Residents thankfully vote ‘Yes’

Winchester residents rightly voted “Yes” Thursday, Jan. 10, to approve the second phase of the public Main Street Enhancement Project, despite resistance from some members of the community who spoke Monday night at Town Hall. An overwhelmingly positive vote on the measure should be seen as a sign that Winsted can do positive things when community members put their mind to them.On the town’s financial books for the past five years and planned since the 1990s, the Main Street Enhancement Project began in 2002 with the reconstruction of Main Street in the center of town. From Case Avenue to Union Street, new medians, sidewalks, fencing and lighting were installed to help beautify the town and slow down traffic. The result was a success.The second phase of the initially planned three-phase project extends the new medians and sidewalks east and west in town, to St. Joseph’s Church and to just past the Winsted YMCA. With approval of the project, work will start in the spring and should be completed by the fall of 2013, again making Winsted’s streets safer and more beautiful.The Henny Penny outcry from some residents has been over minor issues, including the fact that Winsted is required to pay for 20 percent of the project. Money has been carried over in the town budget since 2007 to do just that. This year’s decision to move forward with the project required a referendum to approve the use of Local Capital Improvement Program (LoCIP) funds from the state to pay for cost increases, which naturally occurred during the past five years.Some members of the public went out of their way to complicate and criticize the project at Monday night’s Board of Selectmen’s meeting. As if appearing from an episode of “The Twilight Zone,” these malcontents continue to berate the town and its Board of Selectmen for every decision that is made here, including simple ones like this that are clearly good for the municipality.There is no question that the Main Street Enhancement Project has been a good thing, and townspeople can thank Town Manager Dale Martin for bringing the long-awaited phase two component to fruition. Those with longer memories should also thank former Town Manager Margaret Johnson for her work in spearheading the project.Rightly ignoring the fickle partisan factions which have done everything they can to stall progress and create an unpleasant social and political environment in town, Winchester voters saved the town from earning another black mark by voting “Yes” on phase-two Main Street improvements. This is a positive step for the Winsted and the greater Winchester community.