The century-old Hannewald barn is worth saving. As many have correctly pointed out, in its current location almost no one knows it exists. In its new location, it will become an iconic symbol of Avon.
As a member of the Avon Town Council, I voted to spend about $900,000 to save the barn and locate it in Nottingham Park and another $600,000 to demolish the old Town Hall, a project I have supported since 2006.
I am thrilled that CBS has picked up on the fight to save the Hannewald barn however the vitriolic and inaccurate statements from within our small community make me sad. Avon taxes paid by Avon residents have been steadily decreasing since 2005 as the imported tax revenues from part-timers and visitors have steadily increased. Property mill levy to the town of Avon has been cut in half over the last 12 years on each residential and commercial property in Avon. In my neighborhood on Eaglebend Drive, the mill rate has been reduced by about 80 percent. It is sad when friends and neighbors forget these details and listen instead to the haters.
More than 65 percent of taxes paid to Avon are imported taxes paid for voluntarily by people who are not able to vote in Avon but who pay revenues to the town of Avon. I have strived to represent these people in addition to the ones who can vote. They include people in Eagle-Vail who work and shop almost exclusively in Avon, second-homeowners who maintain their permanent residence elsewhere but are taxpayers in Avon and workers who are not eligible to vote but value the jobs provided in a vibrant resort community.
When Richard Carnes recently compared the actions of four members of a council, two of whom were recently elected as supporters of the project, to a Trump power grab, he is as silly as Trump’s Rose Garden press announcement. Carnes comparing the decision to save a piece of local history to Trump’s racist quest for a wall is an assertion equally ridiculous, especially since the Avon Town Council has voted in support of our important Hispanic population.
My father, a history lover, military man and successful business owner, taught me at an early age to appreciate where I come from and to work for what I want. My grandmother and my mother taught me, starting at age 12, to be financially self-sufficient, as you never know when you will have only yourself to rely on.
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I appreciate Carnes pointing out that none of the four who voted in favor of saving the barn are prone to temper tantrums. To be lectured on fiscal responsibility by two of the three councilors who voted against the project is truly mind-numbing to this financially independent child of the ’60s.
Saving the Hannewald barn is a fight worth my time and efforts.
Amy C. Phillips
Avon
