Submitted by J.E. Abrams, Edgewood
“plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” (“the more things change, the more they stay the same”)
Wrote Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr in 1849, and so it is in Edgewood in 2025.
After the election signs are taken away and the rush of campaigns and elections subsides, once again, Edgewood remains unable to move forward on many fronts. Retaining capable people in many positions has been hindered by what appears to be a revolving door. The completion of infrastructure improvements is geological at best or simply nonexistent. Roads continue to subside into trenches of mire in bad weather and the bickering and legal issues command attention instead of the needs of the town.
Edgewood has now made little change in leadership, we should expect little change to continue. I certainly hope I am wrong, I truly hope that we may emerge from years of poor leadership, disarray, and inaction to become a viable, vibrant and sustainable modern community – someday.
To get there, Edgewood needs to improve its infrastructure and have something to offer businesses that will attract investment. The continuing efforts to cater to the “bedroom community” nature of our town have shown we are unable to get to the next level and support our public needs (let alone wants) with our own (lack of) industry from within our community.
The promise of roads, parks, and public facilities will not happen without a major change. Leadership is making promises, but a promise does not find funding to build those things our community needs and promises do not work on promoting our community resources to make things happen.
What happened with the Echo Ridge Park acquisition, or paving of Church Road? Many of our existing stretches of asphalt are crumbling. Road crews make a valiant effort to keep the gravel roads passable; many are subsiding below grade and need more attention. Now with double the crew and equipment, it is still impossible to get ahead of the upkeep on over 70 miles of roadway. Paving projects appear erratic and delayed. The trails are not maintained, and no new trails have been completed. Many of the old single-track paths once available are now fenced and avenues for recreational traffic continue to dwindle, and what happened to that Edgewood 7 trail? All while funds are used to find, train, and pay a litany of Administrators, Clerks and lawyers. How attractive is this look to prospective investments?
We can certainly do better than this Edgewood! Isn’t it about time? – well maybe next time…
