Article 3, the “carved-up” version of Thomaston Green tells the story that “consensus” was reached at the Green Workshops in Fall 2022. The thing is half the town wasn’t represented at those meetings. Those attending wanted some form of development. Even then, they didn’t reach consensus. The facilitator said, “…you’ve got to do work before you can even think about going to a town meeting.”

Speaking of town meetings, the overwhelming sentiment at those workshops was NOT to go to a town meeting about the Green, but to educate the public about the concept first. Then, do a poll vote or survey to get reactions. This involves process. It’s messy, just like democracy is. After a community reaction, that would be the time to think about moving forward with a vote. And not a town meeting vote; a secret ballot vote. Oh, and it was recommended that there be a balanced steering committee to guide the process.

Steering committee, schmeering committee. Let’s face it. It’s the EDC (Eco. Dev. Committee) that runs things. “Process” what’s that? Let’s just slice the Green in half, pass it at the February Special Town Meeting and be done with it. The park people should be happy, right?

Except, it didn’t make it to the Special Town Meeting thanks to Ms. Bowman-LaBerge and Joanne Richards, Planning Board Chair. So, the EDC and Town Manager cleaned up the language, and submitted it again for the June Town Meeting Vote.

What’s wrong with that? You say that most business is handled at the Town Meeting? The problem is that the June 2022 referendum election had more than 700 people voting on the Green. The November 2022 gubernatorial election had more than 1,400 people voting, including more than 400 mail-in ballots. Trying to pass articles at a Town Meeting that will forever change the Green with a maximum of 150 votes at best is “sneaky”, as one resident said. It’s undemocratic. It means that (probably) less than 10% of eligible voters decide what happens to that landmark property. 

I’m not even going to talk about Article 4, the fire station. We know we need a new one. But we don’t know its size, cost, or how much acreage it needs. Stay tuned.

Article 5 is the kicker. Who can argue against improving affordable and accessible health care? No one! This is where the story gets murky. You will hear that there just aren’t any other properties available in Thomaston, or elsewhere that would satisfy the new and improved Knox Clinic. Not true.

It’s above my pay grade to understand how an economic committee that has, for years, wanted to sell off the Green to money-making ventures, now wants to gobble up half of it along Route 1 with NON-revenue generating facilities. (The Fall Workshops suggested co-locating the health clinic and the fire station together on the Northwest corner near the Thai restaurant.)

Shouldn’t the park people be happy that half of the Green will be “reserved park space”? No, because that means nothing. It won’t be deeded as a park, it’s not classified as open space, and there is still the risk of development. In fact, as recent as November, Avesta was still interested in developing there, and the May EDC Meeting had a children’s museum proposing to build on the Green. Even Mat Eddy, the MCOG facilitator, said that the southern half should be a permanent park. But we know why the SB won’t go for that. They might want to put a power station there. They need flexibility!

Plug in any issue for the Green. Rockport had its hotel issue. Camden has the Falls. And Belfast and Bar Harbor the salmon farms. HOW we resolve our differences is what make us unique as Americans. We’re supposed to follow this process called representative democracy. Even if the other half loses, we don’t exclude them from the process. They are still our neighbors. When we demonize and exclude the other half because they disagree with us or because they lost the vote, how does that help build community? It’s un-American.

What I’ve come to learn is that it doesn’t matter what the issue is, it’s how we get there that counts. When a small group of people makes decisions for the many, by telling a story that manipulates the facts to suit their purpose and sway public opinion, we’ve got problems. Who doesn’t want a park, affordable housing + healthcare, and vibrant businesses? I do. Yet, we are all in our own silos and can’t seem to find common ground.

That’s why I’m so passionate about the Green. I see it as a place to get people out, to come together. Get off social media. Get out of your safe surroundings and take the chance of engaging with people who might think differently, yet still share the same love of family, place, and country. Don’t be duped. Ask questions, come to meetings, hold elected officials to account, VOTE, and especially don’t let unelected committee members have sway over governance. United we stand, divided we fall. That’s my two cents.

Kathleen Norton lives in Thomaston