Just when we thought we would take a break for a while the show heats up!The inside word on the town buying the Mendon Country Gift Barn property is that the owners do not have nor ever had any intention of selling it.
The rumor got started by Sharon Cutler nosing around with more of her grandiose ideas. Furthermore the owners of the Barn are livid that the story circulated. People began a rush to cash gift certificates and the story hurt the Barn's business.
We will be surprised if the owners of the Barn don't sue Cutler and the town for this fiasco. Keep your eye on Cutler she is a loose cannon.
35 comments:
so, if the gift barn does not intend to sell, they discussion of any ideas by the BoS shouldn't be executive session, should they? Because they're just pipedreams, not based on reality....
wow, this is new - I didn't see this in the MDN..perhaps it's a diversion...
Too bad. It would have made agood gift barn.
Ah, you're back!The "gift barn caper" is one that would not and should not have ever gotten off the ground. Another example of Cutler's inability to comprehend the realities of the current fiscal and political climate.The town is still waiting for the powers that be to address the problems at hand and find workable solutions rather than go off on an entirely new tangent which raises another host of potential problems. Perhaps Cutler thinks of this as a diversionary tactic... propose an outlandish scheme and perhaps the voters will be so distracted that they will forget that they are sitting on a very expensive piece of contaminated land (that they will pay for for the next 20 years whether it is used or not), the public safety facility is no closer to reality than it was three years ago, and that they still face issues of repair/renovation of the town hall and upgrade of the public library, to name a few. Time for this board to get a reality check and go to the people of Mendon and work with them instead of hiding behind the smoke and mirrors.
i need to know something??? Ive heard that the town is going to a special to get money to do a soil study for the fino land...??? also they are looking for 25-30k round numbers...IF THIS IS TRUE... the money should come out of the three stooges pocket,(sharon,ken,and dennis)and if the land comes back unuseable a class action lawsuit should be filed against them for gross misrepresentation of the facts to the taxpayers...just thinking ahead
As to the Gift Barn being for sale....no savy business owner will ever admit publicly that his business is not doing well and may be closing. Mr. Ober is certainly a savy business owner and has helped put Mendon on the map with the Gift Barn. However,it is not a secret that increased competition has hurt them. Thier rezoning of the rest of thier land was probably preparation for selling out entirely. I wish them well but the idea of converting that building to a Town Hall if in fact it is actually a proposal,is doomed to fail.
Regarding the Fino property... it is a very small portion of the property that is affected. Talk of law suits is foolish.
I will make a prediction.....due to the numerous, anonymous,unsubstanciated, merciless attacks on blogs you will see will see fewer and fewer people run for office. Ultimately, the good, honest people will conclude that it is just not worth it. People with a profit agenda or massive egos will continue to run and win because there is no competition. Ah, the irony!
Certainly the only way to determine what portions of the Fino land are contaminated is to have a thorough testing done. My recollection was that there were only 12 to 16 test holes in the preliminary study, and the results were such that a full test of all of the property was recommended. And of course, a law suit on the basis of misrepresentation to the voters will probably never even get a hearing.The town is stuck with this now, so the only forward move is to complete the testing and make the assessments of what needs to be mitigated and at what cost, and what land is useable as is.
And I don't believe the blogs will deter people for running for office, but might spur some to run to actually make a difference. The blogs make them realize that they do have a voice and valid viewpoints.
Any contamination of the Fino land is limited to the area that was the orchard and possibly the land down gradient from there and that is a relatively small portion albeit the most attractive of the whole parcel. Much of that was deemed as Open Space so all thats left to worry about is the actual building site. My prediction as to the future size and quality of candidates stands. You and I won't even attach our names here for fear of retribution imagine the balls it takes to run for public office. It's not the truth they will be afraid of it's the rumor.innuendo,insults and downright lying that can be gotten away with in a blog forum.
Put it to the test. I dare you to suggest ONE person you would want to see as selectman and see how they stand up to the Blog scrutiny.
People who run for office have almost always had something to gain.
Rumor,innuendo,insults, and downright lying unfortunately exist everywhere in society. Most of it gets weeded out in the blogs. Here people can address the rumor,lies, and insults that are otherwise done behind their back.
As ugly as it can get a lot of truths have eventually been revealed.
How about Roland Morin ???
I dare you to suggest ONE person you would want to see as selectman and see how they stand up to the Blog scrutiny.
I double dare you to leave your name.
