Easier said, than done

Plymouth isn’t in bad shape; it’s just out of shape. Here are a few New Year’s Resolutions for the town.

1. Stop whining and embrace the history of this community. That doesn’t mean that everybody wears funny hats and speaks with a lot of ‘thees and thines’, but rather that we take advantage of our history in everything we do, or don’t do.
Don’t, for example, continue down the road of ‘Retail Right or Wrong’. Yes, we need tax income, but the kind of development going on now is going to make us indistinguishable from any other community –if it hasn’t already.
If that kind of economic development is going to continue, then we should sell the entire downtown historical area to a community that appreciates history, and be done with it.
If we want to hold on to our history, we can’t just sit on it, we do have to develop it: cobblestone Court Street and limit traffic there; build a free, underground parking facility; develop an institute that supports greater citizen involvement in governmental institutions (where our own town meeting could serve as both an example for emulation and a draw for tourists), for example.

2. Abandon the idea of large, efficient school buildings, and embrace the reality that the better a town’s school system, the better the town.
The notion of a single high school campus is a recipe for disaster. It may be more expensive to develop an integrated neighborhood school system, but such a system will provide a better education, help foster a real sense of community, and allow for the kind of programs that excite the imaginations of everyone who lives here.

3. Prescribe some Preparation H for the so-called ‘flare-up’: you know, the Mayoral Flare-up that was recently reported in the press.
Allegedly there is a groundswell of support for completely revamping our 375 year old governmental system. The truth is that there is only a small cadre of radicals who would rather turn the town on its head than accept defeat.
And putting aside the argument as to which government system would be more efficient, abandoning town meeting in Plymouth would be like turning the Eiffel Tower into condominiums, or the Alamo into a Holiday Inn, or slapping a paddle-wheel onto the back of the Mayflower.

4. Fore! I was one of the first to laugh at the notion of Plymouth as a ‘golf destination’, and I still find the proliferation of courses in town, amusing. But I also think that golf courses are far better than retail development, in the long term, and point the way to other kinds of development that allow us to preserve our history, improve our bottom line, and maintain a certain quality of life.
My pet peeve is bicycles. Plymouth seems tailor-made for bicycle tourists. We have the extensive trails of Myles Standish and a plethora of historic and scenic sites throughout town that visitors would love to ‘cycle through’. Many do, but many more would if we catered to that segment of the tourism industry. I would like to see Plymouth actively pursue the development of bike paths throughout town.
With our size, our history, and our scenery, Plymouth could become the bicycling capital of New England.

5. Education, again. Abandon the illusion that we can have a cheap, effective school system, and embrace the reality that when it comes to education ‘more’ is always good.
I don’t know about you, but I am embarrassed that my town’s school teachers have to spend so much of their time begging for things. I am willing to accept the notion that parents should pay for extra-curricular sports and activities –as long as those without the means are not left out. But I don’t believe that art and music are extras.
If we abandon the idea of massive middle schools and town-wide high school campuses, we can look to utilizing the town’s multitude of school buildings for, among other things, buildings dedicated to students with interests in the arts, music, and technology.
I would rather spend the time figuring out how to coordinate two dozen buildings and activities, than how to separate two thousand students in one campus.

6. Take down the parking meters, again. Parking meters in Plymouth are like those invisible fences that are used to keep pets in the yard. Is that what we really want: to give tourist and locals a little shock, every time they are foolish enough to visit the downtown area?
How about a little positive reinforcement instead?
Or leave the meters and make contributions voluntary – then donate the receipts to a worthy charity.

7. Why should anyone be denied access to the greatest information revolution in the history of the world –just because they can’t afford it.
Plymouth should have a town-wide free Internet system, and the entire downtown area should be a wireless zone.
This would attract new business, help existing business, support education, and help distinguish Plymouth from other communities without having to abandon or diminish our history.

8. New Year’s Resolution, from the word ‘resolute’, which is defined as firm, determined, definite, steadfast, tenacious, or purposeful.
Any or all of the above would do.