Webster Times - Stonebridge Press and Villager Newspapers

16 • THE WEBSTER TIMES • Friday, April 16, 2010
www.webstertimes.net
Dowgiewicz seeking fourth term as selectman
DOWGIEWICZ
continued from page 1
run.”
Having grown up in the community until
he moved to Connecticut in 1982 for the police
academy, Dowgiewicz said he has always
stood behind the residents of Webster, basing
all of the votes he has made as a selectmen on
what he deems best for the people.
“I pay taxes and live in this town and [my
family is] affected by the choices [the board
makes], but I know that it is not only my
pocketbook that is [at stake],” said
Dowgiewicz. “I keep everyone in the back of
my mind, the elderly, veterans — knowing
that there are people on fixed incomes.”
Dowgiewicz said presently, the board members
he works with now are the best and easiest
to work with in many years. He said in
the past it was difficult to get anything done
on a board where there was “backroom fighting”
and opposing points of view with no
room for negotiation. He said now there is a
calmer atmosphere where people can have
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their own opinion, but the board as a whole is
looking to meet in the middle for the benefit
of the residents.
“I have had great experiences working with
the board, especially when Irene Martel [was
a member],” said Dowgiewicz of the former
selectman who was defeated in last year’s
election. “The present board is great to work
with. I have been on boards where people
have been at each other’s throats — it is
something that put the town through a hard
time. It seems like now everyone is on the
same page and is looking to make the town
better. It is refreshing.”
Dowgiewicz said he believes he brings the
skills to the table that will best benefit the
town, with honesty and dependability on the
top of his list.
“I am not going to vote for something
ridiculous that we can’t afford,” said
Dowgiewicz. “I would not vote for something
that benefits just one, but the whole community.”
Dowgiewicz also gave examples of what he
believes are instances of how well the board
has worked together with the current members
over the last two years.
“There are many positive things happening
right now, like the [transformation of the former
A.J] Sitkowski school,” said
Dowgiewicz, referencing the current senior
center renovation project. “This is something
that will help revitalize the town.”
The Sitkowski senior housing project is
being developed through the Webster Office
of Community Development (OCD) and
Neighborhood of Affordable Housing
(NOAH) group. The OCD and town hope to
transform the now vacant school into a senior
center, affordable senior housing and an
area where municipal meetings and events
can be held. The project is slated for completion
in 2012.
Town revitalization is one of the most
important issues for Dowgiewicz and he said
that in the last two years many steps have
been taken to set the plan of making Main
Street a brighter place in motion.
“[Downtown] won’t be the same as it as it
was in years past,” said Dowgiewicz.
He added that speaking with officials in
other towns like Putnam, Conn., who has
overhauled it’s downtown area in recent
years, they agreed that Webster has a great
space on Main Street to improve upon.
“We have been looking at Putnam for inspiration,”
said Dowgiewicz. “[Officials have
said] Webster is a much nicer area to work
with it is all a matter of funding and people
willing to come down [and open businesses].”
If elected, Dowgiewicz said he is looking to
move even further forward on the downtown
project. This comes with the hope of removing
the set of buildings at the bottom of Lake
Street, across from Town Hall, which he
believes are the “biggest eye sore” in the
area.
“I think that area would be the perfect location
for a police station,” said Dowgiewicz.
“There are many good things coming down
the pike. My goal has always been the same —
to keep everything affordable where we live.”
Joy Richard may be reached at 508-909-4129
or by e-mail jrichard@stonebridgepress.com.
Miller: ‘I speak my mind,
right or wrong’
MILLER
continued from page 1
ly knowing the job.
“Many people think [the board] clicks their
fingers and something will get done,” said
Miller. “Some things are just not in our
scope.”
He said it even with road bumps along the
way there are many things he enjoys about
the position, which include helping the community.
“In this [position] I get to help out a lot of
people,” said Miller. “We are watch dogs, in a
sense, while setting policy.”
He said on the other side, “It is like the old
saying, ‘One day, you’re a hero and the next
you are a zero — you can’t please everyone.”
Miller said being a selectman is very
“rewarding,” and that it is always his goal to
help people who come forward with an issue.
“Even if we cannot directly help them, we
want to be able to point them in the right
direction,” said Miller. “I am not a formal
person. I want people to talk and put in their
ideas and come up with solutions.”
He said he has worked well with the board
and that they “trust” one another.
Miller said one of the things that bothers
him the most is how the Commonwealth
treats municipalities, especially in the poor
economy in terms of funding. He said he
feels like the needs of the towns can sometimes
be pushed aside.
“We are the ones floating the freight,” said
Miller.
Miller said his strongest skills as a selectman
are that he is not a shy person — he is
willing to make his opinion known or take
the time to hear someone else’s.
“I speak my mind, right or wrong,” said
Miller. “I am able to speak to a lot of people
too, which gives me a good cross-section [of
the population].”
He said even in hard economic times, the
board works on ways to improve the community,
but not “nickel and dime the public.” He
said people have enough to worry about and
pay for.
He said it is hard to know the right moves
to make when it comes to bringing in revenue
to the town, adding he believes that if people
think they have the right idea they should
come forward and suggest it.
“I welcome the [ideas],” said Miller.
He said he has high hopes of bringing the
center of town back to life. Although he said
he knows that it will never be in the same
place is it was in decades past.
“I have lived here all of my life and have
been in business [in town] for 40 years,” said
Miller, who owns the Robert J. Miller Funeral
Homes in Webster, Oxford and Charlton. “I
have knowledge of the town, the people and
the assets it has.”
He said history is something that always
repeats itself, so feels he needs to be aware of
the mistakes of the past in town to avoid
those pitfalls in the future.
“It is how did we get here and how can we
correct it,” Miller. “Sometimes by the time we
fix the bleed it is too late.”
It is this struggle that he said he and board
members face all of the time, but work hard
to avoid.
“I look forward to one more term. I don’t
have hobbies or follow sports [so I am devoted],”
Miller joked. “I totally enjoy [being on
the board].”
Joy Richard may be reached at 508-909-4129
or by e-mail at
jrichard@stonebridgepress.com.
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AROUND TOWN with Sandy
273 Main St. Oxford
Pizza Post
is on the move!
Visit us at our new
location across the street
273 Main Street, Oxford
www.oxfordpizzapost.com
Looking to go out to eat check out the coupons
on the front of the B-section of the Webster Times
this week. Pizza Post in Oxford and the Colonial
Restaurant in Webster have some great specials
and great food.
See you around town!