Waterbury at the Crossroads: Moving Backward or Moving Forward?
09/07/2007

By Josh Angelus
President of Waterbury Neighborhood Council

2007 can be seen as a turning point in the direction that Waterbury will take on its road to recovery and rebirth. Will we rely on old models of development and governance or truly become a 21st century city of renaissance that encompasses good governance, comprehensive economic development, a superb quality of life, and a thriving arts education and cultural center?

We have many challenges before us that will indicate which direction we will go. The first challenge we have is the issue of over-development and open space. What is our vision for our neighborhoods? Do we move back into the 1950’s version of sprawl and building out horizontally? We must protect the character of our neighborhoods from overcrowding, traffic congestion, while not overburdening our schools. Open space will be a key role in enhancing the character of our neighborhoods while giving us a place to get away from the hectic pace of our culture. Let’s move forward into the 21st century and remake our city as a high quality livable city. (Check out www.livablecities.org and goggle livable cities for more information). An Open Space Summit sponsored by the Waterbury Neighborhood Council is scheduled for September 20, 2007.

The second challenge facing us are the Mix Master plans as presented by the Department of Transportation. (D.O.T.). Both of their projected plans cost billions of dollars and are updated versions of 1950’s highway development. These proposals look backward and are costly to boot. They are being imposed from without, instead of following a more democratic bottom up process that starts with the citizens and our elected officials. DOT which is made up of primarily highway engineers has failed to look not only at more cost effective measures such as having truck freight move by train and ship but also have failed to present a comprehensive seamless mass transit plan that reduces fuel consumption, traffic, and pollution. We might want to see a plan that looks ahead and moves us forward into the 21st century especially when the project will not be completed for another 10-20 year period.

A D.O.T. official remarked to me as I challenged their transportation plans that they are important as a gateway to New England. It didn’t seem that needs of Waterbury were taken into consideration to any significant level. We must not be stuck discussing just two plans but demand that a comprehensive plan be presented that minimizes negative impacts on the city, furthers our economic development, reduces traffic and pollution, and presents more accessible transportation options.

The third challenge is litter and blight, another important part of the equation. Will we look backward and keep tolerating curbside litter or move forward and realize a vision of clean streets, sidewalks, and parks? Thankfully, so far we have moved forward with blight enforcement sending a message to absentee landlords. Kudos to the Health Department for instituting a systematic enforcement process. Now we need to send a message to tenants and others who continue to litter our city. No solution has yet to be instituted. How about a Quality of Life enforcement team? Hopefully this will be resolved in the September follow up meeting to the Litter and Blight Summit. Please attend and make a difference.

The fourth challenge is having a vision and plan for economic and community development that looks forward and not back. So far we seem to be taking any development proposal that comes down the pike instead of having development follow our vision and plan. We must think 10, 20, 30 years out and be more proactive. This requires research, community input, planning and execution.

We need to look at industries that are growing, and align education and training where appropriate. Infrastructure improvements must be made in our Central Business District (CBD) and the core neighborhoods surrounding it. This includes but is not limited to sidewalks, street repair, school building rehab and remodeling, incentive programs for owner occupied multifamily homes and façade programs.

A fifth challenge is to institute reform in our government starting with ethics and perhaps Aldermen by District. The current process keeps most neighborhoods from not having an Alderman who knows their needs and challenges. Also most Aldermen do not have the time to represent a city of 107,000 people and spend the time it requires to get to know each neighborhood, the different businesses and non-profits, the schools and the individual citizens themselves. Electing Aldermen by district might truly reflect the voice and needs of our citizens. It will require extensive community discussion.

Clean government brings business investment as people tend to shy away from doing business in a town or city with a reputation for corruption and unethical conduct. We must create the most stringent ethics legislation in the state and establish the enforcement infrastructure and process in which to realize our goals for clean government.

We should at least discuss limiting the contribution of donors who have contracts with our city government. Too many times good government policy is stymied by the influence of donations especially by those with city contracts. We should consider clean election legislation. It has been already discussed at the state level.

Make a difference in Waterbury. Be a participant in your democracy. Do not just be a spectator. Embrace your democracy and invest 4 hours a week into it by getting involved in your neighborhood organizations, and other organizations working to better Waterbury. Attend the meetings of City Commissions and the Board of Aldermen. I suggest that people go to our website at www.waterburyneighborhoods.org and join 1000 friends of Waterbury. Simply sign in on our website or if you do not have email, mail us your contact information and send to WNC, 67 Hillside Avenue, Waterbury, CT 06710. You will get notice of our advocacy alerts and you will also receive information on any relevant events in Waterbury. LETS ALL MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER!

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