Two years ago, Bruce Chuluda vowed his administration would be one of the most accessible administrations Westbrook had seen.

Now he is seeking his second term in office, and Chuluda, R-Spring Street, feels he has worked hard to keep that promise. He cites the fact that he keeps monthly open office hours for residents to come in and talk to him and his monthly television call-in show as two examples of ways he has tried to include residents in what is going on in the city.

“I’ve been a much more open mayor than past administrations,” he said.

While he wants to continue to work to ensure lines of communication are kept open, Chuluda said he also wants to focus on the economic growth of the city during his second term.

While the temptation is there to try and grow as fast as possible, Chuluda said he wants to take a more conservative approach to growth. “We need to be patient and look for the right opportunities and plan appropriately for those opportunities,” he said. “I think good economic development comes slowly. And I think we’re moving at just the right pace.”

While he wants to continue to keep growing at a managed pace, Chuluda said his administration would continue to look to attract major projects to the city. “I’d love to find some big taxpaying company to come in here and site themselves in Westbrook,” he said. “But I’m not willing to jump at the first opportunity that comes along. I want to do the right thing for the city.”

One project that Chuluda points to is the development of the Westbrook Heights Business Park. The city recently purchased the parcel of land after the original developer decided not to go forward with the project. “There are some great possibilities there,” he said.

While Chuluda isn’t a big supporter of the city buying properties and acting as a developer, in this case, he said it made sense because the project wasn’t going to happen unless the city stepped in.

Looking at downtown, Chuluda said one of the biggest problems hampering development there is finding a way to manage traffic and parking. “We’ve got to be very selective with what we bring down there,” Chuluda said. “If we can’t move the traffic in and out of Main Street, we’re going to have a lot of residents complaining.”

Another question is the future of Saccarappa Park. This summer the city issued a request for proposals for development of the park, while still keeping some open space. The city received only two proposals for the park, both of which were rejected by the administration.

Chuluda found it disconcerting that there wasn’t a great deal of interest in the park, and he said the city was looking at options. He said part of the problem might have been a lack of space to provide adequate parking for any building on the site.

The best solution might be for the city to let the site sit dormant for some time and then see if there is any renewed interest in the property after a year or two, he said. “Timing is everything,” said Chuluda. “And this may not be the right time.”

Another possibility is to hire a commercial broker to market the property. But Chuluda said he wasn’t sure a broker would have any more success. “While there may be some merit to that, I’m not so certain that would bring an onslaught of interest,” he said.

While Westbrook continues to look at ways to revitalize its downtown, Chuluda said it is important to make sure the rest of the city isn’t forgotten. “I think economic development needs to be more than downtown,” he said “To forget about the rest of the city is short-sighted.”

If he is elected to a second term, Chuluda plans on continuing to work to control spending and streamline city government. “I think we need to continue to work smarter as a city,” he said. “My goal is to continue to work to make the city government as efficient as possible.”