FIFTH YEAR REVIEW OF VILLAGE

Five years in the Village. My impressions: Disappointment. Inadequate representative leadership. The military way. Rules. Secret meetings. Poor execution of policy. Faceless committees. Diminished democracy. Fading. Withering. Autocratic atrophy. A sign of the times. My way or no way. No need for compromise. Can't trust sharing decisions. We have no paper to ask critical questions. I've wondered if the Chamber owns the Voice. Maybe they just borrow it. I never knew breakfast was so important. Experts do say it's vital. If it is so important to golfers, Troon should serve it. Let them take the lose. No pool. Injured pickleball. Frivolous lawsuits against those suing with real concerns. Golf way down. Down further than the stock market. Woodland attendance stalled. Tennis, double- fault. Reading is up at the library. Reading is good. You're reading this now, wondering what the moral of this story is. There is none. Only disillusionment. Mixed with hope. Hope, however, is doomed without action. And action seems unlikely. We cherish the status quo. Change is bad. The scenery is nice. The water is good. Lakes are ok. Just don't go to fast. Spies. Restaurants are average. But fleeting. Roads are not bad. Just hilly, curvy, and dark. Somewhat dangerous. Mainly the drivers. Real estate taxes are reasonable. I like the people. Well, most of them. I know, by now you are thinking, "Love it or leave it." That's not how it works. "Love it or change it," is a more reasonable chant. Sorry. With a surplus of money likely to be coming, beware! Not all dreams can come through. We need to fix what we got. Too much worry about people who are not here. Worry about us. That we stay here. Cute ads will not persuade anyone to live here. 2020 may be the first time our population goes down That would be a catastrophe. If so, watch for municipality talk. My crystal ball is working overtime. Which reminds me, we don't pay our workers near enough. Anyway, I hope it is wrong. I did have New England over Denver, so there is always hope.