Barnard city council minutes for June 2011 and my first commentary

 Click on the images to enlarge.


The following issue is one that I do feel very strongly about.

The minutes mention that the city wants to tear down two homes owned by Tim.  What the minutes do not reflect is the discussion of this subject.  I was present at the meeting and though I was not on the agenda, the council did let me speak on this topic.

My point that I brought up centered on if you tear it down, it is gone forever.  Granted, neither property looks good at all right now...in an aesthetic sense...but one of them is structurally sound and can be repaired.  It is also of architectural significance in Barnard.  Barnard is so far removed from the beaten path and property values are so low that there is no practical reason for anyone to come to Barnard and build.  I would be very surprised if any bank would loan money to build based on what the assessed value of the dwelling would be.  However, I do believe that people will come in and fix-up an existing building.  A council member claimed that she and her husband bought their house for $2000 and put an additional $70,000 into it and still are not happy with it.  My house that I am currently restoring, was purchased for $1500 and is a four bedroom house.  When we are finished, we will have nowhere near $70,000 in our house and we have had and will have to do some structural repair and reconstruction.

I have no doubt that the council feels that they are trying to make Barnard look attractive both for outsiders and for residents.  I truly believe that they feel they have the best interests of the town at heart and are committed to making it the best it can be.  We differ in the methods to do that task.  While the bulk of the council wants to tear down and wait for someone to build new, I feel that a program of mothballing, repairing, and/or restoring is a more practical method of ensuring that Barnard does not cease to exist.  There are many residents that have voiced agreement with me.  I am not saying that there will never be buildings that should be torn down...there are several that I could point out that are no longer salvageable.  What I am advocating is that the structures that can be saved, should be saved.

There is more than one point of view on this issue.  I urge you to become educated about it and let your choices be known.