I confess to a skeptical view of the new tennis courts going in at the high school. In my time in Stowe, I have seen three sets of tennis courts at the elementary school deteriorate until they were unplayable and rebuilt with fanfare, only to deteriorate again. The once really fine courts at the high school received no maintenance for years; no wonder they became unplayable.
Stowe over the last 40 years has been the Queen of Diminishing Assets. Timely upkeep of its municipal facilities simply has not happened.
The Jackson Arena was allowed to rust and rot until the repairs needed were monumental, then unsupportable.
The Stowe Library/Helen Day building was simply ignored from its date of restoration in the 1980s until five years ago, when the building was in such bad shape it required a major overhaul. Among other things, poor drainage developed as a result of the periodic repaving of School Street and the addition of the Historical Society building to the site. Over the years, town officials refused to address the problem and a stream ran through the basement, encouraging the robust growth of mold and rot in the walls.
The cupola on the Memorial Building was ignored until it disintegrated.
Our Main Street sidewalks have been a continual maintenance problem and insurance liability. The old cement slabs cracked and lifted with winter frosts and the town’s ongoing experiment with different kinds of pavers has been equally unsuccessful: Each spring they require hours of labor to patch and replace. Surely somewhere in North America there are cities in cold climates that have found a solution that is both attractive and reasonable in cost. One hopes we learn of it before the scheduled replacement next year.
I have been told by various old-timers that much of the piping for the village water system is over 100 years old and in dire shape. There have been piecemeal repairs when a section collapses but really dealing with the problem has been a political hot potato tossed from board to board for years.
So, how about a capital planning program that lists not only snowplows and equipment, but municipal buildings and tangible assets, in a coherent manner? Otherwise, we continue to save this year’s penny in taxes to spend thousands, sometimes millions, when we have to replace rather than refurbish. Given the current situation with education spending, we taxpayers are reluctant to add anything to our annual budget. Good leadership could lead us to our senses.
While I am on the subject of municipal spending, a friend asked why the lights at the Stowe High and Middle School complex blaze all night? Isn’t that an unnecessary waste of taxpayer dollars? Can anybody justify this for me?
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