Moultonboro recreation director refuses to listen to the people

To the editor,

It was just about a month or so ago that I was talking to a friend about the Lions Club property in Moultonboro. We were saying, "Have we finally put this issue (to build a field first and then who knows what later?) to bed?" We discussed how we thought that we, as the opposition to building anything on that location, have spoken loudly, repeatedly. We gathered 252 signatures against building on that property and presented it to the Board of Selectmen. Because of those signatures, any building was stopped and the formation of the Blue Ribbon Commission developed.

We were hoping for something like Power to the People for defeating any plans for building anything on the Lions Club property. Or so we thought. This was to be a pat on the back to the people that sought out and signed a petition with the good intention to keep the rural character, keep spending down, and stop shoving something down the throats of taxpayers. The Blue Ribbon Commission spent months reviewing all the information, interviewing people, held many meetings all open to the public, and welcomed citizen input with accurate minutes. The Blue Ribbon Commission came back to the Board of Selectmen with the recommendation of building something along the lines of a gym, on school property, after repairing Playground Drive.

But, that didn’t exactly go over well. The recreation director still refused to hear what the public has said, repeatedly. Former RSPT member Tom Howard continued to push extremely hard to build on the Lions Club property. He claimed that the costs to fix Playground Drive and to build a new field at the Lions Club are nearly equal. Yet he has no proof to back that up, but made a long-winded presentation for the Board of Selectmen with the recreation director present in the audience.

The Recreation Department director has proven her unwillingness to cooperate with the school and the town as she wants her own field. Frankly, we, or should I say the kids, would have had a field by now if it weren’t for her. We could even use Camp Tecumseh but that has been repeatedly dismissed, with no reasonable excuse other than "that won’t work", according to the recreation director.

Just remember that the recreation director, Tom Howard and many others that have publicly and not so publicly pushed this issue from ground zero, are relying on the legislative body to having a poor memory of just what was voted on in Town Meeting. The people are not that stupid.

Past political regimes have taken the heart and soul out of this town. They have in fact divided and conquered the town. What we need more than ever is a new political power with a "Community Unity" approach with a heart and a pulse. Then the divisiveness could be put to rest.

Linda Punturieri

Moultonboro