Forum for Oct. 21, 2024: Parking meters

Published: 10-21-2024 5:38 PM

Quote about parking was misused

As the only Hartford Selectboard member to vote against putting parking meters in downtown White River Junction, I was surprised to read the recent editorial, (“The Heavy Hand of Meter Regulations in White River Junction”; Oct. 12) in which I am portrayed as not only supporting the project but offering justifications for ignoring the local option tax in which funding for the parking meters was defeated by the voters.

Although I did vote with my colleagues to authorize the use of ARPA funds to pay for the meters, the original threshold question of whether to put parking meters in WRJ was decided by a previous Selectboard and on that question I voted “no,” pointing to the ballot vote as my reason not to go forward with the meters.

The editorial uses a quote I gave a Valley News reporter in September after the Selectboard’s listening session in Wilder. I was asked to provide some background on the initial ballot question and the board’s subsequent actions. I was trying to give some insight into what I believed some of my fellow board members may have been thinking on the matter. I found the use of that quote to be extremely frustrating as it gives the impression that I not only supported parking meters but the quoted rationale as well, which I specifically rejected when I cast my initial “no” vote. Frankly, the quote makes me look like a weasel. I believe that it’s use in the editorial is what can rightly be called “disingenuous.”

Mike Hoyt

Hartford

The writer is chairman of the Hartford Selectboard.

Balance gains and losses on Main Street

While John Lippman’s recent front-page story regarding the upcoming closure of Bliss Village Store (“Couldn’t make it work”; Oct. 4) did a nice job capturing the significance of the store to Bradford village, its subheadline and lead paragraphs disingenuously represented as depressed the economic landscape on Main Street. Since the story ran, owner Marilyn Rainville has announced the store will remain open while seeking to sell it.

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While it’s true that the former cheese shop and boutique (well over a year ago) and coffee shop (last spring) have shuttered, Main Street has also gained Rae’s Corner Café, Not a Bakery hair salon and spa and the Wright’s Mountain Wellness Collective — featuring a massage therapy center and retail cannabis shop, with more to come — since around the time the current owners purchased Bliss in 2022.

The former coffee shop, meanwhile, is being replaced by a facility for mental health treatment, which some might even consider more important than coffee. A fleet of electric vehicle charging stations, the first of its kind in Vermont, also opened behind Main-Street-adjacent Denny Park this year.

I understand Lippman’s story was about the loss of a landmark business that will truly be felt, but if it decided to venture into the overall vitality of the village — especially so high up in the story — it should have been balanced with the improvements that have come in as well.

Jared Pendak

Bradford, Vt.

Thank you, Hanover Police

On Oct. 5, as I was leaving the Dartmouth-Penn football game, a bike rider crashed into the back of me. Thanks to the Hanover Police Department and Capt. James Martin, I received the medical and comfort aid that I needed. They took complete control of the situation and I am forever grateful and so happy we have a wonderful police force who are always there to help.

Marian Ulrich

Hanover