This Friday, October 27, 2006, Anthony Flint will speak at the Wilson Middle School in Natick, to kick off Natick's "Visions for the Future Weekend." Mr. Flint is author of "This Land: The Battle over Sprawl and the Future of America." Refreshments begin at 6:30 p.m., and Mr. Flint speaks at 7:30.
Those who live in Natick are invited to sign up for a workshop on Saturday or Sunday to provide their input on the future of Natick. The workshops are part of the process known as "Natick 360," which will develop a Long Range Strategic Plan for the Town of Natick. Get more information at: http://natick360.org/
My sense, from talking to, and listening to a few who are interested in the future, the "long range" and "strategy" revolves around negotiating with the state to take the National Guard Depot for "open space" and turning the sand pit on Oak St. into a park.
ReplyDeleteThere's a sense of urgency in their mission, as the state has expressed an interest in relocating the Natick Court building to the National Guard site, and certain parties don't want that to happen. They'd rather the state put the court behind the Police station and build a garage for all to use. The time frames for these items are short, thus the sudden need to form a committee.
Besides that, every bit of planning that should have occurred a dozen years ago, lost private retail space to parking lots and municipal structures, and concentrated on money losing ventures like the golf course.
Dave misrepresents the intent and process of Natick360. It's not driven by specific projects and agendas, but by the reality of change, the legacy of our history and and the need for the people of Natick to have a say in how our community prepares for the future. This planning process is intended to give the entire Natick community an opportunity to participate. As someone who serves on several Town committees, and who now publishes a blog about Natick, Dave should know better.
ReplyDeleteThere are always urgent projects and short timelines. But it's an invention to state that this is about a courthouse, recreation site or any other specific potential or actual project.
For disclosure, I serve on Natick's Board of Selectmen and my business partner is one of the volunteers working on this project. My opinions do not represent the Board on which I serve; however, the Selectmen along with the Planning Board, School Committee, Finance Committee and Conservation Commission are the sponsoring boards of Natick 360, which was approved by Town Meeting.
I encourage people who are interested in learning more to check the web site natick360.org.
Thanks to Sharon for citing this project!
I didn't say that an agenda to turn the Guard site into a park was bad. I sense a lot of hostility in the reaction to people discovering what ideas are out there. Why?
ReplyDelete