Sarah Scheidel McCusker
As a child, I was lucky enough to get to spend a lot of time at my grandparents’ house while my parents were at work.
There were always cookies in the cookie jar, toys stashed in the closet, and all the paper and crayons I could ever need. But there was more: in addition to the normal perks one might expect to find at any grandma’s house, there was also the Burlington Post Office tucked into the back room, along with an emergency phone and the shorthand notebook my grandmother used in her role as an emergency dispatcher for the Burlington Volunteer Fire Department. When I wasn’t “helping” my grandmother with her post office work, I would listen to her stories about growing up in Burlington: sledding down what is now Route 4; going to sleepover parties thrown by the pastor’s wife; running through the orchards that gave Apple Hill its name.
I grew up surrounded by a great sense of community and a love of place. My family has strong roots in Burlington, going back generations on both sides, and I learned from an early age that serving one’s community is not just a responsibility, but also a privilege. My family members were Girl Scout leaders, Selectmen, room mothers, soldiers, volunteer firefighters, and more – all believed in giving back to the community that they loved, and all enjoyed doing it.
Throughout my life, I have endeavored to follow that example of volunteerism and service that was shown me. Starting as a twelve-year-old sixth grader, I worked as a volunteer at the Burlington Public Library, a decision that would set me off on a career path that would eventually bring me back to that same library as a librarian, a job I held for several years before accepting my current position as Technical Services librarian for the Town of Canton. As a public librarian, I am charged with serving all members of the community – from the very young to the very old – and as such have a particular concern for groups in our town that are, in many ways, underrepresented and underserved.
As your Selectman, I will be committed to ensuring great services not only for our schoolchildren, but also for our adults and seniors, with enhanced backing for town departments that serve all residents, such as the Parks and Recreation Department and the Burlington Public Library. I also have a particular interest in ensuring support for our great town organizations that do so much to preserve our past and our natural resources, such as the Burlington Historical Society and the Burlington Land Trust. This is a time of great change for the town of Burlington. As most of you know, there has been a lot of talk and planning in recent years concerning the best way to encourage – and control – development in town, both residential and commercial.
A great deal of this discussion has focused on the Central Business District. My work on the 2009 Plan of Conservation and Development has led me to be very excited and optimistic about the great opportunity we are presented with – the opportunity to create a small yet vibrant town center that provides valuable commercial, civic, and recreational facilities for the benefit of our town, while still maintaining the character that we all love so much.
The Planning and Zoning Commission has been hard at work for several years rewriting many of the zoning regulations pertaining to the town center, and it is my hope that these new regulations, paired with recommendations put forward in the Plan of Conservation and Development, will allow us to bring more small businesses to the town center, encourage mixed-use development, work with the State of Connecticut to decrease traffic speeds on Route 4, and make our town center a place to live, a place to work, and a place to enjoy.
I also believe that it is important to make sure that our civic buildings are able to meet the changing needs of our growing town and, to that end, I will work towards the replacement of our two aging fire stations, continued enhancements to the Burlington Town Hall, and, further down the line, laying the foundation for future expansion of the Burlington Public Library and development of a Community Center facility.
I was a member of the Burlington Bicentennial Committee, and earlier this year served on the “Save our Sampler” committee that worked to bring the Mary Belden sampler back home to Burlington on behalf of the Burlington Historical Society. The public response to both the Bicentennial and to our Belden Sampler appeal was truly overwhelming. Through my work with these two committees, I have seen firsthand just how much people love this town – this community – that we call home. I was privileged to grow up in Burlington, and I look forward to raising my own children here. As Selectman, I will do everything I can to ensure a bright future for Burlington.