I agree. However, In times past candidates and office holders did not alays hear what was being said and certainly it was not laid out for the public to see, for thier famlies and friends to access. There is something dishonest about being able to disparage someone anonymously. The truth is never really known. It comes down to a he said she said situation where you ultimately choose the side you are more comfortable with, truth not withstanding. I do not believe anyone in our town government is a bad person or intentionally is doing anything to hurt the town as much as I may dissagree with what they are doing it is not malicious. Do people make mistakes? Yes. Are there people in government unqualified to make important decisions? Yes. Truly qualified and intelligent people rarely run for office and when they do they lose because they have no connection with the voting public. There is a theory that there are 7 levels of intelligence. We are only able to relate to someone no more than 2 levels above our own. George McGoverns defeat was explained by this theory. Personally I think that no intelligent person would ever hold office because it is a thankless job and who needs to be crapped on when all you ever had were good intentions. We get what we deserve and who we vote for.
Well, let's see what David Breen can can bring to the table. He is by far the most intelligent sounding member on the Board we've had in quite some time now. Observing him on the televised BOS meetings, he appears to have a good head on his shoulders. We'll have to wait and see.
Yet you disparage people anonymously yourself, how ironic.
So are you trying to say out of the alleged 7 levels we are all at a 4 or lower?
Roland Morin would be an excellent candidate.
I disparage no one person, only the anonymous bloggers who seek to do harm to public servants without knowing the whole story. It's not for me to say where your personal intelligence level is. It would stand to reason that the larger group of voters would be in the 3.5-4 range.
Roland Morin was excellent, when he served one term as Selectman 25 years ago. Shortly after, he ran for Town Moderator. I guess he realized what a thankless job being a Selectman is.
The town moderator is a unique position of power. I remember may meetings where I felt he was rushing a decision based on a close voice vote and others where he didn't allow someone to speak when many thought the discussion should continue. The position allows too much leeway and potential prejudice. Then there was the whole issue with reconsideration, for years it was interpretted one way then suddenly it was another. I don't know if he had anything to do with that but it really bugs me anyway.
People seek the whole story and don't get it. So they come here.
....and they will be just as uninformed. It is here as it is in the world and has been since recorded history. The truth may never be known.
This, like any other source, is but one means of information. It is up to each to obtain as much information and facts as they can on any issue, through print media, radio, television, talking to other interested parties, etc. Then it is up to them to use their common sense and form their own opinions.
This at least serves to bring out questions and issues that are glossed over by those in control or those with an agenda who seem to get much public play on their spin on an issue.
Agree that it is up to us to get as much information as possible. The one possible exception would be WMRC. I think Ed Thompson must have a thing for Dennis Shaheen. If not then why does he allow him to spread such blatantly false information such as "mendon-upton schools avereage 15 students per class". In your dreams Dennis. Now they will have over 30+ per class in the high school and high 20's in the rest. Does the fact that you lied bother you even just a little tiny bit???
Sharon Cutler is this quote personified:
"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies." Groucho Marx
So who wants to tell her?
Why would the Obers sue Sharon Cutler? It was not her that publicly suggested that Mendon was looking into this property. It was this blog.
No, it was Mendon Commentary
As the BIG O would say "You are proving my point". The selectmen had nothing to do with the pub about the gift barn.
It was stated on Mendon Commentary (by Kevin Ruddin), that Cutler was nosing around the gift barn as a possible site for the public safety/town hall complex. What source he used for that comment, I have no idea. Care to elaborate, Kevin?
Every media source has a particular spin on the way they handle any story. The fact that WMRC chooses to present stories with obvious misrepresentations, as fact is simply an argument as to why one needs to go to as many outlets as possible for information. At the end of the process, hopefully they will have gained enough perspective on the issue to make up their own minds.
And I find WMRC and MDN typical in that they foster their parent company's agenda and cater to advertisers.
Love the Groucho Marx quote!
So what is the MDN's agenda now, since it was just sold by the Herald?
Don't forget the biggest damage done in the Gift Barn situation was when it was broadcast over WMRC as fact. Just another example of how there is no investigative reporting done at all over there. They take a rumor or out and out lie and just run with it as fact. Don't forget that WMRC was the vehicle most used to slam the former fire department during the whole takeover over there and people believed all of that nonesense as God's truth. Why was MRC considered reputable then and not now I wonder? Shaheen was feeding them all of the information during that incident. Was he lying then also?
The owners do not nor ever had any intention of selling it? You need to get your crystal ball cleared up. There is a purchase and sale on it and Mendon is the buyer.
Well the Selectman got $10,000. to do a study on how to use the land, the Gift Barn, that they are agreeing to buy, with voter approval of course, anybody else see another white elephant coming over the hill? They have to have it appoved by Sept. 15th, so it looks like another land deal will be pushed through. But if we don't act now they will sell to someone else, sound familiar? We keep spending money and nothing is getting fixed.
HG- I guess the owners are not going to be sueing Sharon after all. Boy, you really missed on this one! But if we don't hurry they will sell to someone else.
What did I miss....doesn't this need to come to a vote to purchase the property?
This will go nowhere and cost a lot to get there.
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