Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Towards a plan for Springfield

The following steps should be part of a strategy for the immediate tackling of the hard drug addiction and crime situation in the Town of Springfield, Vermont.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981978980

23 comments :

  1. RE: f. The riverfront should be developed as a community focal point, and bike and pedestrian paths made a priority, pressure should be brought to bear on overcoming obstacles to the same.

    Way to veer off topic! Another reason that Springfield can't accomplish a damn thing, because any attempt at "planning" turns into a politically correct wish list of boutique niceties that are both unrelated to the primary objective and unaffordable to an impoverished town.

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    1. Agreed! Focusing in shops and store fronts? Really? That should be in a later article entitled "what to do with downtown after we cleaned out the Woolson Block and other areas"

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    2. Interesting, yes possibly off course, but such pathways have also been an instrumental component of various towns which have successfully reinvented themselves and rid their communities of blight. Lot of other thoughts contained in the proposal. Should have had more focus on education, it seems to me.

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    3. And one example of such a "reinvented town" would be....???

      Oh, and more focus on "education"? Sure.

      The two magic answers to every socioeconomic ill - bike paths and education! Voila, paradise!

      And let's just truck in a mountain of beach sand and declare Springfield a "beach resort community", too!

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  2. Relax, these are some really good ideas including the riverfront idea. Updating and utilizing river landscapes has been a hallmark of many New England towns' revitalization projects. Regardless of it's economic value it will in the very least make the town look nicer, which can help in deterring crime. In a town like Springfield, where the geography doesn't lend well to economic development (numerous hills, oddly located schools, businesses, and event venues, often with limited parking space) we should try to leverage our river into an asset. Keep it up George!

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    1. You need to add the number one inhibitor to the town's economic development to your list: "oddly thinking citizens/voters" - of which you should be considered a prime example.

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    2. That is just mean spirited to say! Stop calling people names! Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I am tired of hearing the name bashing, derogatory and cruel remarks. And before someone says "then just don't read it", I read it for the news and to hear opinions, not nasty remarks.

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  3. I hope you plan on raising Springfield's tax's to cover your wish list. What you say in this article is pleasing to the ear but extremely unrealistic in a town with a population of less then 10,000 and decreasing.

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    Replies
    1. Which of the article's proposals require extra taxes?

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    2. How's a 2.1% tax increase for a start?

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    3. Every one of the proposals his lists require additional resources and work which costs money.

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  4. "A" for effort. It's a proposal........

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    1. You are obviously grading on a curve!

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  5. " and the division of large homes into apartments can result in high crime districts. Declining property values are an indicator of problems in a neighborhood, especially if homes become unmarketable in an area."

    No kidding. Where the HELL was the town Planning and Zoning department 20-25 years ago when entrepenuerial real estate agents were buying up single family homes and converting them from residences to commercial properties with no regard for off-street parking, maximum occupancy or even habitability? Closing one eye and looking the other way, perhaps?

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    1. Same place the voters were when the Town passed the referendum call for repeal of the Rental Inspection Ordinance, perhaps you should inquire of David Yesman.

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    2. I'm with Jean; we need some new people in the Planning and Zoning Dept who have at least a little forward looking vision to avoid the situation we currently find ourselves in. Also, I agree with the commenters supporting some additional work on the river downtown; if there were more legitimate people downtown, especially in the evening, the criminal element would shie away. This idea has actually worked in other cities; look at the Fanueil Hall Market Place in Boston, that area was a no-man's land prior to the redevelopment of the area in the early '70s.

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  6. How about the towns people elect conservative representatives instead of bleeding heart liberals who want to coddle the criminal element.

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    1. Actually, hasn't the Selectboard been dominated by conservatives? or are you referring to the State legislature?

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    2. The selectboard has been dominated by preservatives, which is why the status quo rules and the town's decline continues.

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  7. So, 3:05, it's all about the riverfront and "legitimate" people, is it? Such simplemindedness is what has led Springfield to the abyss in the first place. Perhaps the town can hire David Copperfield to perform one of his grand illusions and make all the decay and drugs disappear. And to compare Springfield's situation to that of Boston? Truly, your head is in the clouds. A little more critical reasoning, please.

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    Replies
    1. Yesiree, we need more, "It can't be done here, thinking." Why how can we possibly preserve our fair city's ambience without plenty of "it can't be done here." Why look how that type of thinking has turned us into a thriving metropolis.

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    2. You resemble that old adage about who's the boss, anatomically speaking. And of course, that's also where your cranium appears to reside! I guess 40 years of misery, decay, and decline just isn't enough to convince you that without a major in the town's leadership and electorate, not only can't it be done, it won't be done!

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  8. I think Springfield should change the town's name to Pleasure Island ala Disney's "Pinocchio". The Lampwicks of the world could wreak havoc on the town as they are now already doing and hopefully in the end become evolved into something useful; donkeys! The town management and school board have already evolved into aquus africanus asinus so the bad boyz will fit right in.

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Please keep your comments polite and on-topic. No profanity

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