Reclaiming Our Responsibility

Regardless of how you feel about the present mayoral system of government in Stratford, it does present one huge advantage: it allows for one constellating figure to rally the town on important issues. It doesn’t matter if you agree with that person or not; the mayor can lead the town toward resolution by engaging all citizens in constructive dialogue. When these opportunities come around, strong leadership makes all the difference.

Today, Mayor Miron faces just such an opportunity.

The people of Stratford have spent months in contentious debate over issues such as the charter revision, the sale of Long Beach West, and the renovation of the American Shakespeare Theatre, among others. The healthy give and take between the various factions in town has exposed a glaring need for better communication among our elected officials and the people they serve, as well as a greater accountability when discussing big-budget items.

However, I fear that in the process of waiting for our town government to navigate the various checks and balances necessary before implementing plans to address these challenges, the citizenry has been struck with a case of “paralysis of analysis.” In waiting for decisions to be made, we have forgotten the power we have to effect change in ways that don’t need town lawyers and council meetings. Even worse, I fear we’ve forgotten that it’s our responsibility as citizens to donate our time and experience to help our community thrive.

I’ve been to the town meetings, and I’ve watched the archived videos of the council discussions online. I hear about poorly maintained playgrounds, tennis courts, beach bathrooms, schoolyards, etc. These are items that my father would have classified as “grunt work,” or projects that most anyone could accomplish with hard work and a little guidance. Why do we feel we need to leave everything up to our town officials?

After all, we do have a history of service in this community: the Stratford Junior women’s Club adopted Beach Drive Park; Boy Scout Troop #202 adopted Motil Pond Park; even Dockside Bait and Tackle adopted Bond’s Dock. Maybe a more concerted effort, with a strong leader marshalling the collective experience and manpower of the town, could transform these areas and alleviate many problems before they end up as an item on the town budget.

An easy example is the condition of the town tennis courts. Whether at the beach or Bunnell, the courts are choked by knee-high weeds that ring the fences and make finding your tennis ball nearly impossible. Worse, patches of grass poke through the concrete in ugly scars right in the middle of the courts! Anyone with a passing knowledge of concrete knows what this leads to, and it’s already happening: the roots buckle the court surface and large, jagged cracks line the courts and ruin any chance of a fair game. Not only is this a looming liability for the town, but it takes what should be the jewels of our community and exposes them as testaments to our inability to maintain what we were given. I’ve long since stopped inviting friends to Stratford to play on our courts; it’s too embarrassing.

And yet, what a simple fix. With a small group of kids and a few hours, we could completely clean these areas up and restore them to their former glory. Even better, by taking up the weeds now, we avoid an even bigger repair bill in the future. With a town of our size, surely we can find a way to make this happen.

First of all, let me make it clear that the town maintenance department is doing all it can do--I truly believe they are working as hard as they can with a limited budget, and they simply can't maintain everything given their numbers. However, this problem is not going away—with taxes already high and major improvements to the towns fleet of vehicles looming on the horizon, it will only get worse. In fact, last week the town council voted to cut two million dollars from improvements to road repairs and playground renovations.

With so much acrimony over the town budget and charter, have we forgotten that we don’t need to turn to Town Hall for everything? Where are the volunteers? Where are my neighbors, rising up and offering their skill sets to improve our neighborhoods? Where is the leadership that rallies local leaders and organizes the resources of our community? Where is the call for us to strategize, to join together to make up for the funding gaps? Where are the fliers? Where are posters in the windows of the town stores? Where is the note on the front page of the town website?

My mom always said that many hands make for light work. Quite frankly, it’s time we put our hands where our mouths seem to be: addressing the problem! I call on our mayor, James Miron, to bring us together and lead Stratford to its rightful place as one of the most beautiful cities in the country.