To the Editor:
The citizens of South Windsor may have to decide whether or not to support a $3 million project to upgrade our school’s athletic fields.
Athletics are an important part of many students educational experience. I am an advocate of sports and I think our children deserve the best facilities we - as a town - can afford.
As a Town Councilor, it is my responsibility to help inform our residents about the ramifications of their choices. South Windsor has many pressing needs. Some of these require immediate attention, while others represent things for which we can make future plans. There is an immediate need to expand the Community Center, which provides services for a broad cross-section of the population, including seniors, teens, and preschoolers, among others.
Simply stated, we have outgrown the present Community Center. Many of our schools have reached the point at which improvements must be made to their roofs and structure. In my opinion, the health and welfare of our children is not negotiable. Repaving some of our roads is another priority, which needs to be addressed in the near future.
Funding the athletic fields will raise taxes. In this economy, it is difficult to justify doing so. While it is true that interest rates are at an all time low, spending $3 million on fields is like buying something on sale that you don’t really need.
Perhaps we should consider delaying the purchase of such a large luxury item until the economy shows are definite upward trend.
Ultimately, the decision to expand South Windsor’s sports fields should be made by a voter referendum. If this issue is brought to the polls, all of our residents need to be clear about how it will impact their lives. Caution must be taken not to obfuscate this question by hiding it onto other issues. The importance of other priorities is so critical that I feel that the sports field question if necessary
should be a separate referendum question.
Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, suggestions about this important issue or any other.
Saud Anwar, Town Councilor
