West Newsmagazine 2-7-18

4 I OPINION I
February 7, 2018
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Policy regarding election-related
‘letters to the editor’
To our Readers:
Prior to each election, West Newsmagazine
puts a moratorium on letters to the
editor that relate to those election topics
and candidates. We do so to ensure fairness
to both sides of every issue.
Our publication schedule is such that a
letter submitted two issues prior to the election
may not allow for rebuttal. Therefore,
we will accept new election-related letters
only until Wednesday, Feb. 28 [for the March
7 issue]; rebuttals to those letters only will be
accepted through Wednesday, March 14 [for
publication in the March 21 issue].
Additionally, due to an increase in the
number of letters received, we request that
letters be kept within a 300-word maximum.
Thank you for your understanding.
Kate Uptergrove, editor
For goodness sake
To the Editor:
If you are looking for heartwarming stories,
I just got an email that might qualify.
A handful of people, who were in college
together more years ago than I care to think
about, have kept in touch through the years.
We do so now by group emails. One of us
ended up living in Scotland and just sent
this to the rest of us:
“A note of Christmas cheer from thrifty
Scotland – My wife noticed in the week
after Christmas that our largest grocery
store, Morrisons, had very nice, sliced
turkey breast on sale. Marked down from
$3 per pound or so to 12 cents per pound.
Each package was carefully wrapped and
sufficient for two people. She asked the
clerk why such high quality turkey was
almost free. ‘We have a lot of elderly
customers, ma’am. It’s Christmas.’ All
day-old bread in Scottish groceries also is
given to charity. The world is sometimes
better than we think.”
Dick Lodge
Response to ‘Looking forward in
Wildwood’
To the Editor:
Regarding “Looking forward in Wildwood”
[West Newsmagazine, Jan. 24], I’m not sure
what meetings Mr. Feuerstein attended in
2017, but the Wildwood City Council was
filled with needless drama, overspending and
dysfunction. Just a quick review, yields:
• Three months of wasted time spent on
a special investigation due to a councilmember
getting angry with residents about
video taping a meeting. Not inclusive.
• Councilmembers told residents they had
plenty of volunteers but the city appointed
the same Ward 8 resident to consecutive
volunteer openings. Not inclusive.
• The 10-year charter review changed
the charter, without a vote of the people,
to allow Mr. Feuerstein and our mayor
the opportunity to add more money, some
legal pitfalls and a consolidation of power
to the electoral process in Wildwood. Not
inclusive. FYI, it used to be against the
rules for our mayor to publicly play favorites
in elections.
• $5,000 spent on a drainage ditch study,
only to find out that it’s a worthless drainage
ditch. One councilmember called that
amount “peanuts.”
• Velodroma – that’s an un-punny word
for the city official’s backroom land deal to
build a bicycle race track that 80 percent of
the residents did not want.
• The year ended with arguments, exaggerations,
threats and insults over a zip
line at Hidden Valley. That was a mess no
matter what side you were on.
There is an interesting choice of words
progressives in Wildwood like to use when
describing economic development. They use
the phrase “economic development activity”
as if “activity” is the goal. They don’t use
words like “results,” “outcomes” or “growth.”
I can tell you what will bring growth and
results – vibrancy. We need a vibrant community
with dozens and dozens of events
and activities for families in order to draw
Wildwood residents out of their homes and
into the Town Center. We need a venue.
We need a Village Green.
The city is putting the cart in front of the
horse. The progressives in Wildwood think
meetings, brochures, fancy certifications
and holding workshops will attract new
businesses. Then, our residents will automatically
flock to the new businesses our
city officials picked for us. That is backwards.
When our residents are connected,
businesses will want to be a part of our
community and we will be glad to support
them. We will get results and growth that
are sustainable and responsible. We won’t
get caught reaching for ideas that residents
don’t support.
The progressives in Wildwood are claiming
I want “empty storefronts” because I
prefer investments in economic infrastructure
versus economic development sales
pitches. The free market will fill the storefronts,
we just need to give the residents a
reason to come to the market. We aren’t just
competing with neighboring communities.
In the information age, we are competing
with the global economy online. Venues
and vibrancy will get you off your screens.
We have a lot of choices this April for
Wildwood City Council because a lot of
people recognize the problems at city hall
and they want to step up and right the ship.
[Editor’s note: letter writer is a candidate
for the open Ward 8 council seat.]
Niles Stephens
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