Diane & Josh Bartlett: CruCon: Many consequences with reasonable alternatives

To The Daily Sun,

On March 14, we will have some very important decisions to make.

The proposed purchase of the CruCon building is a seriously flawed Article with many consequences and several reasonable alternatives. It will change the character of our village dramatically. For many years our long range planning centered on making the Village Center a “vibrant and walkable” community. We invested considerable dollars in sidewalk design plans toward this end. The CruCon location is neither walkable nor vibrant.

Why has there not been a professional space needs analysis done? Is there really a problem? Is this necessary? If office space is an issue, records stored in the store room could be digitized and open up space in Town Hall. This was actually suggested years ago. If more space is needed, a cost effective addition to the Town Hall could be done.

Combining the Recreation Department, Senior Meals program, and administrative offices in one building is not an advantage. Basketball downstairs from the clerk’s office? An addition to the Town Function Hall (formerly Lions Club) could provide both a modern commercial kitchen for Senior Meals and Recreational Facilities for less money than the proposed purchase. The current Recreation Dept. could be used for other town space needs. This solution would not require bussing our children to the Center Harbor town line for recreation programs and maintain the character of our village.

A bargain at 50% off is still only a bargain if you actually need it. Otherwise it is a waste of money.

Don’t abandon our small town village for big town things. As Joni Mitchell sang: “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.”

Please go to Town Meeting and vote no on Article 9.

Diane Bartlett

Josh Bartlett

Moultonborough