Baxter park concerns

I’ve just read the article (BDN, Dec. 3-4) about the search for a new director for Baxter State Park. I think the Baxter Park Authority is ill-advised to leave the Advisory Committee and the public out of the process. The committee is there for good reason. Probably its most important purpose is continuity.

The authority can change overnight. With a political shift it can suddenly be three new people who may or may not know anything about BSP or its business and issues. The advisory provides people who remember why a particular decision was made 14 years ago or why such-and-such is standard procedure. To exclude the Advisory Committee from this current search process is a mistake. Surely the advisory could designate three members to work with the authority. This limited number should take care of confidentiality issues.

I have been visiting BSP since the late ’30s, served on the advisory in the ’80s and ’90s and served as chairman from ’88 to ’92. Maine people like me care a lot about the park. It seems to me that not having, indeed canceling, public meetings is a big mistake. The authority could just ask what the public would like to see in a new director and then listen to the responses.

Jane I. Thomas

Surry