It's time to meet Ben Spoon Agave, a candidate for Selectboard in 2004. Pull up a chair, and read on as we discuss Brattleboro, town planning and living simply.
Name: Spoon Agave
Birthdate: 1947
What are some of your earliest memories of the town?
Delivering natural foods to the co-op, then on Flat Street, 1985 or therabouts. At the end of '88 I moved here with Northeast Co-operatives. I remember having a beer at Three Dollar Dewey's (the MacNeill's first place) and reading a Manhattan telephone directory from the 1930's. They must have kept it on hand for transplanted New Yorkers. Mostly I hung out at the Mole's Eye.
I was slow assimilating into town life because of my truckdriving job which kept me away a lot. But often when time permitted I chose a more unusual path. I had taken an apartment on Oak Street and decided to learn about the town thru learning about my house. I researched its history, and then the history of the street itself and along the way I was becoming familiar with much of the town's history and the many people who got recorded in one way or another.
I love local history. It's getting more and more difficult to come across an old photo I haven't yet seen. Another interesting view came from working at the Elliot Grocer. Many of its patrons were lifetime residents and freely shared their memories. I loved hearing about who they went to High School with and the things they used to do. I got many an intimate revelation. Nothing scandalous. Same kinds of stuff I did in High School, and afterwards. It adds up to a pretty good picture of the way things were.
How has Brattleboro changed since you've lived here?
I can't say much about that. You probably have to ask someone who grew up here and is now returning after 30 years. This is only my 16th year here. But I'll expound a bit anyway...
A lot of stores have come and gone but that's normal everywhere. Tho perhaps one change in that area is that there has probably been a significant decrease in locally owned business. There's definitely more traffic but that's normal everywhere too. And the town's economy seems to be ever more precariously balanced.
On the surface the town looks and feels pretty flush but the debt load keeps growing. That keeps taking away options, like social services and amenities. But this situation too is a reflection of everywhere, especially on the Federal level. Indebtedness is outstripping income from the personal level to the national. Most SUV's are one paycheck away from repossession. A lot more lower income people and younger generation would have been run off if it wasn't for the Land Trust. They've had a huge impact in renovating and saving substandard housing units.
The rural character of the countryside is steadily disappearing. But most people believe that that is not as important as the right to live wherever they want, or subdividing their land for more housing. So that trend will continue. In sum, it's pretty much the same here as it is everywhere.
What are some of the things residents should know about town planning?
Planning in Brattleboro, which formally began in 1963 with our first Town Plan, is done as it is officially defined by the State. It involves the creation of a vision, followed by a somewhat detailed description of the major elements of town life and then a list of recommended goals, objectives and actions based on that vision.
Implementation is largely thru zoning regulations. The zoning regs shape and control the way a town looks and feels. For instance setbacks (the minimum distance a building must be from a road or street) can make the difference in whether a commerical area looks like a traditional downtown or a shopping mall and thus may encourage or discourage a certain way of life that would be described in the vision.
I always wished the schools would devote a few lessons in things like this. Kids go thru school and live in their environments for a lifetime and never understand why things are they way they are. I was no different. I was on the Planning Commission for a while before the implications and power of zoning regulations began to sink in. The Town Plan and the Zoning Regulations are on the town web site (www.brattleboro.org) and in the library. Copies are for sale in the Municipal Building. It would be nice if residents at least read the preface and vision.
Do you have any advice for your successor?
Study the field seriously. It isn't required that one be steeped in planning knowledge to be seated but once appointed one should feel a responsibility to become very educated on the subject. There is a natural resistance to planning. It's hard for people to keep their "eyes on the prize" as they say. It feels very limiting. Constricting. Lacks spontaneity. And it also deflates power to some extent.
When a group or community decides upon a plan it is not as easy to exert personal interests. And of course we all struggle to save for a rainy day. But the world is a different place. We are well into an ager of scarcity.Good planning is absolutely critical now. Tomorrow is too uncertain.
Many groups in town seem to informally turn to you as a mediator. Why do you think that is?
