Letter: Open Letter to Orange BOS
As I watched the March 1st meeting on OGAT, since I was unable to attend, it is so concerning that the egos and pride of the people that made a decision as to where the playground is going, means more than taking a pause and actually getting the feedback from a Safety Consultant to be sure that the decision of the location of the playground is in the BEST interest of the children who will be using it. Why are we rushing something like this? So, what it has been two years, it has been 2 years without a safety study, 2 years without proper drainage placed, two years with things not being thought through. Why do we want to rush this and have a safety consultant come in and laugh at our lack of ability to plan appropriately and make a decision that is actually sound and makes sense for the future of the town? It is infuriating as a parent of a 5-year-old, that the adult egos and that I hear from so many people who work for the town, etc. say “It was Jim’s decision. It didn't matter what the committee wanted, Jim was going to get what he wanted and he wants it where it is going. End of story.” It is very sad as a taxpayer that we have put the cart before the horse again.
Old Tavern has little to no drainage on those baseball fields. Had it been done correctly we wouldn’t be spending so much money as a town on Speedy Dry every season. Things need to be done the right way and this is our chance to do something the right way and take a pause and have the safety consultant come in and help in the decision as to where the playground should go.
Please really think of the negative aspects of this decision and how it impacts the children in the town and the people driving in and out of that complex. One of the people who spoke at the meeting has a degree in Engineering and does this for a living and actually has a lot more knowledge and I couldn’t agree more, the cart was put way before the horse on this and it needs to pause while we have this study done. Please think long and hard about this. Parents would rather wait a bit longer for the playground than to push something forward that is not safe and will need to be moved eventually anyway. It will end up costing the town more in the long run.
