Thursday September 23 at 5:30 PM at the Paris fire station there will be a meeting of ATV operators, and landowners who live on any roads involved in the recent decision handed down by the town giving ATV operators permission to use certain public roads as cross-over means to connect to off-road trails. (see previous TPR posting Same process for everybody, 9-15-1010.)
It is the understanding of TPR that Parsons Road, Elm Hill Road, Brett Hill Road are involved. It is also TPR's understanding that relevant parties were notified by the town about the meeting. The voting public at large, in the town of Paris, is welcome as well.
One hopes that will include at least some of Paris' selectboard members. Information gleaned at tomorrow's meeting should prove most informative, and would assist them in their efforts to respond effectively in their October 25 deliberations and public discussion (referred to above in TPR's previous posting.)
It is also to be hoped that, if the town manager is going to be the mediator/facilitator of this discussion, he has done his homework and is fully prepared.
No decision will be forthcoming at the end of this meeting; but there are very strong feelings on both sides of the question, not the least of which have been caused by the lack of a proper public discussion with all stakeholders long before decisions were made by the town and things worked themselves into a potentially explosive situation.
Word is that an elected official, or two, at the state level, have been invited. Someone, it would seem, feels that there might be a serious - or at least noteworthy - discussion Thursday at 5:30.
Come and see.
