To The Editor:
Jonathan Siegel retired from the Moretown Planning Commission this fall, concluding a tour of duty that commenced in 2008 – when as he told us several times, he joined the planning commission to help Moretown develop a capital budget. Thirteen years is a long stint on a planning commission for anyone as the legislative mandates, bureaucracy and minutia defining the work never cease to pile up. For someone whose purpose is to assure that planning and zoning – the source of so much esoterica – is comprehensible, fits the requirements for common sense, and works for residents and businesses at the same time that it defines and implements Moretown’s vision as a welcoming community especially to young families with school-age children and as a community ready to grow in a manner consistent with its rural nature, the task is monumental.
Jonathan is nothing if not tenacious! He chaired the planning commission for many years, including the last year and a half in the COVID-Zoom world. He re-focused our collective energy on the goals, was known to occasionally remind us of past pitfalls and lamented the swirling weeds (see minutia and esoterica mentioned above) that so frequently threaten to wrap themselves around and completely immobilize planning commission members in any town.
Planning commission is only one of the ways he has served Moretown and beyond: He also served on the town office committee, Moretown Select Board, Waterbury Ice Center and Mad River Resource Management Alliance boards. This is most certainly not a complete list. Today we thank him for his leadership of the Moretown Planning Commission and rest assured we will see him around!
Karen Horn
Moretown Planning Commission
