Fric Spruyt represents District 9 in Brattleboro's Representative Town Meeting.
BRATTLEBORO-At the July 8 Brattleboro Selectboard meeting, two agenda items inspired lively discussion.
One was the Charter Revision Committee's apparent willingness to abandon Representative Town Meeting and a related separate citizen initiative to put our town budget to Australian ballot. The other had to do with the inevitable use of the abandoned Hinsdale bridges and island by the homeless.
In both cases, there were a variety of heartfelt concerns, some well-documented and others more speculative.
In all the discussion those advocating for a change to longstanding expectations were not able to come up with convincing arguments for how their ideas would truly be beneficial.
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Regarding RTM, the idea that it would be better for more people to be involved is laudable. The fact that historically there have been very few competitive races for any office, elected or appointed, means that we have with few exceptions "enfranchised" those who are truly interested and able to serve.
The idea that it should be made more accessible or convenient to participate misses a crucial point. It takes an investment of time and effort to do any of these jobs remotely well.
In my role as RTM member, I go to information meetings, and I have regular discussions about how to address the many challenges facing our community with Selectboard members and municipal staff. As a member of the Energy Committee, I bring my lifelong passion for the subject. This is what lead me to become a lifetime member of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA).
Many others who serve our town have stepped up because they also realized that they have something to offer and care enough to make the investment.
There will be far fewer people who truly prepare for an open Town Meeting, and almost none if our budget goes to an up-or-down vote, as would happen with a vote by ballot.
If there's any place where we could use more access to the process (and more transparency), it is in our federal government. Having even a tiny bit of influence on, or even keeping tabs on what our state government and, especially, our federal government are doing is where our concerns might well be focused.
That is where real disenfranchising happens, and no tinkering with town governance can fix that.
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As for the island of homelessness, the town of Hinsdale has every right to be unhappy about being burdened with a problem that the state of Vermont and the town of Brattleboro have allowed to happen.
The longstanding agreement was that the bridges would be fixed up enough that they could be used for pedestrian and bicycle traffic for decades to come. The funding to do so was part of the plan for the new bridge.
At this Selectboard meeting, ideas for how to address the problem included Brattleboro taking over responsibility for the island and bridges (unlikely for a variety of reasons) and a private organization, like the one that created the West River Trail, taking responsibility for the area.
By the end of the meeting, the Selectboard showed little interest in compromise with the town of Hinsdale - seemingly not even considering working with those private interests that might have a chance of winning over that municipality and keeping the possibility of access to this area for future recreation use.
In all this, the tried and repeatedly failed idea of displacing people from the island was the best anyone could come up with.
To be fair, this is yet another situation where the federal government failed us, both in terms of creating a well-designed safety net and then refusing to regulate pharmaceuticals, which led to the opioid epidemic.
The motel program could have been helpful had it included truly robust and comprehensive support services. Instead, like the island in the middle of New Hampshire's river, it is reminiscent of The Lord of the Flies.
Locally, the only thing that has made some difference is the Brattleboro Police Department's BRAT Team and their partnering with social services.
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I hope that Representative Town Meeting and the two bridges and the Island they connect will continue to be important parts of the life of this town.
And I hope that we will keep trying to find real, workable solutions to real problems, while appreciating those things that do work.
I would never say that making the investment in our town is inconvenient.
This Voices Viewpoint was submitted to The Commons.
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