Town Meeting is a very unique venue where we get to listen to different perspectives and get information from our town committees and boards to help us make important decisions. Last Wednesday I gathered with over 400 fellow citizens to make decisions that will guide the future of Deerfield. While many of the articles were not controversial, articles 14, 15 and 16 generated a lot of discussion and, perhaps, were why the meeting was so well attended. Honestly, I left our Town Meeting more bewildered than informed.
Article 14 proposed we adopt a new building code and was incentivized with up to $1 million in grants. There was a lot of discussion but only one citizen asked the Finance Committee to explain the reason that they did not recommend passing this article. The chair of the Finance Committee noted a few reasons but no one provided any sort of a cost-benefit analysis. How can we make an informed decision if we do not have this critical information? Without it, we are left with just our preconceived opinions. For this reason alone, I think this article needs to come back to Town Meeting. Article 15 proposed the town purchase zero-emission vehicles when it is commercially available and practicable. The Finance Committee recommended passage of this article, yet it failed. Why would we vote down an article that the Finance Committee determined was in the best interest of our town? Are we again just relying on our personal opinion, and that of our friends, rather than getting and incorporating information from the Finance Committee? I think this article also needs to come back before Town Meeting.
Lastly, I need to speak to an issue that went to the core of why we all took the time to come out to Town Meeting. James Cambias, speaking as a private citizen and not in his role as Finance Committee secretary, compared the carbon emissions of China to that of Massachusetts and concluded that our decision on article 14 would have absolutely no effect on the future of our planet. I could not disagree more. For most of my professional life, I have worked in Deerfield and surrounding communities as a school psychologist and school administrator. Even when working with the youngest children, I always told them they they have power — the power to do good or not, the power to stand up to bullies or not, and the power to help their friend even if it was in a very small way. How they choose to use their power makes the difference and they should not let anyone tell them otherwise.
Last Wednesday, we gathered to exercise our power — our power to vote in Town Meeting which is our sphere of influence. Why would we come to Town Meeting if we thought that our vote would not make a difference? Granted, our decision on these two climate resiliency articles is a very small act in the grand scheme of climate change, but it does have an effect. Our vote is our power. It does make a difference and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Rita Detweiler lives in Deerfield.