From One Mayor To Another: Walden Town Council Is Finally Fulfilling Its Vision - And Response

  • Friday, October 18, 2019

Dear Walden Board Members, 

As a former Town of Walden mayor and police commissioner, I have quietly watched as the new Town Center proposal has unfolded over the past several months.  I have felt your pain as you carefully weighed all the pros and cons of such an important endeavor.  I have understood, all too well the pressure each of you have been under to make the right decision, and I have not envied your position.  However, I want to send my most heartfelt congratulations for ultimately making what I feel is the wisest, most responsible decision for Walden and Walden’s future.

Walden is such a special, unique place.  As new families and new generations of old families continue to meld together in this quaint little town, it has always been the responsibility of its leaders and elected officials to constantly look to the future and beyond in attempt to foresee what will allow Walden to prosper while also continuing to preserve its charm.  It is a very delicate balancing act that is not ever easy.

A Walden town center has been a vision for its leaders since before I was mayor, but it was never something that was within our grasp. The desired location was already occupied by Lines Orchids, and the funds needed to build it were non existent.  Now, with both the location and the funding being readily available, the time has finally arrived to fulfill the vision that none of the Walden Boards of past have been able to do.  

I know that you will receive backlash from some or many for your decision, but that comes with the territory.  Just understand that most people, especially the older generation, do not always accept change very well, even if the change is for the better.  It is up to the leaders, like yourselves, to have the wisdom to gently push past their resistance and show them that change and progress does not have to be bad or scary.

I am excited for Walden, I am excited for Walden’s future, I am excited for Walden‘s residents, and I am proud of the Walden Board.  You have done my legacy of past board members a great justice, and I can not express the pride I am feeling for this particular board.  Keep your heads high, and know that you are giving Walden what none of the boards before you have been able to give it.  Congratulations, and well done.

Linda D. Willingham-White
Former Mayor-Town of Walden

* * * 

Dear Linda D. Willingham-White, Former Mayor-Town of Walden,

Your letter was beautifully written and full of sweet and wonderful sentiment.  So much of what you’ve said about Walden is true and what you said about it’s potential would be true, if only the development presented was truly a worthy proposal and met the legal requirements of the Village Center Zone, which it is not and does not.  It is indeed disappointing and unfortunate that the large regional supermarket, fuel center, and retail space misses the mark and misses it so dramatically.

Is this really how we want to define Walden for the next decades?  Or, would it be better to respect and honor the requirements of the Village Center zone and come together as a community to create the best vision for Walden and the mountain top.  The only ones really in a hurry are the developers and those standing in the wings post rezoning and perhaps some on the Walden Town Board.  Surely, we have enough time to do it right, to consider what might be better.

We don’t know one another.  I find this is a common theme of those on Facebook who bark at one another about this and that.  But, we’re really not that far apart for all our differences.  You have a long history in Walden and have been deeply engaged in its daily life and former civic activities and love this mountain top. On the other hand, I moved to the mountain only six years ago. Some consider me a foreign person.  I have had a career in international tax with a Fortune 100 company and have traveled around the country and many places around the globe and seen other ways communities define themselves.  Since I moved to the mountain, I have enjoyed the recent vitality of the mountain and the town of Walden with my involvement with McCoy Farm and Gardens.  I love it and have a commitment to its history and character. We have different backgrounds, but we both love the mountain with its charm and potential.  We both want good things for the community and its people as do many others.  

You and all of us who are interested in this opportunity should step back from this development proposal and see what other communities have done, see what really is possible.  This proposal is not the only way to improve Walden and not the only way to translate development into tax dollars that would replace the disappearing Hall Tax.  It doesn’t have to be one large store and fuel center.  It could be attractive stores and restaurants, a boutique hotel, a market around squares and accessible parks with small town homes.  Imagine that.

A Village Center is an elegant concept zone that calls for a small scale neighborhood mixture of residential, retail, and civic elements. It could be a lovely addition to Walden and something for all to be proud of. It could attract many folks from the community and could even include a grocery market, although likely a smaller version according to the VC-1 concept.  

Here are photos of the town square.

Look online at the shopping square in Healdsburg, Ca. Now, this is a real Village Center.  Granted, Walden may not have the regional attractions of Sonoma, but it is a very unusual mountain bedroom community of a progressive small city, Chattanooga. We really could do something special here.

Let’s take the time and allow Walden to plan for the best outcome for this property, not just the first proposal that comes along.  An engaged and truly visionary developer would want to work with the community to achieve the goals of all, that is, the developer and the town and the mountain community.  Achieving a good solution that would bring everyone together rather than promoting conflict should be our goal.  Please, let’s all take a deep breath and do not only the right thing, but the better thing.  This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for just such a vision.  Not ordinary, but extraordinary.

Sallie Ford

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