I was somewhat surprised when David Nadeau stated in last week’s paper that he wanted to know why the bond issue for a new Windham Public Works facility was defeated by the voters and I might as well add, the taxpayers of this town as well. Quite frankly it’s none of his business as to why voters vote the way they do. I guess it’s safe to add the fact that voters are going to vote against issues that will hurt their financial status, which is something the Windham town councilors have been doing a lot of lately. So much so that I will no longer support any sitting councilor who continues that trend or a new candidate that promises to do the same.

I will be right up front and state the past couple of Windham Town Council chairpersons appeared to be, at the least, joined at the hips with the town manager. That’s my own personal opinion and I am entitled to it. Windham, at best, is doing nothing more than floundering into the future. It’s high time the taxpayers of Windham receive some real leadership and I sincerely hope the new Town Council (OK, it has one new member) will begin the process necessary to move our town forward in more than an awkward way.

I’ll just cut to the chase and state it’s time for the Windham Town Council to lead instead of being a continuous rubber stamp like it has been in the past.

I remember when I mentioned in a column years ago that an emergency exit at the Windham Town Hall was blocked by deep snow. Then Windham was inspected by the Maine Department of Labor and numerous deficiencies were found that should never have happened if procedures were in place to prevent them. Recently the complaints about the conditions of roads around the Forest Lake area of Windham along with some other private roads in Windham tells me our local government has to do a better job in the future. Windham must have town councilors more involved in making sure our local government operates properly rather than taking a back seat until problems pop up that they have to solve.

At least we have had a couple of town councilors that have taken action to get something done and that does include the Forest Lake area of Windham. Unfortunately that means they reacted instead of heading off a problem before it became as serious as it did. Hopefully the Windham town councilors will elect a leadership team that can solve problems before it’s too late and it’s time for the stupid rules that apply to them are changed in such a manner, like not talking to department heads for instance. They shouldn’t instruct department heads what to do but it would be nice for them to know what problems they are facing.

Perhaps the most important task that the town councilors should have is making sure tasks that are started are completed in a timely manner. Many are completed successfully but there always seems to be some that fall through the cracks and are forgotten. I use the Skate Park as a perfect example along with BMX Bike Park, which sits next to it and was never completed. A few little improvements have been made to the Skate Park and then somehow it seems to fade away in people’s minds. If money is the problem, charge a small fee to use facilities such as these and let them pay for themselves. Windham requires a season pass for Dundee Park so let’s do the same for everything and be consistent.

As a matter of fact, I have been anxiously waiting to see what recommendations that the Windham Sewer Committee or whatever it is called will make in regards to some type of sewer treatment for the North Windham business area. I have a problem with it, since it is the most heavily stacked committee I have seen.

Lane Hiltunen of Windham hopes the future is in the pasture.