Cooperation is the key

Cooperation is the key

Since we were young, we’ve been taught the importance of cooperation. Play nicely. Work together. Share.

These bits of advice work just as well now as they did all those years ago. Better yet, it’s not just individuals who are practicing the art of sharing — local municipalities are getting in on the act as well.

Case in point: The town of North East and the village of Millerton often work together to meet shared goals. Just this week we’ve seen reports on the two municipalities trying to find a solution to the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) coverage dilemma faced by so many local governments these days. Working with the towns of Amenia and Dover also, North East and Millerton are hoping that by sharing coverage and costs, providing emergency care to area residents will be that much more doable.

Also recently, it looks like the town and village will once again join forces in applying to the county for Community Development Block Grant dollars. Often seen as an advantage over being a lone applicant, the two municipalities are hoping that by applying together they’ll have a better chance of winning vital funds to repair badly deteriorating sidewalks along the south side of Main Street. 

As the village sits within the town, many of their resources and amenities are shared. It just makes sense for them to work cooperatively for the general good.

Even the way the two are handling the critically-needed new highway garage, salt shed, storage building and administrative building for the town’s Highway Department is worthy of mention. Though the town is spearheading efforts, the village is supporting the project with an eye toward sharing the facility.

The town/village Comprehensive Plan update is another important project worked on by both municipalities. Since the plan is a vision statement, a road map of sorts for how both North East and Millerton would like to develop during the next decade-plus, we think their collaboration is both logical and inspirational.

It just makes sense, and we’d like to take a moment to praise local leaders for their vision of two communities that benefit from the existence of one another. There’s been talk over the years about dissolving the village, about merging North East and Millerton. We can understand the allure of cutting costs and sharing services. But the two municipalities currently function well independently. As long as they’re willing to assist each other, brainstorm together, cooperate, there seems little reason why they can’t coexist side by side. 

With strong county support for shared services, and local support for working together, we think both town and village are doing a great job keeping their own unique identities and promoting lifestyles that suit a wide range of residents.

Here’s to them both.