This is a recent development in my life and I have to admit I am only beginning to learn the skills. But I guess the recognition I am starting to get is coming from my increasing understanding of the necessity of finding common ground. Decisions are much better and more durable when all the stakeholders feel that they have contributed fully and thus accept the validity of a decsion even if it isn't what they wanted.
The two major influences in my life in this regard was a five or so year period back in the late '70's working with consensus (in one of its toughest forms, total agreement) in both large groups (over 100 people) and small. Consensus in its purest form is probably the strongest form of democracy. Majority rule is the weakest since it only calls for one more than half to decide and thus, when a single vote can completely reverse a decision, is very vulnerable to all the vagaries of human nature. As the number of people supporting an outcome increases so does its durability. And since consensus is also a much more open process the amount of backroom work dramatically declines.
The second major influence was quite simply an extended study of democracy itself. It began innocently years ago when I made the claim that the bulwark of democracy was the right to vote. Another person said "Really, I lived in a country where the only legal party put up two candidates and ninety percent of the people turned out to vote for which one they wanted." Oh. Many books later I began to understand something about democracy. I am now absolutely committed to it. It has taken a lifetime to learn how, in practise, to see how it is the strength of the whole that gives the only real strength to an individual. And I have a lot more to learn. In the process of discovering and understanding democracy one cannot help but become a better person. And I love to share what I have learned.
Maybe there is a third reason too. I was in the infantry in Vietnam in 1967. I was part of millions of people killing each other because they wouldn't talk.
Why are you running for selectboard?
I am running for Selectboard because I am confident I can advance ideas that a stronger democracy thru better discussion and decision-making processes, and better and longer range planning will provide the coming generations with a more sustainable and peaceful world and a better prospect for a good life. I would like to initiate a major undertaking, in the form, perhaps, as a Task Force, to take a far deeper look into where we stand and what we can and ought to do to put the town on solid footing. All of the immediate problems such as taxes, infrastructure, and public debt among others will be brought under control once we agree on what we have and what is realistic to expect in the future.
What would you be able to offer the people you represent by being on the Selectboard?
I am one of those relatively rare people who will not rely on brilliant deductions based soley on personal observations and anecdotal evidence. For sure these are important. Often they are clues that we have a problem and may suggest where to start looking for answers. But once we think we have an answer we then have to ask ourselves "is it true? How do we know?" That's the point where decision-makers often fall short.
There is an old observation, "ask a person what they mean by what they say and nine times out of ten they'll get angry or silent." Sometimes I too fall into the trap of spouting something as fact when it is really only what I believe. I do not mind being called on it. And I will not hesitate to admit that I really don't know, it's only what I think. I have a sense of humor. I can laugh at myself. I will bring character, depth and excitement to the Selectboard.
Was there a single defining issue that got you thinking of running?
No one issue but rather two broad areas. One is the desire to strengthen our practises to be more democratic and the second is to begin looking and planning deeper into the future so that, as it is stated by one important definition of sustainability, future generations have as good a chance to survive as we do. Or maybe even a better chance, if we do our jobs right.
This is not a defining issue, but I'd like to throw it in. I have been thinking for a while about the notion of having an Ombudsman. A person who will respond to questions and complaints from the public. I'm not sure how exactly it would work but I do know that a half dozen times a day I hear statements and assertions or questions about the town from people that sorely need a response.
If people would like to help elect you, what can they do? Is there a way to contact you and get involved?
a) vote for me
b) tell someone else to vote for me
c) call me
d) e-mail at bspoonagave@yahoo.com
Read any good books or magazines lately that you can recommend?
Disgrace by J.M.Coetzee. A remarkable insight into the extraordinary cultural transition that South Aftricans have been forced into since abandoning apartheid. It is also a wickedly perceptive insight into the mind of an early '50's white professional male. I cringed more than a few times.
What is your advice for living simply (and cheaply)?
Discovering and pursuing the real pleasures in life. Friendships, learning, creativity, basking in nature, being a good neighbor, seeking self-awareness and good cooking. All of these cost little or nothing and provide more than ample rewards for a life well-lived.
If you could change one thing about Brattleboro, what would it be? Assume that time, money, and resources are not an issue with this question.
I would bring back the trolley.
Thanks for taking time with iBrattleboro.