Please see attached flyer re: our town Historical Society and the Sheridan House Museum.
Please help preserve the history of Winchester and Ashuelot…… by
Voting
YES for Article # 17…To see if the Town will raise and appropriate the
sum of $5,000 to be given to the Winchester Historical Society for the
purpose of operating and maintaining The Sheridan
House,……etc… (furnace is failing and needs
replacement, among other needs)
Voting NO for Article # 25….”Are you in favor of abolishing the Historic District Ordinance?”
Voting
NO for Article # 24 … to rezone Map 9, Lot 23-3 (on Rabbit Hollow Rd)
from Rural Residential to Commercial. (“Spot-Zoning” is illegal)
Please vote, and thank you for your consideration of these articles.
EmH
13 comments:
To all residents who wish to preserve the Historic District, I would say to you that there is no free lunch.
We, the homeowners have to bear the costs, direct and indirect. We are the ones that are told to use 19th century
procedures and 19th century materials on our homes, should they need repair.
The neighbor across the street can have energy efficient windows, but I cannot. They can use vinyl siding, I cannot. If I want to replace my tired, broken worn out slate roof, I cannot use anything other than slate. Yet it was ok for the former chairman to rip his off and replace it with a metal roof 2 years after the ordinance went into effect. I realize he does not live in the district (missed it by one house lot, how convenient!), but this is just another example of do as I say, not as I do.
Two years ago my assessed valuation
went up by $50,000. According to Avitar
"You're in the Historic District" is
the reason. I have a real problem with paying for your entertainment.
It's a DEFINITE no on both Sheridan House and Historical District. Taxpayers should not have to support the vanity projects of the few. If the Sheridan House is so interesting, those interested should support it. Home of the first Avon lady. Stop already, you're killing me. Maybe the town can take over the abandoned Deano's Restaurant and turn it into a tax payer funded failed pizza enterprise exhibit.
The historical society and the Sheridan house Is a great group and a nice museum, but seriously, with the town bleeding the taxpayers dry and forcing so many into bankruptcy you really think this is the time for Over taxed property owners to fund your club and pet projects?
NO, on funding the Sheridan house in my book.
And YES on abolishing the Historic Districts, time for home owners to regain control of their own property's again!
To all the people who think we will be losing something by getting rid of the HDC, Well it was all lost decades ago.
C'mon Ed, we've all heard your rants about that group you hate so much for throwing you out of the library for not taking care of the place like you were suppose to. They had to scramble to make the necessary repairs to the place after you left, pay your oil bill and put up the hundreds of books you left sitting in boxes. Now you run around town bad mouthing them in your effort to get back at those people who picked up your mess. Shame on you and your crusade to get rid of history and your petition warrant article to abolish the historical committee.
As a recent transplant to Winchester I'm not sure where the Historic district is. What does the historic district do? I don't see any restoration projects being done.
Pretty in Pink, You already see what the HDC does, it prevents homeowners and property owners from maintaining & improving their property's that's why there is so many run down building's in the so called districts.
Anonymous March 7, 2014 at 7:29 AM
you seem to be talking about one of our Library's when this discussion is about the Sheridan house, are you confused? I was Not aware the Maggie's brother's first name was Ed, That's not the name he used on the petition warrant article, Have you just forgotten your meds today?
This seems to be the game people play in this town, If they don't like what going on, they work very hard at changing the topic or leading people off in the wrong direction, lets call it a diversion tactic. I for one, and I'm sure many others can see right through this, and you.
The Winchester Historic District begins at the dilapidated white church at the corner of Main & Chapel. Next dilapidated building is the half vinyl sided apartment building. The owner attempted to make an eyesore look better, but was stopped when the the HDC (under the former chairman)had the building inspector issue a cease and desist. Just because they (especially the former chairman) like to see eyesores. Next eye sore is Deano's Pizza (closed 7 years ago). The HDC does not like to promote economic development. In 2012 a bicycle shop moved into the former post office(three story building at traffic light). The owner put up a sign to promote his business like most businesses do. The HDC made him take the sign down and use tempera paint (yes, the kind used in kindergarten) instead. Needless, to say his business did not survive. Let's not forget the historic dead tree in front of the community center. Two years ago the director of the community center came before the HDC to cut a total of 3 trees. The HDC (under the leadership of the former chairman)voted to allow the cutting of the 2 trees that were an imminent threat to the building. They insisted that the third tree (dead over 10 years) out front not be cut to preserve history. To those of you that support the historic district you seem to take pride in all things dilapidated and dead.
Pretty in Pink - Welcome to Hell!
There are several homeowners in the Historic district that have improved their properties. However, the majority of them do not have the money to do anything with them and it has absolutely nothing to do with the HDC. You will know which ones they are - they are the ones that are not paying their property taxes.
If they were willing to work with the HDC, they could get funding from the State to improve their properties. Having said that - it might be difficult to get the current HDC to help. The majority of the board members are clueless about anything. Margaret Sharra sabotaged the board with idiots.
I realize this thread is about the Historical Society but I have a question and was not sure where to post it. What is the general opinion regarding the ELMMCC's $50,000 for youth programming. All I have noticed going on is t-ball and that obviously does not cost $50,000. What else does this fund?
To Curious newcomer said...
The money funds year round recreation and sports for our kids like Baseball, soccer, Winter vacation camps and a summer camp that runs for 6? weeks. The winter vacation camps and summer camp travel to a lot of fun places, and for some of the kids in town its the only opportunity they have to get out and see and do exciting things.
My daughter use to enjoy all these activity's and I was always happy with everything being offered.
The center is funded by a trust, all activities are paid for by this trust. Under the guise of recreation for our youth, the ELMM Center requests an additional %50,000 per year to pay the Trustees and staff and their insurance. It's public record because they receive public funds; but the information is buried deep in layers of bs and hidden from the public.
As someone who attended the deliberative sessions and listened to the complaints that "We have no history" and "Our history was destroyed in the fire", I am surprised at the lack of support for the repository of historical artifacts in the community. Sheridan House is also a draw for people from outside the area with an interest in history.
I realize this is an older post and therefore my response might not get read, but I felt I needed to respond. First off, I would like to thank the anonymous user that gave an excellent explanation of the youth recreational activities that the ELMMCC provides. It is nice to hear that our efforts are appreciated.
Secondly, I wished to address "someone who knows", who apparently does not know as much as they think. It is true that the center has a trust. However, the funds from the trust are used to maintain the facilities and support day to day operations. The funding that we request each year from the town is used solely for youth recreation, to pay for staff, supplies, transportation, etc. directly related to the programs. As a Trustee for the past 7 years and the current President of the board I can assure you that I have never been paid for my service. (Feel free to ask my wife.) Some of the funds do go to pay staff, like the summer camp director and counselors (positions created by the recreational programs). As well, some funds go to insurance, but we would be negligent if we did not carry insurance for our various activities. This year alone I believe that the Cal Ripken Baseball League requires that we have at least a $1 million liability policy. But again, this insurance is only necessary due to the recreational programs offered, not our general insurance.
Third, as part of our contract with the town (required by the warrant article) we provide an accounting of the funds that we receive. I apologize if this does not meet your needs for transparency, but it does fulfill our contractual obligation.
Finally, I will gladly discuss any questions or concerns you have regarding the ELMMCC. Feel free to contact the center at 239-4316 to leave a message. (I apologize for not giving my home phone, but received prank calls the last time I did so.) I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Frank Linnenbringer
President, Board of Trustees
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