This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Don't use Taxpayer dollars to promote private businesses in town.

I recently received an email from the BBA asking if I would like to participate in a study group looking to provide signage and a walking map of the "downtown" shopping area.  (Basically to promote the new building housing several new businesses in town.) Anyone interested in joining this study was asked to contact the recreation department.  That is the department that retired one man last year with the town claiming we did not need to keep that position, cut backs, save money.  Then a leisure director was hired part time (more money spent) and it had been requested recently that the position be moved to full time (why?) But I digress.  I responded to the recreation dept. as follows:

The first step to fostering better communication among businesses in the town would be to offer a business association which did not require dues of $100. The purchase of signage referencing BBA proves pointless when customers have no idea what BBA stands for. To claim that the dues are for group activities and promoting businesses throughout the town falls short when in reality the focus is on the center of town.

There are many thriving businesses across Barrington not directly related to the "center". With the new building in town housing multiple new businesses and the BBA looking to push for "walking" traffic again reads exclusionary.  If particular business owners wish to promote their businesses then they should self fund that advertising campaign.

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If Barrington wishes to market their array of businesses to other towns then a map of ALL of the businesses should be created and distributed, but again, at who's cost? (Not the towns responsibility) Working on a map of the downtown area ONLY is not fair to ALL businesses in the town.

I was a part of the first Business Association a decade ago and watched it literally fall apart due to the exclusionary vision similar to that of the BBA today. I attended the first handful of meetings of the new BBA but once I witnessed the direction that the group was headed I chose not to involve myself.

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I also run FAB which is For Anything But...alcohol, drugs or tobacco and we have received no support from the BBA. Instead the BBA continues to offer wine tastings and hold meetings at establishments where alcohol is served rather than embracing a substance free venue. We have a huge underage drinking problem in this town and a seemingly high level of acceptance and enabling.

I would not support funding a creation of signage or maps promoting the center of town. As I stated previously this is exclusionary and not what a Business Association should be focusing on. I have offered to draw a map, not perfectly to scale but with an artists view of the business landscape much like the Newport Map. As the BBA became more and more center of town focused I did not follow up or push my offer.

The town should not be spending taxpayer money to promote businesses, run studies, or entertain any support other than keeping the roads in good condition so that patrons are able to drive their cars safely to our businesses.

Meg Jones -Art by You at Weirdgirl Creations Pottery Studio and Gift Gallery


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