By Jody Dietch
Orange Democratic Town Committee
At the Orange Country Fair this past September, as we have done for many years, the Orange Democrats hosted a civic table. Our goal for being at the country fair each year is to promote civic engagement and voter participation. We are not there to hawk candidates, although there are times when our candidates will be there to answer any questions you may have. We have made a conscious decision not to have political signs but to be there to talk to the residents.
This year we had two whiteboards up and lots of Post-It notes asking for your great idea to make Orange a better place. We had hundreds of suggestions.
Sometimes people who are intimately involved in town operations can’t see the forest for the trees. That is why we were asking for your input. How often does leadership in any situation reach out to their constituents in such a non-confrontational, casual way to get your opinion and thoughts? By the response, we would say it was an overwhelming success.
What are people looking for? We can’t list them all, but we do want to highlight what residents think is missing in Orange and could improve life for everyone.
Lower taxes, more diversity, maintaining our great schools and term limits for all boards were some of the hot topics. Roads are always a popular topic, and it seems many people feel there are many roads yet to be paved. Sidewalks and more streetlights were also mentioned often.
By far the hottest topic was a request for bulk pickup in Orange. Personally, I am not a fan, but many folks want it. It is expensive and if you have ever driven through a neighboring town when they are having bulk pickup, it’s an eyesore. However, the need seems large and I wonder if there isn’t a way to make it work both aesthetically and financially.
After bulk pickup and sidewalks, better communication from Town Hall was the next most popular suggestion. Under that umbrella were suggestions for a townwide newsletter and a better town website “of this era with updated content and modern functionality.” Also, under this heading was a suggestion for a Town of Orange Facebook page, as many other towns host one. It’s an easy, efficient way to get information out to all residents.
Seniors are looking for an improvement to the senior center as well as more senior housing. Other suggestions included a senior job bank for handyman services, cleaning up Silverbrook Senior Living, delivery of senior meals and asking local farmers to donate to seniors any crops left over at the end of the day.
There were many ideas for retail, with the most popular being getting Stew Leonard’s to finally come to Orange. Others were interested in a theater, independent coffee shop and a tavern/brewery.
It wasn’t just adults who gave their suggestions. We had teens asking for events for them in town and intergenerational programming. There was also a suggestion for the library to host events for teens.
On open space, the most popular request was for a dog park. This is something I personally brought up at an annual meeting years ago. Others would like to see Racebrook Country Club, that is on land owned by the town, to be accessible to town residents – or at least a membership discount for town residents.
Affordable housing also got some Post-Its. One note asked for more housing that costs just 30 percent of one’s income – the amount that most organizations consider affordable. Affordable condominiums were also a suggestion to allow for our young people to be able to afford to live in the town they grew up in. Not everyone in Orange will inherit their family home.
This is just a sampling of the suggestions we received. As many people just received escrow amendments to their mortgage statements because of the tax increases, it seems many want their money to go to improving our town.
If you really want to affect improvements to Orange, I encourage you to get involved. Consider running for office. If you don’t know what that entails, reach out to us. We will be happy to explain how it works.
I want to wish you all a happy holiday season and healthy new year. You can reach me at JLDOrange@yahoo.com.
Jody Dietch is the chair of the Orange Democratic Town Committee.