To print this article open the file menu and choose Print. Click here to return to previous page Article published Dec 10, 2005 Dec 10, 2005 City planning group criticized Activists say residents want a voice By Richard Nangle TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF rnangle@telegram.com WORCESTER— Saying the new Common Pathways group lacks the common touch, some neighborhood activists are preparing their own shadow organization — an UnCommon Pathways that would go where others fear to tread when it comes to improving life in the city. They vow not to come forward with their own agenda until Common Pathways issues its first report, which they expect will reflect an establishment viewpoint that ignores critical grass-roots issues. Newly formed Common Pathways is made up of community leaders in search of ways to improve quality of life in the city. Already there has been some grumbling about the way Common Pathways conducts its business, particularly with regard to the group’s Nov. 30 public meeting when local camera crews were prohibited from taping the small group sessions held at the YWCA of Central Massachusetts. “It wasn’t an open meeting,” said Hermis Yanis Jr., who wanted to tape the event for local access Channel 13. “I was told I couldn’t tape the fact-finding, the concerns of the people in Worcester.” “There is nothing new that is going to come out of the discussion of Common Pathways,” said William S. Coleman III, who like Mr. Yanis is a neighborhood activist who ran unsuccessfully for City Council this year. “What we need to do is look at what people have suggested over the years and act on them.” “There will be an UnCommon Pathways group, volunteers who will look at what has not been done through the established conversation in this community and try to find someplace where the City Council and city administration can act instead of these circular conversations that go on and on and on,” Mr. Coleman said. Common Pathways is ready to fight back. City Councilor-at-Large Dennis L. Irish, a member of the group’s leadership council, lashed out at Mr. Yanis and Mr. Coleman, saying they lacked credibility. “We had quite a list of non-establishment types, if you will, that are representative of the community,” Mr. Irish said. “At my table a majority were from the HOPE Coalition, high school kids. I wouldn’t call them establishment types. You gotta challenge the credibility of these characters.” The leadership council includes Billy Ayala of Centro Las Americas; John Bassett of Clark University; Bruce S. Bennett of the Telegram & Gazette; Deborah D. Cary of Massachusetts Audubon Society; Fred Eppinger of Allmerica Financial/Hanover Insurance; Lois Green of United Way of Central Massachusetts; Paul Hernandez of Great Brook Valley Health Center; Richard Kennedy of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce; Ann Lisi of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation; John O’Brien of UMass Memorial Health Care; Michael V. O’Brien, Worcester city manager; and Sarai Rivera of Iglesia Cristiana de la Communidad, among others. Mr. Coleman, Mr. Yanis and their supporters take issue with what they say is a lack of citizen representation on that list. “What happened to the people who go around and pick the needles out of the dirty lots every day?” said Barbara White, who heads up the City Manager’s neighborhood cabinet. “It looks like the agencies are the only ones that are going to get a say,” Ms. White said. “Those of us in the neighborhoods heard about it by reading the T&G. Our side of it is not being heard at all.” “Bill Coleman and Hermis Yanis are very respected in the neighborhoods,” she said. “The agencies have a useful purpose,” said Sue Moynagh, who coordinates the Upsala Street, Providence Street and Union Hill crime watch groups. “But a lot of the people who run them don’t live in Worcester, and I don’t need them coming into my neighborhood and telling me what’s best for me. Include us in the dialogue.” The 20 percent voter turnout in last month’s city election should be a red flag, Mr. Coleman said, indicating the need for a new way to establish a dialogue with city voters. One way would be for the city to rethink the way it staffs its boards and commissions. Mr. Coleman, who this week did not receive a single councilor’s vote in his bid to become a library commissioner, said the makeup of boards and commissions has tended to exclude people perceived as being on the fringes. “It is a crime that library is not open on Mondays. It’s a horrible crime,” he said, adding that as a library commissioner he would have dedicated himself to raising funds to keep the library open on Mondays. “I look at some of the players involved here, and it says grab the grant money and put our friends in the position to run the thing,” Mr. Yanis said. Mr. Irish said the fact that Common Pathways has secured more than $100,000 and employs paid staff is a positive, ensuring that the ideas it spawns will be backed up by money and people who will work toward implementation. Contact Richard Nangle by e-mail at rnangle@telegram.com. Order the Telegram & Gazette, delivered daily to your home or office! www.telegram.com/homedelivery Copyright Worcester Telegram & Gazette Corp.