To the Editor:
As a resident of Weston, who has had my fair share of letters published, I would argue that Mark Harper is entitled to submit one of his own to The Weston Forum. However, as the well-known animal control officer and self-described person who selected the Moore property for the proposed dog park and who will patrol it if it is built, Mr. Harper owed the readership of the newspaper an accurate and based-on-fact explanation of his position and decisions.
Instead, his letter demonstrates much of what has been wrong with the town’s dog park selection process and communication to residents. His letter was riddled with all kinds of errors that have pervaded the process since Day 1: Confidently offering assurances on complex legal issues on deeds, pollution potential, wetlands and flooding. Assurances on the safety of a location that the Police Commission hasn’t yet ruled on for the current proposal — the same location they rejected the first time it was proposed. Wrong information about simple facts like the height of the fence or the presence of a gate to control off-hour abuses. Stating as fact that the property isn’t a watershed when, like all land in Connecticut, the Moore property is located in the Southwest Coast Watershed, and the property can be further divided as straddling two local drainage basins.
Even worse is the town didn’t anticipate this and doesn’t have control of the situation — a week before a vote on an issue that has divided the town. Employees have personal rights, but they also have public responsibilities that come from their position as employees of the town. Published in the last edition of The Forum before the vote, there is no way to correct the errors some undecided residents will have certainly used to inform their decision to vote yes or no. It’s not The Forum editor’s job to fact-check letters. I am positive that First Selectman Spaulding is as concerned about this as I am. Unlike me, he is in a position to do something about it.
Bob Casson
Farrell Road, Weston