www.markbail.com.

Mark