Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Bob Stannard, a lobbyist and author. This piece first appeared in the Bennington Banner.
Roads once covered with pavement are now dirt. Not just dirt, but rocky, bumpy dirt. The center of town looks like a scene from “Mad Max.” “Bombed out” might be a good way to describe downtown Manchester. But it’s a good kind of bombed out.
Drive around Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and you’ll see town after town that look like they’re in desperate need of a paint job, or perhaps an all-out facelift. The tough economy which began its decline in as early as 2006 has taken its toll on all of us. The magnitude becomes more apparent when you drive around New England and see for yourself the impact of a stalled economy.
It’s interesting to watch how various people, as well as various communities, respond to a financial downturn. Some quickly round up their money and run to Switzerland or the Cayman Islands, as is the case with one of the contenders for the presidency of the United States. Others take advantage of the opportunity to use what capital they have to invest in themselves, their town and/or their country and find a way to rise up when things are at their worse.
Manchester, Vt., is a shining example of how to respond when the chips are down. Did Manchester let itself fall into a state of disrepair? Did town officials throw their hands up and cry “time out” in response to the fear of the unknown future? Did they safely stash what funds they had on hand in a secret bank account?
No, instead they made a controversial, yet commendable, decision to reinvest in their community. It began a few years ago when they invested funds into the revitalization of the municipal parking lot on Elm Street. As a result of this action a local entrepreneur stepped up and rehabilitated an old, decrepit building by turning it into a stunning garden supplies store complete with a stone waterfall. This same entrepreneur buoyed by one success has now taken over the deserted gas station and turned it into a lovely country market.
This summer Manchester has seen plenty of dust. The town is torn up at a time when most would agree that the economy stinks. There is never a good time to do construction work in any downtown, however this particular project, a double roundabout, has drawn plenty of howls from some in the community.
This is what happens when government invests money in infrastructure improvements. People hungry for a better life become empowered to take a risk to better themselves. Would this man have made the investment in this part of town if the town had decided to put off renovations for a few years? Probably not. I could be wrong, but I think that this is what President Obama was referring when he was quoted as saying, “If you have a business, you didn’t build that.” Government plays a vital role in setting the landscape for economic development. This is how government helps to create jobs.
This summer Manchester has seen plenty of dust. The town is torn up at a time when most would agree that the economy stinks. There is never a good time to do construction work in any downtown, however this particular project, a double roundabout, has drawn plenty of howls from some in the community. To some degree the howls are warranted. Times really are tough. No one wants to see numbers go down, ever. They certainly don’t want to see them going down in hard times.
The restoration of Center Bridge, aka Malfunction Junction, has been in the works for over 25 years. Many may have forgotten that this level “F” intersection was used as a weapon to thwart the development of the former Mountain View Diner/Riverbend site.
The Manchester Selectboard listened to the concerns raised by all parties and then took the risk to go forward with this project, in spite of the fact that they knew it was going to be hard. There’s an old saying: “If it was easy, anyone could do it.” The Manchester Selectboard chair, Ivan Beattie, has been a dynamic leader in Manchester for over three decades. Beattie is not one to shy away from controversy if he believes in what he’s doing is in the best interest of the town. It would be easy to conclude that he may not be the best politician in the world, but he is a real leader. He demonstrates qualities all too lacking in politics today.
His board has shown that they have the ability to look down the road and know that once the dust settles, the town that they oversee will be in a much better place for an economic comeback. Entrepreneurs want to invest in communities that look like they are on the move. They get it. The Manchester Selectboard gets it and hopefully those who chastised the leaders for leading will, in the near future, get it as well.
This project was scheduled to take two years. The board just declared that they are closing off downtown for 10 days in a final push to finish the project well ahead of schedule. If that’s not leadership I don’t know what is. Are you listening Washington?
