To the editor:
I would like to commend Mr. Freeman Cote of Caribou on his letter in the March 5 edition of the Aroostook Republican. It was right and to the point. It was very honest of him to admit some blame for not speaking out at the time we were duped into having a perfectly great building torn down to make way for a new recreation center. I want to say that Mr. Cote does not have only himself to blame for this charade that went on during the discussions he eluded to in his article. The private sector individuals were all very inactive when it came time to vote up or down on this. And that is the reason for this fiasco.
Having been on the council at the time, I expressed my reservation about this project and the fund-raising effort. I indicated in public session that the fund-raising committee’s choice for hiring a fund raiser would not only not get any funding, but he wouldn’t even draw flies. And I was sure right about that. The $100,000 spent on this would have gone a long way in the original General Carter Armory for renovations and would have saved the taxpayers a lot of money.
I also want to say that I received a lot of criticism from the citizens of Caribou, that this project was not needed and a perfectly good and sound building should have been left standing and renovated. But, to my dismay, almost all that criticized this project, when asked if they voted, didn’t even bother to vote.
I’m going out on a limb here, and telling the citizens of this community just how things such as this get past the private sector that didn’t vote. The City, Caribou School Dept., and Cary Medical Center are the largest employers in this community, and they get out and vote in large numbers to protect their turf and get whet they want, and don’t really care if they get us in debt to the extent that property taxes become unconscionable. They all get their automatic raises every year to take care of these increases, so it doesn’t affect them one bit. Because of this, our children and grandchildren will be paying for these programs for years to come.
Let’s face facts, Caribou is a small town heavily weighed toward elderly retirees on fixed incomes and cannot absorb any more tax increases to satisfy lavish desires of the few who want “feel good” programs, but want somebody else to foot the bill. Already there is talk about the next phase, which is an indoor pool that will only have minimal use and be in competition with the availability of indoor pools already in place within close proximity of this town.
Imagine the cost of heating a large indoor pool with fuel oil at today’s and future prices. It is totally irresponsible to even consider saddling the taxpaying citizens with something so costly and unnecessary. As it relates to wellness, and a Cary Medical Center presence in the same building, I again have to say that this is not needed, and Cary Medical Center should stay where it is, and improve its own facility for such tasks.
Another aspect of all this is that public servants do not pay taxes. The private sector carries the whole load by virtue of the fact that their wages, taxes, benefits and so forth are in a paycheck that only those in the private sector stand behind.
I could go on and on about what’s happening, and going wrong with our town, but unless the citizens and the private sector stand up for themselves and go to town meetings (all open to the public) and find out for themselves how they are being ripped off, only then will they be able to create a “government of the people” atmosphere in this community.
We have five council members in town known as “The Rubber Stamp Five”, and two others who are responsible, and concerned about expenses. Thank God for those two. We need more like them but they must beware. They are already on the hit list of the public servants who are Caribou’s largest voting block.
Wilfred Martin
Caribou
