To the editor:
In “The Diamond of Jeru” by Louis L’Amour, when talking about his father, Mike Kardec explains how he didn’t always get what he wanted but always got what he needed.
Unfortunately, few politicians either did not read the great book or bothered to understand it.
Take the Bridge Street grant and Main Street Dig as examples.
Main Street needed to be repaired and upgraded, yet to get the grant Great Barrington had to spend millions of dollars in unneeded work and bureaucrats — to get the money because the state funds were “free” — had the last say over what got done. Meanwhile, over $900,000 was spent on detail officers that once in a while directed traffic or remotely did their job which comes to about 18 percent of the project – the equivalent of one repaired bridge in another part of town.
Along comes $2.1 million for Bridge Street for upgrades. Money will be used for unnecessary underground lines, and cosmetic repairs when all of Berkshire County is in dire need of bridge repairs. And again to get the money Great Barrington will be under the state’s finger with surely more consultants, details and other experts to skim money from the top.
Massachusetts like many other states has financial problems. Great Barrington is trying to survive in tough times and is completely at the mercy of out-of-town visitors, but is forced to plant trees, change lights and decide between black and green benches, when money is needed for bridges, school transportation, the homeless and poor. Yet our representatives give us grants with more strings attached than a puppet.
Only 49 percent of gas taxes go to fix our roads and bridges; about 25 percent goes to the MBTA and who really knows what they do with the other 26 percent. Great Barrington and other towns would be better off with state money to repair bridges in these tough times, not plant trees.
Remember, the money the state “gives” us is really our money and should be used for what we “need” and not what we “want.”
Patrick Fennell
Great Barrington
