Wendell News Outlet

It has come to my attention that some residents of Wendell think the Wendell Community Coalition (WCC) is being too negative in its assessment of the town’s housing practices. Perhaps they are right. Why is the WCC speaking with such a negative fervor? Why are they speaking at all? For that matter, why is there a Wendell Community Coalition? Who needs it? The town of Wendell got along just fine without them! Have I summed it up for those of you who feel a dislike for the WCC? Well, rather than regurgitating the reams of negative statistical data that the WCC has put on the table, let’s stop for a minute, and consider the overall wellbeing of Wendell; for today and tomorrow.

Every town has an underlying spirit of cohesiveness and belonging, call it what you may, it’s there. Wendell certainly has this spirit and more. People have spent their entire lives in this town, basking in the glow of friendship and unity, until a disruptive entity called the WCC appeared, spewing negative information that disrupted the status quo. Unfortunately these facts, which cast a negative shadow over the town, tended to wound and insult those town residents who were reluctant to believe them. But, if you have read the facts and statistics and if, for the sake of our discussion, you accept them as true, which they are, where do we go from here?

There is nothing to be gained by placing blame on the past or current town administrations. Whatever circumstances brought us to this juncture took place, and here we are, with all our blemishes and shortfalls. Agonizing over what could have been will not change anything. Today we see and understand the problems; tomorrow we take the necessary steps to correct those problems.

This is where the WCC felt it could be of service to the community; by exposing a potentially serious financial shortfall that may be brought about by an imbalance of housing diversity within the town. You may not like the way the WCC handled this situation, but if you are following the apparent trend towards inexpensive housing, along with the insufficient tax revenues they yield, you must realize the gravity of the situation. If there is not enough money coming into your home to pay your bills, someone gets a part time job. If there is not enough money coming into Wendell’s coffers, they raise the taxes. It creates a never ending downward spiral; lower priced houses, higher taxes which lead to more lower priced houses with higher taxes.

If we want to retain what we have in Wendell, and perhaps make it better, we all have a part to play. Standing on the sidelines making negative comments doesn’t help, so step up, attend a meeting of the WCC; tell us what we are doing wrong and how you think it should be done. Show us the right way, from your prospective! We’re open to all suggestions and constructive criticism. If you don’t lead you’re destined to follow!