I attended a recent city council workshop to address the issue of the missing benches in front of city hall. To me, this decision was shortsighted and counterproductive. As a longtime city activist, I find it rather odd that the mayor found it necessary to remove the benches from in the first place.

The absence of the pedestrian benches takes away the friendly atmosphere that every town hall needs. After all, City Hall is the people’s house. If they need to be cleaned I’m sure DPW workers and city hall maintenance personnel can take a few moments a day and sanitize the benches. The fact is that our seniors, disabled and all city residents use those benches to wait on connecting busses and in the summer to sit and enjoy the weather.

Any notion suggesting that displaced members of our society who use those benches to sleep at night is a threat to residents who utilize the benches during the daytime hours is asinine. Again, I implore this administration to rescind their decision and return the pedestrian benches in front of city hall. It’s just the right thing to do.

Corey Teague
Former school board member and activist