If Saranac Lake has taught us anything, it’s that the best projects happen when everyone has a seat at the table. For over a century, we’ve built parks, trails, recreation centers and downtown landmarks by planning together, arguing together and ultimately creating together. But the emergency services complex is taking the opposite approach — secretive, rushed and dismissive of community input. That’s not just bad process; it’s a break from the very values that have made our village strong. We can still get this right — but only if we return to doing things the Saranac Lake way.

Jane Jacobs, one of the most respected observers of what makes communities work, once wrote, “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.”

While this quote doesn’t adorn any plaques or banners in Saranac Lake, maybe it should because it sums up how Saranac Lake has planned for the future, made big decisions and accomplished community projects for decades.

This inclusive approach — where everyone is invited to help shape a shared vision and contribute ideas, labor and resources — has led to repeated success. This democratic, roll-up-your-sleeves way of doing things can be messy, but it works.

Perhaps it started in 1910, when the Village Improvement Society formed to transform our waterfronts into public green space. It continues today with the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, where project ideas rose or fell based on broad community input.

There are countless other examples: Mt. Pisgah, Dewey Mountain, the Civic Center, the All-America City award, the Adirondack Carousel and the Skatepark. These projects didn’t happen because of top-down decisions. They happened because Saranac Lakers engaged — sharing ideas, voicing concerns, donating time and money. Even opposition helped shape better outcomes. The locations for both the Carousel and Skatepark, for example, were publicly debated and revised before finding their eventual homes.

Unfortunately, despite this century-long tradition of success, we’re doing the opposite with the emergency services complex–watching it be planned and designed in secret by three (or so) men in a room led by Mayor Williams.

The mayor and other proponents of considering only one possible solution say that (1) 33 Petrova Ave. (the former Pius X school) is the only viable site and there are no alternatives, (2) “only” a few nearby residents are upset, and (3) that we need to leave facility design to the experts and that they shouldn’t be micromanaged.

Each of these claims is plainly false. First, there are alternatives. The police department could remain at the Armory, allowing for a smaller footprint at Petrova Ave. or elsewhere. This and other options deserve full exploration. Second, the public has been kept in the dark. The strategy has been to release minimal information until the last minute and push forward before people have time to react. That may no longer work once the unaffordable costs become clear. And those residents who’ve spoken up? They’re treated as nuisances when in fact, they are experts — they know their neighborhood and community. Why wouldn’t we value that? Third, while not every suggestion from residents will make it into final designs, neither should every recommendation from hired experts be accepted without question. Community goals must guide expert work — not the other way around.

The fundamental problem is that the mayor never allowed the public — or even the board of trustees — to create a shared vision for the project. There was never a chance for it to be “created by everybody.” No one’s suggesting we vote on paint colors. But defining what a successful project looks like and what we can afford is a community responsibility. Instead, we’re likely to see “community engagement” take the form of adding a couple of handpicked residents to the committee — after major decisions have already been made.

This process flies in the face of everything we know about Saranac Lakers. We are smart, curious, and engaged. We ask questions and expect honest answers. We want to support big projects — like upgrading emergency services — but we expect to be treated with respect.

Maybe this closed-door strategy will prevail. But it’s not the Saranac Lake way. We can do better.

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Jeremy Evans is a Harrietstown town board member. He lives in Saranac Lake.