There are a few other Brunswick citizens in town that tend to feel the same way I do about what is going on in town these days. One of them has taken the bull by the horns this week and has created a new concerned citizen website for Brunswick residents that would like to see changes and to voice their concerns. The new website is: opedonbrunswick.com

It would really be worth your while if you would take the time to actually go to this site to see what has been done so far because we need as many residents input as we can to make all Brunswick Departments, both the Municipal and Education (School Department) to wake up.

There is a citizens discussion group every Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Brunswick Town Hall in Room# 117 (by the front door) that you could go to and voice your concerns and opinions on issues in town. There are many issues that need to be addressed and I have pointed some of them out below.

Brunswick School Department is requesting $28 million to build a new Elementary School as well as much needed repairs at Brunswick Jr. High School at a cost of $5.7 million. They are pushing for a referendum this coming June on voting day even before they have the opportunity to apply to the Department of Education for possible funding. Applications are to be in by April 2017 but they do not make their choice until April 2018. Why doesn’t the School Department wait until then to see if Brunswick would be chosen instead of the fund request going to referendum in 2017. If it does go to referendum in June 2017, and it passes as we all know it will (because only 6 percent of the voters turn out), the application will be thrown out. Why should Brunswick taxpayers pay through the nose while there is a chance we may not have to? Is the School Department even doing applications for state funding?

You know, it would be a heck of a lot less expensive to bite the bullet and spend maybe $6 million to do an overhaul of Jordan Acres School instead of asking us to build another school because they have not been taken care of like many old schools in Brunswick over 75 years old that have been, are still standing in good condition, and are currently being used. Pleasant Street School is now Coldwell Realtors, Union Street School is now People Plus, Hawthorne School is now The School Department building and other businesses, and Longfellow School was converted by Bowdoin College into a beautiful building for them. Why don’t newer schools last? Something is definitely wrong here folks.

It is time that the residents that don’t go to vote call the Brunswick Town Clerk before election time in June/November, ask for absentee ballots, and vote so your voices will be heard and wasteful spending will stop. Anyone can doing it and you don’t even have to leave your house.

Town taxpayers need to speak up to their School Board and Town Council Representatives to voice their concerns as if you don’t, you won’t be able to afford to stay in Brunswick. There is a Public Hearing on Tuesday Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. in Town Council Chambers and the Town Council will decide it the $33 million School Department request goes to Referendum in June. If you don’t want to go and speak against the School Board, you can always voice your concern to your Town Council by sending it to : [email protected] and/or to the School Board: [email protected]. The more residents that finally speak up, hopefully the Town Council will wake up and say something they have never done before to the School Department and the word is “No.”

What about the School Budgets that seem to be very out of control with pay increases every year of 4- 5 percent that are agreed upon during their Union Contract Negotiations. That has to stop, but until the taxpayers speak up loudly enough, that will never happen. It can be done even though they say it can’t. They just don’t want to do it. Senior Citizens have had no increases many times in the last few years, so both the Brunswick Municipal and School Employees should be able to do so.

The residents could also request that the School Department do away with their yearly Budget Surplus upwards of $3 million and roll the entire reserve into their yearly budget to help keep our Property Taxes at a level people can afford. The School Department inflates their budget every year and it needs to stop.

Because the School spending is always out of control, our roads are crumbling, we are putting our Fire Fighters health and life at risk at the Central Fire Station, just to name two. It is time that the taxpayers speak loudly enough to be heard with the word “No” enough so that both the School Department and the Brunswick Town Council finally hear what is being said.

We also need to speak up regarding 946 Mere Point Road and say “sell it” as I am sure that those residents that signed the petitions to keep it have never been to any of the 40+ recreation sites in town, and there are 17 of them that do have access to water for boating and swimming and 946 does not. I bet they were never told there was no access for boating or swimming when they were asked to sign the petition to keep this property!! We need to keep this property on the tax rolls, and for once stand up to the special interest people that have no clue.

You can always go to the Town of Brunswick Website: (brunswickme.org) every Friday afternoon before the Town Council meeting the following Monday to see what is on the agenda and read what is in the packet. If you have an opinion on an agenda item, please speak up either by going to the meeting or by sending the Town Council an e-mail and make sure your voice heard. When you do, bcc your e-mail friends and ask them to do the same as the more residents that are aware, hopefully more will speak up.

Thank you all for listening to what needs to be said as it is time that the Brunswick School Department and the Town Council finally hear what the residents are saying.