A Learning Process

Well, I learned a lot from yesterday’s frustrations. As you all know, my goal has been to present the information, solutions, problems etc in a positive way for all those interested in the project to know the facts, both good and bad. I’ve been at this nearly every day since July 22, 2020. Three weeks ago, I invited all of our county officials once again to see the bridges. (A few had previously walked with me to hear our story) Two officials responded to my email, and none have taken me up on the offer to tour the bridges with me.

My frustration was growing in the lack of response from county officials. It peaked when I learned our Rep was removed from the transportation committee, I put it out to the public to read a bit too soon, and still wanted to get more information. My frustrations caught the best of me, and I sent a strongly worded email to the County head asking for an answer. I realized my frustrations got the best of me, and rewrote the email sent it again with better intentions.

I did get clarification from the county and shared that in a previous post to make sure the facts were presented. While I’m still not a fan of our rep being removed form the transportation committee, I did learn the reasoning behind it, and also learned something I wouldn’t have if this had not happened. I learned yesterday that Clinton County currently does not have a grant writer, and they are trying to find one. They are looking into the details of the grants I’ve provided them.

I encouraged them to work with Essex County’s office to submit a combined application as it would be a much stronger application with the support coming from both counties. Rob mentioned he would bring these ideas up and see if it could work out.

The moral of the story is communication. I’ve been expressing that we can all communicate better. I have no intentions of making this political, or to turn things negative. I have no intentions of speaking poorly about any county official. I just ask they work with us rather than against us.

In fact, I’m very eager to post any positive news when there is positive news to share. It’s my goal to make our officials look good, and not to make accusations that are unwarranted. They are the ones that can be the heroes in this whole process.

I’m sure that officials don’t like the fact I post everything to the public, but really my intentions are to avoid rumors and falsehoods as much as possible. I think the public needs to be kept informed on this issue. They are public officials, and everything should be open to everyone interested.When I started this I wasn’t a ‘bridge person’, nor was I big on ‘historic preservation’. I just wanted to do something great for Keeseville.

My frustrations stemmed from months of hard work, passion, and lack of progress by a few key individuals. I still wish to work with those individuals, rather that work against them. From my prospective, when there is no response for weeks it seems like we are being ignored. (This doesn’t in fact mean we are being ignored, but it sure feels like it). Our letters are sending a strong message from our community. We are being heard, and I’d like to encourage better communication between all involved (including myself). I’m here to help our county officials in any way possible. Thank you all for understanding, and for the support. We need to work together with our county officials to find a solution.