Our proposed town plan offers a lot of assistance and resources for farms, farm to table, the arts (heavily weighted towards the arts), home based business, and cottage industries. But when large employers are discussed, there is a warning to avoid becoming dependent on them, and the planning commission includes a list of 8 ‘requirements’ before Pownal will let them into our town. The requirements listed are absurd, and do NOT exist for any other type of business.
Why do we demand that a large employer ‘Contribute to our social fabric’ (for example), particularly when the same requirement does not exist for any other type of business? We are sending a clear message to any potential employer that our town government will not hesitate to insert themselves into their internal business decisions. THE REAL MESSAGE IS THAT LARGE EMPLOYERS ARE NOT WELCOME. My pleas to the planning commission to make Pownal business friendly were not incorporated into the latest draft of the town plan.
It is not hard to see why the proposed town plan does not represent the people of Pownal. Just read the ‘Vision Statement’. Not including the opening paragraph, or the 1 sentence closing paragraph, the vision has 4 paragraphs with substance. The first talks about farms, small business, home businesses, and cottage industry. The other 3 are EXCLUSIVELY dedicated to the arts community. Not only does the proposed town plan not represent the people of Pownal, it was never intended to.
This might seem like a harsh statement, but I don’t know how else to interpret such a hostile position towards those businesses that can bring the most benefit to our citizens. To me, the town plan reads like someone’s fantasy image of what rural Vermont life should be like (apparently from someone who watched too many episodes of Green Acres).
Bob Jarvis for Pownal Select Board 