Thank You Ron Peters

I wish to make it clear that Ron Peters does not stand alone. I certainly don’t agree with Ron on all his stances, but I absolutely do support him in his fight to save our town.

It’s not Ron Peters and a few others that are trying to stop large-scale development of Hudson as some people would have you think. There are a great many people in Hudson (well beyond the 300-plus “official” members of Grassroots Central) that agree with Ron on his stance against the sale of the Green Meadows property to developers who wish to make a large-scale mall or similar. The problem is that the vast majority of us are the typical “silent majority” type who sit back and let people like Ron Peters stick their necks out and take the heat.

One of the biggest reasons I’ve heard in support of developing Green Meadows into a large mall, convention center etc. is that it will lower our taxes. This is just not the case as has been true in town after town that bought into this theory. I spent my childhood in Billerica, Massachusetts, and watched the town grow into a mess over the years. The town planners thought it would be great to turn into a city like nearby Lowell. Development came in and built everywhere. Did it lower my parent’s taxes? No! In fact the taxes went up. Did all the money supposedly brought into the town by development improve the roads or water quality or sewers? No! The roads grew worse, the sewer and water rates went up and if you are really brave, go to Billerica and have yourself a nice tall glass of tap water. The funny thing is that Lowell and Billerica are now trying to curtail development and revert back to a more neighborhood friendly place to live. It may be too late for them. Let’s learn the lesson they gave us on overdeveloping. For a closer example, ask your friends in neighboring Nashua what they are doing with all the extra money they got back from their property tax cuts due to all the development in Nashua over the years. Oh that’s right, their taxes went up! How many times do we have to hear the fairy tale of development coming in, taxes will go down before we realize that it’s just not true?

Of course the Friels have the right to sell their property to whomever they want. However, don’t the rights of the many outweigh the rights of the few? The state can take our property through the Law of Eminent Domain if it is in the best interest of the public, such as widening a road, or to run utility lines. If they can do that, why can’t the people in Hudson affected by this sale, and most of us will be affected one way or another, have a say in a property sold to a developer who could potentially adversely affect this town? Ron is just asking for the right to vote on rezoning the property to residential, not to completely block any sale. If it is voted down by the people of Hudson, so be it.

I agree with those that say Ron Peters has an ulterior motive for fighting against the over-developing of Hudson. His ulterior motive is that he wants to help my family and all the other families in Hudson keep our town a great place to live. Thank you Ron Peters.

Thank You Ron Peters

Dave Wilder – Hudson