The “farm,” which is more than a century old and has several deed restrictions, is being pondered as to: How much can we get for it (“the farm”) by the same people who helped to put Easthampton in this situation. The thought process seems to be if we can rewrite the 100-year-old chapter, the possible people buried there, the farmer who has been a super steward of the land and makes a farm family living off of said land, will be shoved out the door.
Let’s get back to basics, “clean up our own house.” Four hundred and sixty-six yards from the front door on Park Hill Road “farm property” are three U.S. flags attached to three different telephone poles and are torn and shredded from hanging for probably a year now. This is the same flag I fought for in 1966. “Let’s clean up our own house first.” Two hundred seventy-five yards from the farm house front door to the five 40-gallon construction barrels that have been sitting in the road cutting the road in half for about eight weeks since the water main break. I’ve called the mayor’s office two times over a three-week period with no response from him.
It’s time to stop with the tax and spend theory. We don’t need a $6.9 million override if we lived within our means. The cliche, “I inherited this mess” doesn’t get it, especially if you were on the City Council that voted for these expenditures. There are projected expenses one must plan for, not in the 11th hour. I ran a business and you make projections and set aside contingency funds. Let’s “clean up our house” first.
I am an 82-year-old Easthampton resident for the past 25 years. I am a former U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam veteran. I owned my own company. I live 285 yards from the front door of the farm. I do not want to see the charter broken or rewritten to fit any agenda. I believe the Chicoine Family Farm would be the best use of the land and the house staying within the intent of the charter. Let’s “clean up our house.”
Peter A. Sharac
Easthampton