Manchester is Growing

I have been a resident of Manchester for 13 years and have witnessed this municipality go thru its growing pains.  It is a necessary passage for most cities of similar size that must balance the current desires of its residents, what the residents will appreciate 10 to 20 years later, and the public funding of it all. 

This city has fared well in providing services such as its own police force, parks and recreation, streets and other infrastructure, waste and recycling, a healthy economy and cleanliness.  We are blessed with a wonderful public school system, private schools, houses of worship, a good location, transportation, shopping and other amenities.

With all of the above, what is there left to do, right?  As it is with all cities and towns, however many things you have going right, there is always room for improvement.  Things are aging and/or getting stagnant.  What works for the residents now may not work for them in the future.  Sometimes you don’t realize what you are missing until you notice it elsewhere. 

Do the Arch grounds need to be improved?  I believe so.  They could stay as-is for years and many people would be just fine with that.  But as we know, there was an international competition for a re-design 2 years ago, a winning project was selected, and it is moving forward on securing funding and making it happen.  Once this improvement is complete, the vast majority of us will be excited about it and spend time getting reacquainted with our iconic symbol and wonder why we did not do it sooner! 

The same can be said about our homes, our businesses, ourselves and our hometown.  We spend a fair amount of time, a lot of time really, just taking care of the basic “maintenance and repairs”.  It takes a commitment to plan and structure needed and desired improvements. 

Our home, for example, may work just fine with those 25 year old appliances.  But at some point, the need for a more efficient model, or the desire for the updated model, becomes a very worthwhile improvement in our home and is worth the cost, even if the old one is not yet broken. 

Adding onto and improving the patio area for an enhanced outdoor environment is one of those projects that remains on the to-do list for years, but once completed we kick ourselves for not doing it sooner.

I run across this regularly in my real estate business.  Owners contemplating selling their home ask me what they need to do to get their home in the best selling condition.  After recommending some typical repairing/improving/rearranging/deep cleaning, they wonder why they did not do it all sooner so they could enjoy it more before they moved. 

The same can be said about improving our business, our life and the community we live in.  Our community tends to take a back seat to other areas of our busy lives, but it is still very important.  Our quality of life is somewhat dependent on the forces around us.  Let us all take the time when the opportunity arises to get just a little involved and speak up. 

Manchester residents en masse took this to heart a number of years ago when they had many public meetings hammering out a Master Plan for the community.  The number one desire was having a town square that we could visit and identify with.  This idea has been dormant as other issues have taken precedence.  It is now time to take up the discussion again on this vital piece of Manchester’s future. 

In the last 3 years, the city has built a beautiful police facility, organized the Highlands shopping district, placed an amphitheater in Schroeder Park, dedicated the Veteran’s Memorial off Henry Road, and recently began discussions on a city Arts Council.  Let’s continue growing and improving our Quality of Life!