Waterfront Public Park or Sell?
At the beginning of this post I will acknowledge citizen right to petition their government/elected officials. We can also ask ourselves why anyone would waste their time serving in an elected capacity if the petition process is overused. There are likely many different views to the question, "When does the use of petition become 'governing by petition' and when is that not in the best interest of taxpayers?
A controversy has developed in Brunswick over the fate of a tax acquired waterfront property. The Town Council has voted to sell the property for the highest price, reasoning the best use of the property is for it to be back on the tax rolls generating revenue for the town of Brunswick. A group of citizens has petitioned the Town Council to reverse their vote and let the citizens of the town decide whether to sell or retain the property. The petitioners reasoned that the waterfront property should be kept by the town and the creation of a public waterfront park should follow. The Town Council has proceeded to prepare the property for sale and return it to the tax rolls. During the public participation period of the February 21, 2017 Town Council meeting, one of the supporters for the town retaining the property announced that a group of citizens has hired a lawyer and will be filing suit against the town for denying citizens their right to petition.
Does anyone see this ending positively without spending dwindling tax dollars? I am curious how a larger, broader number of Brunswick citizens view this issue. The link at the top of the page is a very quick survey (using the Monkey Survey platform) that aims to gather the views of a larger number of Brunswick citizens about this issue. The petition presented the views of a 'pro' public waterfront park. During the course of this issue, there have been many verbal conversations, public participation at Town Council meetings, letters to the editors, for both a 'support for retaining the property' and 'support for selling the property and return it to the tax rolls'.
What say you? Please share your views. I will write the results of the survey sometime after
April 15. Yes, that date was intentional :).
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