I gleaned more information pertaining to the infamous gravel incident reported in the Burlington Free Press article. Cowan attempted to strong-arm a local police officer into charging me with vandalism for an errant piece of gravel that rolled near his building. Luckily, the officer present at the time of the incident acknowledged that no such vandalism occurred. Truth and justice prevail!
I had hoped to deliver an update on Wednesday afternoon regarding the successfully completed mediation with Cowan, however we received a call this morning informing us that he has backed out of the talks. This did not come as a big surprise considering the list of preconditions, demands and ultimatums he imposed before agreeing to mediation. First, he required that police resources be diverted to the talks, and that an officer be present for the mediation. He was supposedly concerned that things would get out of hand. Secondly, he made it clear that he refused to meet unless the property owner was present. It was clear to us that his intention was to engage in splitting maneuvers; a point that was driven home when he said that if his conditions were not met, he would circumvent us and halt our progress by dealing directly with the property owner. Third, he said that he would not show up if I continued to write about my experiences and provide the public with informational updates.
We agreed to respect all of his preconditions in the hope that we could come out of mediation and with a better sense of what his issues were, and why he continued to act as an aggressor towards this project. He was given the opportunity to express his opinions in a safe, healthy manner but chose instead to play games. In our opinion, he may continue to play in the sandbox all he likes-we are done humoring him.
The LTCM does not negotiate with terrorists.
I had hoped to deliver an update on Wednesday afternoon regarding the successfully completed mediation with Cowan, however we received a call this morning informing us that he has backed out of the talks. This did not come as a big surprise considering the list of preconditions, demands and ultimatums he imposed before agreeing to mediation. First, he required that police resources be diverted to the talks, and that an officer be present for the mediation. He was supposedly concerned that things would get out of hand. Secondly, he made it clear that he refused to meet unless the property owner was present. It was clear to us that his intention was to engage in splitting maneuvers; a point that was driven home when he said that if his conditions were not met, he would circumvent us and halt our progress by dealing directly with the property owner. Third, he said that he would not show up if I continued to write about my experiences and provide the public with informational updates.
We agreed to respect all of his preconditions in the hope that we could come out of mediation and with a better sense of what his issues were, and why he continued to act as an aggressor towards this project. He was given the opportunity to express his opinions in a safe, healthy manner but chose instead to play games. In our opinion, he may continue to play in the sandbox all he likes-we are done humoring him.
The LTCM does not negotiate with terrorists.
Well, my family was really looking forward to your vision realized. This is very unfortunate for all of us.
ReplyDeleteIt would seem that a project of such effort and integrity would be a major bonus for Mr. Cowan's property value - not to mention more business traffic for his renters. Come to think of it, I havent stopped at the Flea Market since the Jonesville Country Store closed.
Well, my family was looking forward to your vision realized. This is very unfortunate for all of us - including Mr. Cowan in that the integrity of the market would have boosted his property value and the business traffic of his current renters. Come to think of it, I haven't been to the Flea Market since the Jonesville store closed.
ReplyDeletethat evil Clowan...what a circus...
ReplyDeletehopefully from here the community will strengthen even more in the future months. Nice work Dan. Keep up the momentum and lets see this through to its full potenial. JBC/ JU Unite
ReplyDelete