Op-Ed
Public lands need your vote
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We need to amend the state constitution to protect public lands. We will get the chance to do that on Election Day, Nov.
Granby Drummer (https://granbydrummer.com/category/voice/op-ed/page/4/)
We need to amend the state constitution to protect public lands. We will get the chance to do that on Election Day, Nov.
No matter who becomes our next governor or which party controls the legislature at the state capitol in Hartford, they will have their work cut out for them. While the bipartisan two-year state budget passed last year made some progress in helping to flatten the cost curve going forward, it is still the case that there are anticipated structural deficits of $2 billion and $2.6 billion respectively in the upcoming two fiscal years that will significantly test the mettle of state legislators and the executive branch.
Over the past several months, my husband Bill Regan and I have made written and oral comments, as well as commenting at public sessions, all directed to the Board of Selectmen relevant to various projects and their processes that impact the town’s economic and development future. The core of these comments and observations was to stimulate a marketing plan as recommended in Granby’s Plan of Conservation Development (POCD) instituted and submitted to the state in October 2016.
The Evonsion Farm is the largest remaining parcel of very high quality agricultural soils in town. The total parcel of 125 acres contains 88 acres of prime agricultural soils and 20 acres of farmland of statewide importance.
The premise of this op-ed reflects my observations during my attendance at public referendum presentations, meetings of Granby’s BOS, BOF, Planning and Zoning, Parks and Recreation, Board of Education, budget workshops, discussions with the office of Community Development and recent review of Granby’s most recent Plan of Conservation and Development. I hope it will stimulate Granby residents to contribute, vocally or in writing, to the town’s fiscal and quality-of-life issues.
Originally, I was going to address the potential for the Kearns School based on currently available information published in the Town of Granby Kearns School Study Committee Final Report dated May 11, 2017. This was part of my research because the issue has recently been revisited by the BOS to determine the school’s future status.