I know I’m not alone in breathing a huge sigh of relief that the vote for the new Middlebury town hall plan is over. Again. And I’m feeling very hopeful that we will move ahead now, as a community, to see these important projects through to completion with a spirit of openness and respect, as we have done before so many times.
The democratic process was messy, but it worked. Could that process — the over 20 years of dreaming and planning together to solve our town hall “problem” — have been more open and inclusive? You bet. A careful look at the history reveals that a lot of very thoughtful analysis and respectful discussion did take place. But over the past couple of years, some feathers were ruffled, clearly, as we worked out a compromise with all parties, including the college, our civic partner.
As we move forward from here, I’m very optimistic that all parties will be good listeners and willing volunteers — working together to make this wonderful Middlebury of ours a better place for all of us, now, and for the generations to come.
Ted Scheu
Middlebury