This site was launched in July of 2022 to support the community, not to further divide it. We hoped then and still do that sharing important information that is lacking and presenting a fresh perspective would and will lead visitors to test their assumptions before deciding if the current fire station plan really is the only thing we can or should do.

That is why we adopted the symbolism of the fieldstone wall at 139 The Great Road. It is a retaining wall. It doesn’t divide — it supports. And it connects the future to the past. Generations of townspeople have walked past it on their way to school or work or the market. Men who went off to fight in the two World Wars might have climbed on it as children. It is a fixture of the town itself. 

But focusing on only the house and wall misses what is most at stake. We think the fire station would ruin the visual integrity of one of Bedford Center’s key blocks because architects may design a suitable building, but they will never be able to integrate it — and a concrete front yard — into that gracious block.

If this location actually is the right thing for Bedford, it will hold up under more scrutiny than has been brought to bear on it so far. We know that 268 residents out of thousands of eligible voters think it’s the right thing. But if it’s not, it could become the worst mistake in town history.

It is cavalier to suggest that the current plan “meets Bedford’s needs” — because a solution that pleases some of the people and deeply saddens many others is not a solution. It is a breach — that can only be healed by shining more light on the issues that have not been addressed.

At the March 2022 Town Meeting, a member of the Historic District Commission read that body’s official statement during the public comments. It is too bad the Commission wasn’t given a platform before the vote to educate voters as to the limits on the discretionary powers granted to them under the legislative Acts of 1964.

This is a perfect example of why people worked hard during a time of rapid expansion to establish a Historic District. They realized that only a body vested with the power to protect the town’s intrinsic value could withstand urgent, short-term pressures and require solutions that honor both the past and the present.

The location of the new fire station is one of the most consequential decisions Bedford’s townspeople will ever make. If everyone will examine and consider the information that is offered here, while there is still time to correct course, we are much more likely to find a solution we can all embrace.

A “stakeholder” is anyone with something at risk when a policy is being discussed.

In this case, that is everyone whose heart is invested in this unique and precious town. 

We’re all rooting for the same team. No one wants to see a mistake made that cannot be undone.