Bill Kenny: Gap between promise and performance of Norwich leaders is growing larger.

I saw a posting the other day on a social media platform, "Cheer up, things could get worse. So, I did, and they got worse." I’m not sure they weren’t talking about Norwich (or me, for that matter).

Someone asked me if I ever "get tired of rooting for Norwich." Norwich is my home. I have lived here longer than anywhere else, and it’s only natural to want good things for my hometown.

I will admit to a slightly exaggerated sense of optimism about our prospects as a city; "Pollyannish" was the term the person used, and, yeah, I guess guilty as charged. I’m not sure what’s wrong with being starry-eyed and laughing (as Dylan once sang) as opposed to dreading every new day as yet another fresh hell.

But I will confess in recent days, perhaps because of all the heat and humidity we’ve had and maybe just because I’m starting to see through people’s words and focus on their actions, the gap between the promise and performance of our city leaders is growing larger.

I love the aphorism, "It’s a wise man who plants a tree under whose shade he’ll never sit." I bring it up not because we have too many home fires burning and not enough trees but because we’re still stuck on stupid in the spin cycle of "who’s to blame for my tax bill?"

I’ve lived here long enough to remember a raucous City Council meeting when they were acting as the Zoning Board. There was an attempt to place a Home Depot on Rte. 82. Lots of "not in my backyard!" were shouted. Tempers flared. Long story short, we ended up with a Goodwill Store but I’m sure we all enjoy driving to Lisbon to shop in that Home Depot as well as all the other stores in both of those retail clusters that could have gone anywhere, including here, but didn’t.

And then there’s a business park expansion plan for Stott Road. Some residents claimed City Council approval would ruin their "farm view." The City Council, afraid of a packed room, voted "no" on expansion. Weeks later, the resident who successfully defended their "farm view," sold land at that very spot to a housing developer. We ended up with houses on a street called “Farm View Drive.”

My point: City Council fecklessness/shortsightedness/cowardice has a long tradition. No one in Norwich leadership has planted trees in the years I’ve followed the politics here.

At City Hall recently for a City Council informational session on the Chelsea Harbor/Downtown Mobility Study, there were two questions total from members of the City Council at the presentation's conclusion. Two. I believe successful leadership requires Ability, Agility, and Vision. As the Caterpillar said to Alice, "When you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there."

Downstairs, on the ground floor Broadway entrance to City Hall, were three easels across from the tax collector's office, filled with photos of properties, houses and businesses all in tax sales. Dozens and more of our neighbors, businesses and residents who can't make it here anymore.

And across the street from City Hall, there was a very large-bellied gentleman holding a handwritten cardboard sign, "Norwich is a Shirt Hole" (without the "r"). Seeking the silver lining as I always try to, all I could think of was kudos to our teachers; all five words were spelled correctly.

Bill Kenny, of Norwich, writes a weekly column about Norwich issues. His blog, Tilting at Windmills, can be accessed at https://tiltingatwindmills-dweeb.blogspot.com/.