Mayor Trohanis Has Worked To Make Walden A Much Better Place - And Response

  • Tuesday, October 27, 2020

For those who are having difficulty deciding who to vote for mayor of Walden, consider this:

On Tuesday, Apple announced its next round of innovative products, set to hit the market later this year. The new products include enhancements in technology and functionality.  And, most importantly, these products will better meet the evolving needs of their customer base. Amid all the fanfare –you know what you didn’t hear was… criticism----not even once?

Interestingly, there was a basic blue print for the cell phone!  However, why not just keep things like they are? Could you imagine if Steve Jobs stuck to a Nokia or Motorola blueprint for a cell phone?  Steve Jobs had the vision that the basic blue print was just that--a basic blue print.  However, as time changed and the needs changed, the blue print had to change to meet the needs of people or in his case the consumers.

Lee Davis supporters hang their arguments on a document that’s nearly 30 years old. The fact is that Walden has changed and grown.  Just one good example is the need to upgrade fire protection and Walden Town Hall facilities.  And to be sure, Mayor Trohanis persuaded the county to change the new fire hall from an institutional county-wide mundane look to a more cosmetic look commensurate with our mountain!  Yet, for the new development, Mayor Trohanis led the fight for the 23 conditions placed on the development calling for stricter enforcements and more control of what the projects will entail, for things like materials and landscaping. Who would logically be opposed to that?  

The Town Board that voted in support of this grocery store project and the corresponding 23 conditions had the right to do so – and the town of Walden will be better for it.  Just as Steve Jobs, and now Tim Cook, have the ability to improve their product based on input, so do these community leaders. What they did was selfless and for the community!

It’s clear that Lee Davis supports zero development. Which means three things: more abandoned properties, higher property taxes, and no public improvements (Fire Hall, Town Hall, McCoy Farm among the most visual). 

This elitist view of creating a tax “barrier to entry” will encourage newcomers to find refuge elsewhere. It will most likely result in this type of new development moving a mile or two up the road into the unincorporated county (fact ie. Kimball acceptance of new businesses while Jasper resisted), where a greater pace of home building exists, and where there will be no town oversight of the design and no sales tax revenue for Walden.

As a concerned property owner in Walden, the Walden town’s people need to know the facts.  And the facts are the town has been made much better and Mayor Trohanis has worked selflessly to make it such.  He is a man whose integrity is beyond reproach.

Richard Alvarez 

* * *

We want to take this opportunity to express our support for the reelection of Bill Trohanis as mayor of Walden.  As residents of Walden for 45 years, Brenda and I have seen our community grow significantly with many new homes and services. We see these changes not as an infringement on the character of our small community but as a convenience.

Of course, growth brings on challenges and must be managed in such a way as to preserve the charm and uniqueness that brought us all to make our homes and raise our children in Walden.  This is why we support Bill in his bid to continue as mayor of Walden. 

Bill has shown tireless energy and dedication to bringing improvements for the benefit of all.  His work in collaboration and development of the McCoy property, the Pumpkin Patch, road improvements, and the new state-of-the art Fire Station are just a few examples of his commitment to our community. He achieved all this and more while maintaining a stable budget with minimal increases in property taxes. 

This brings us to what we consider one of the major issues in this year’s election, the proposed development of the Lines Orchard property. While we understand and respect the views of those who feel the development would be a detriment to our community, we also understand there are those, like ourselves, who would like to see the additional convenience of the proposed Town Center.  In addition, the Center would bring important tax revenue to Walden, as tax revenues from the state are reduced.  Continued growth in our community will bring a demand for new services, and those demands will be met by someone. 

We suggest it is more reasonable to meet developing demands through an organized, thoughtful plan and gain the benefits of both control of the development as well as the tax revenue to maintain our relatively low property taxes.  We feel it is important to think and act responsibly about the future of our community while honoring our past.  We believe Bill Trohanis, with the leadership he has exhibited over the last five years, should continue as our mayor.

Don and Brenda McLeod

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