I am positive that ill winds have been blowing through council meetings and out into the community. Questions about the abusive behavior/language of some councilors that resulted in the resignation of councilors Waig and Chapman were never adequately resolved – this is not good, especially considering that the town attorney might have been present when some of these issues allegedly took place.

I doubt that the only two female councilors, one of whom had years of effective service on the council, would have resigned unless there was good reason. The resignation of former councilor Tracy partly addressed the problem but, perhaps, the services of the town attorney need to be terminated? At the very least, the question of whether Mr. Cole was present at executive sessions where the behavior that resulted in the resignation of the two councilors took place, should be answered. Also, the accusation of impropriety in the voting. More accurately, whether the councilor should have recused himself from voting on some issues needs to be resolved more fully. The tone of Peter Busque’s recent article in The Independent seems to suggest pushing the past under the carpet, call it good, and move on, basking in absolute positivism and cooled by the now infamous, “Winds of Change.”

In my experience, whenever there is a rush to move everything into a control position by one of the key people allegedly involved in questionable activities, it’s really time to pause and take a good look before moving on. We have to be able to trust that councilors are acting openly and fairly and that those with whom they interact are being treated in that manner.

After the above is accomplished, the council needs to get to work on addressing the problems with further contamination of the aquifer? I see construction creeping ever closer toward the watershed – more asphalt going down and, worse, more septic systems being installed in an already problematic area.

Is the Planning Board at least requiring a higher standard of septic system design to minimize further pollution of the aquifer? Has the council charged the Planning Board to come up with recommendations regarding ordinance changes in the area of the aquifer? What is being done for those individuals whose wells have been contaminated?

Are businesses such as Wal-Mart, who are contributing steady contaminated loads on the aquifer going to retrofit their systems with some of the new technology available, because it will be a long, long time before we see a working sewer line connected to them and other businesses? How will it look if there are boil orders posted around NorthWindham next summer?

I agree with Peter Busque when he says in his recent article in The Independent, “We are fortunate to have the Lakes Region for fishing, hunting, boating, skiing, hiking, snowmobiling and more.” With this good fortune comes great responsibility for those elected and charged with safeguarding the well being of our town and the resources we all share. If anything we should be more actively promoting all of the positive things in our town to attract people from other states and from abroad to come here, especially with the new hotel planned for North Windham.

Has Windham, as some communities have done, put an order in effect limiting the use of pesticides, insecticides and herbicides within North Windham? If not, this should be a priority along with addressing a higher standard of septic system design and perhaps more stringent guidelines for site development, especially the use of more vegetation. The atmosphere that clean planning brings attracts people to a community.

Economic development can take place by putting ordinances in effect that clearly define design expectations. These ordinances don’t have to stifle the development of business, but they must not make a bad situation worse. I was surprised during the last presentation to the council, regarding the further contamination of the aquifer, that there wasn’t more active discussion of what immediate steps should be taken to limit further contamination because a public sewer system, estimated at 144 million, for North Windham and Windham Center will not take place for several years, if at all.

The problem of contamination of the aquifer in North Windham has been brought before several councils. A public sewer has been discussed in years past but nothing was done – and this was in more economically stable times when it would have been fairly easy and a heck of a lot cheaper to put the sewer line in place. Other things could have been done at the same time such as the redesign of the North Windham shopping areas creating pedestrian access, better (safer) parking and perhaps, as other towns have done, a few trees, a few pieces of sculpture – benches for people to sit down and relax in between shopping.

Perhaps, since digging is taking place, some of the zillion electrical lines and poles could have been removed and wires put underground. All of this remains to be done if North Windham is going to develop economically thereby attracting more shoppers to an actual “downtown” area, a destination. From a planning perspective it can be done in phases.

There are many, substantial, positive things to be done to create responsible growth and protect the resources on which we rely and which tourists leave the dirty cities to enjoy for their vacation. Bring business people together and listen to what their needs are. Involve the town planners and, of course, the council. Perhaps a tax relaxation for businesses under stress could help keep them open. After all, we give tax breaks to attract new businesses to locate here?

We have an excellent town manager in Windham and all of the town staff I have encountered are pleasant and positive. Police, fire, public works, library, town office staff – everybody is working hard and doing a good job. They deserve a council that will provide positive but substantial leadership to help our community stabilize and grow while protecting the resources we need in order to thrive.

Louis Sinclair is a resident ?of Windham