Whose pockets will the $2.75 million for town buildings come from?

To The Editor:

The Building Committee Meeting of Westerlo, which was held on Jan. 19, in my opinion could be characterized as deplorable! We in the gallery were instructed not to speak or comment, but would be given that opportunity at a future board meeting. Wow!

It stiII never ceases to amaze me how inconsiderate, I believe, the town board can be to the public. In my opinion, gag orders of any sort are not democratic practices. I’m surprised that the supervisor permitted it because one of his main attributes is to permit anyone or everyone the opportunity to speak.

Gag orders, as I call them, go against the supervisor's years of procedural practices. So who is the leader?

Silence (as in the restriction to speak) in any shape or form, invoked on anyone or any group of individuals, ultimately in my mind, serves no rightful purpose. Would the town board like it if we politely requested them to simply keep their mouths shut as we spent their tax dollars?

Would the board members like it if we stated they could comment at a later date? Would any of them want to hand over a blank check to us where we insert the dollar amount? Is there an attempt to insult the intelligence of dozens of people of this town? Do the answers to these questions indicate where we, as a township, are headed?

The town board members are our elected officials, not our elected dictators. Are days of Hitler re-surfacing? Has anyone ever heard the words, “...prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech?” Does the First Amendment of the United States Constitution ring a bell?

Progressing with the meeting, I observed the beginning of low-volume communication. At the head table were portable speakers and microphones that gave the appearance of being strategically placed with volume adjustment on low.

The metal chairs, which seemed to be fewer in number, appeared to be strategically placed closer to the back door. Possibly, this was to avoid the section of the floor that was replaced to remove (as I refer to it as) the speed bump (a huge warped swelling of the hardwood floor). It was in this location where supposedly asbestos was not disturbed.

We in the gallery were able to visually observe the backs of two Delaware Engineering representatives and our town attorney. This entire meeting, in my opinion, seemed like a sham that was extremely inaudible and deplorable.

When negative situations occur, I try to accept that they happen for a good reason. In this case, it reflected in my mind that it was “transparency.” The head table, in my opinion, was shining through a brilliant crystal pane of glass. Yes! Transparency at last! But, sadly I saw it as "no good."

The positive that came out of this is the first Amendment from our Constitution has always been upheld by your newspaper. Freedom of the press has prevailed. It has given me, along with others, the basic freedom and opportunity to inform many more individuals of what or how our government in Westerlo operates. So thank you.

I believe many 2-year-olds could see through this tactic or ploy. It raises the questions to me, why? Is it for control? Is it for dollars to be re-flipped around?

Why not work with the people?

Another positive action was, in my opinion, that at least for the night the recruitment procedure was not evident. I characterize this procedure as increasing the human count for supporting particular issues. There was no loud verbal spokesperson, no intimidation and, to me, just another boring evasive attempt to abuse and not use their positions in a constructive and democratic way.

So transparency is finally coming to life. It just needs lot s of polishing.

In closing, I believe there is definitely more town government transparency, some sort of switch in leadership or lack of leadership and an awareness, it seems to me, of possible alliances.

This sure sounds like a bad analogy of the TV show, “Survivors.” Still there is one good question: Whose pockets will the $2.75 million (more or less) come from?

Anita Marrone

Westerlo

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