byte&chew

Thank You

Today, The Berlin Daily Sun has a front page story, "Donovan said he resigned because he felt no longer productive there". This is in regards to the fact that Berlin's Councilman Tim Donovan walked out of the Council Meeting last Monday night and left his letter of resignation with the City Clerk. Councilman Donovan was the longest serving elected official in City Hall and was no stranger to controversy and newspaper headlines over the past 15 years. Over the past year or so, Mr. Donovan had become a critic of the City Manager Pat McQueen and had publicly urged his fellow councilmen to replace the manager. Also interesting was his opposition to the Laidlaw biomass project and his many years arguing/debating his points of view against former councilman Paul Grenier now a County Commissioner. There's no question that it didn't take very long to know which side of an issue he stood for and what he lacked in tack and finesse he made up with conviction and energy. I believe that Mr. Donovan's departure is a loss for Berlin, not because he was always right, but because he brought intensity and passion to City Hall. He also brought a different perspective to issues, he saw Berlin as part of the North Country, not separate from the rest of the County. He saw Berlin as the center of commerce and culture in the region playing an important role in residents lives. There's no question that Council Meetings will now be more harmonious, but also gone will be the energy, passion and vision Mr. Donovan brought to City Hall. Thank you for your many years of service Mr. Donovan.

Yes, we can do better!

I wish to extend an invitation to any of the visitors to this blog to come to Berlin to view one of the most spectacular views in New England, the view from the backside of the proposed Laidlaw biomass plant. As the former administration building for the paper company gets torn down, the view from Route-16 south has become something to behold. To those of you who can't understand why the Mayor and Council are not in favor of a biomass plant on the mill site, I urge you to jump in your car and come and see what the fuss is all about and, would you allow this desecration in your hometown?  As you sit there wishing that the damn boiler and chimney was a few thousand feet to the east, imagine the value of that view both in terms of aesthetics and financially.  If we could accept bids on that view or offer it on eBay, who knows how many millions we could get for those 120 acres? If Waterville Valley, Conway or Manchester could find a way to buy that property/view and move it, we would have a bidding war on our hands!  (I'm thankful it can't be moved since some of us would probably be stupid enough to sell it to the first comer.) In a way that's what we're doing if we allow Laidlaw to convert that old boiler into a biomass plant, we're letting the first offer for the site ruin the potential for hundreds of jobs and millions in investments go up in wood smoke, stink and noise. Let me make a prediction. If Laidlaw is successful and when HHS and the courthouse is completed, I envision a lawsuit by the owners of the new HHS facility suing Laidlaw or the City for the noise and other nuisances of the biomass plant. I also envision the owners of St. Regis and Northern Lights Housing to join in the suit. The Laidlaw biomass plant takes a diamond in the rough and turns it into a chunk of coal! The prostitution of the mill property for a biomass plant is near criminal since it steals the potential value of the property from every citizen of Berlin in terms of jobs and financial opportunities. Even more damaging, it keeps the stigma associated with Berlin as a "stinking mill town" and makes the City a second rate community. Yes, WE CAN DO BETTER!

Another loss

As I was driving down upper Main Street by Woodlands Credit Union and saw the demolition of the former Administration Building of the paper companies, I again had that strange feeling in my gut that, I was watching the demolition of more than a building. That structure represented what Berlin was all about for almost 100 years, it stood there on that hill as a sign of economic prosperity and stability.  I question the wisdom of tearing down that office building and why nobody raised their voice in opposition. Remember the old Post Office? Remember the Community Club? Remember the Costello Hotel or the Berlin House? Is our City better off today without these historic buildings or would it be richer if these structures were still in place? How is it that we can allow these historic buildings to be torn down while at the same time allow an eyesore such as the old recovery boiler and chimney to remain part of our landscape?   How ironic that we also allow this authentic and historic building to be torn down while at the same time and, just up the street, we create a place called The Northern Forest Heritage Park where we build structures that are a "make believe" lumber camp to celebrate what's authentic and in the process of tearing down. This is one of those days where these realities remind me of how dysfunctional we are and wonder when or if, we'll ever get our collective act together?