Drowning in details

This is hugely disappointing to me, but I have to stop writing up the meetings in the kind of detail I want and think is valuable.  What I will try instead is posting the draft minutes I write for the Select Board, followed by my thoughts and impressions of the meeting.  I am starting this with the August 11th meeting.  The July 28th meeting was a real doozy, and I’m not sure what form that summary will take.  To really get a sense of that meeting, you’d probably do best to watch it.  (Did you know you can get copies of ACTV broadcasts on disk?  And one day we may get streaming video of meetings on the Town web site – that would be excellent.) 

This new format won’t be the same, for sure.  The biggest loss is the details of the deliberation, which I have always considered vital.  Knowing how the Select Board came to a decisions, as individuals and as a group, is almost as important as the result of the decision – sometimes more so.   It isn’t just the what, it’s the why and the how.  But I can no longer be the one to provide that.   (Someone else could!  Think about it, and let’s talk.) 

Another big loss, at least for me, is the historical archive.  I refer to past summaries and recaps all the time.  Alas. 

On the plus side, the site will probably be more interesting to read and to write.  I will be expressing myself more and I will be able to write about more facets of this position. 

Best of all, I will be able to pay a lot more attention to what we will do, instead of what we did.  I think I have a responsibility to do that. 

This will evolve.  Thanks for bearing with me as I find my way.