I have been a Shelton resident all my life. I attended Shelton schools and volunteered with the Huntington Fire Company for over a decade.
I was later involved with the Shelton Youth Soccer Organization and the fathers clubs as my children grew up. I watched Shelton transition from a sleepy bedroom/farm community to the city it is today.
In order for Shelton to succeed economically we need to create a stable tax base that will carry Shelton for generations.
This is done through careful planning and smart zoning. Current proposals are bringing low paying jobs that provide no stability to the long term tax base or long term employment picture.
We need to bring jobs that pay a living wage or better, so that employees will not only want to work here, but can afford to live here.
We need to focus on our downtown.
We need to address the abysmal traffic conditions that currently exist in Huntington Center, Bridgeport Avenue and downtown Shelton.
We need to ensure that proposed developments compliment the City, adjoining properties and nearby residential neighborhoods.
We need to look down the road to make sure that today’s developments are sustainable long term and don’t become empty vacant properties that become a tax burden and a haven for blight. We need to fill vacancies in existing plazas and commercial buildings before we build more.
We need to hold the developer accountable for either upgrading or contributing to the upgrade of the City’s infrastructure. Most importantly, we need to protect the integrity of our residential neighborhoods and ensure that buffer zones are maintained or expanded.
We also need to protect our greenways and natural resources that so many residents thoroughly enjoy and is one of the main reasons to reside in Shelton.
I understand that proper and smart planning today is going to provide a more stable future for Shelton. As part of the Planning and Zoning Commission, I will ensure that all future proposed developments come with more than a conceptual plan, or a fantasy.
I will strive to make sure that the plan will bring living wage jobs to create a stable long term job environment and tax base to grow our city. I will strive to ensure that abysmal traffic conditions are remedied and not made worse.
I will also ensure that all proposed developments are appropriate for the neighborhood and that the concerns of all Shelton residents are heard.
So on November 7, when Shelton residents cast their votes for Shelton Planning and Zoning Commission keep in mind the Shelton you want.
A Shelton that develops for the sake of developing, destroying our natural resources for low paying jobs and creating further gridlock, or a vibrant Shelton community that provides job stability, family stability and tax stability while maintaining the natural resources that we all love?
If you want the vibrant stable Shelton, then I urge you to vote for me, Mark Widomski on November 7.
The writer, a Republican, is running for a seat on the Shelton Planning and Zoning Commission.
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