Edmond Town Hall:

Designed For Independence

To the Editor:

According to Town Charter, the Board (of Managers) “shall have the exclusive care and maintenance of Edmond Town Hall and all grounds and buildings appurtenant thereto, together with all powers and duties prescribed for said Board by Special Act No. 98 of the 1931 session by which it was created, as amended by Special Act No. 517 of the 1953 session”.. In other words, Edmond Town Hall, by definition, is an independent governing body.

To be truly independent, the Board of Managers faces the need to balance the desire for Edmond Town Hall to serve the community while becoming fiscally self-sustaining. Potential uses of vacated spaces might be limited due to financial demands to renovate rooms to accommodate the needs of occupants; however, access to foundation monies that can be applied to various community driven projects offers an alternative to dependency on town monies to cover expenditures beyond the income provided by the use of facilities and Mary Hawley’s trust.

While working in the education department at the Mattatuck Museum, I was introduced to the Foundation Center Online Directory (www.foundationcenter.org). For a minimum annual investment of $195, the Board of Managers and other town agencies would have access to a search engine specifically designed to identify foundation monies available for their stated objective. A variety of local agencies with diverse economic demographics from Waterbury to Westport, have benefited from the utilization of this or similar electronic tools.

Will Rogers warned that discussions regarding revisiting of plans is really a code for starting over, “throwing the baby out with the bath water.” I strongly disagree. As an Independent candidate for the Board of Managers and educator, I believe that long-range planning, periodic revisiting of the implementation of the plan, and determining what resources are needed and available are essential to successful achievement of established goals.

In education, state established benchmarks are the long-range goals for any subject area. Unit plans break down the yearly standards into measurable and manageable components. Weekly lesson plans further define the specific elements or building blocks to be addressed within the unit guidelines. Daily lesson plans define the strategies that will be used to help students access, comprehend, and apply the information. The success of the strategies applied Monday and Tuesday determine whether the lessons designed for the remainder of the week should be modified to meet the needs of the student.

Long-range planning is essential if Edmond Town Hall is to expand its role as an integral part of our community. Continual reassessment of community needs and financial resources will guarantee that Edmond Town Hall will be a dynamic force in the lives of those who call Newtown home.

 Last week’s Editorial Ink Drops philosophically stated that “it is probably more accurate to say that the building inhabits us rather than the other way around.” And for our generation and those to follow, what incredible moments lie around the corner.

Please vote to keep Edmond Independent.

Respectfully,

Karen C. Pierce

IPN (Independent) Candidate for Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers

10 Chestnut Hill Road Sandy Hook                         October 28, 2009