In recent years, the residents of Lewisboro have faced persistent challenges, leaving residents frustrated and concerned about the safety and quality of their water supply. Despite promises from town officials to address these issues, little progress has been made.

The situation took a dramatic turn when local newspapers exposed the existence of a class action lawsuit against industrial giants DuPont and 3M, revealing a link to the district's water problems. Town officials have never previously mentioned the lawsuit against the polluters.

For years, residents have been grappling with a range of water-related issues, from water discoloration and foul odors to health concerns. Many have voiced their grievances to the town government, seeking answers and solutions. However, the response from town authorities has been characterized by delay and vague assurances, leaving residents with an unsettling sense of neglect.

The most important issue facing Lewisboro is the economy and a lack of sustainable development and growth, Lennox told Patch

I bring empathy and strong problem-solving skills to the table," Biddle told Patch.

I come equipped with a fresh, impartial viewpoint and a meticulously crafted plan centered on our citizens' needs, Loustaunau tells Patch.

I’m a Mom with two young children, so bike paths and sidewalks are often helpful to me and my family.

The Town Board’s proposed $2.1 million bond issue that will be on this year’s General Election ballot in Lewisboro isn’t the worst idea in the world. It would build sidewalks and bike paths.

Just not enough of them to go around.

Going $2 million into debt (that’s what a bond issue is asking you to do) for a mile or so of bike lanes and sidewalks doesn’t get you far when you live in a town with more than 85 miles of road.

And the bond issue doesn’t offer any maps or street-by-street breakdowns of where the new bike lanes and sidewalks will be built. I guess that means the Town Council gets to bestow most favored nation status on one or maybe two of the six hamlets that make up Lewisboro.

It also fails to account for upkeep: repairing potholes and sidewalk cracks doesn’t come cheap these days. If we pass a bond to built these amenities, we also agree to pay for their repair on our own, a couple of winters from now.

And there is the issue of urgency.

Supporters of this bond talk like there is some enormous, compelling need to pass the bond now, and build these bike lanes and sidewalks immediately. Like, before the town’s Master Plan is revealed early next year. The Master Plan is a comprehensive, decades-long blueprint for Lewisboro’s infrastructure, which includes bike lanes and new sidewalks.

But something out there compels our neighbors to build certain bike lanes and sidewalks now. Before the Master Plan. Before anything, really.

I don’t get it. Besides not offering us maps and any kind of detail, bond supporters want to supercede the real plan to upgrade our town. Is there a sale on cement and asphalt we overlooked? Is the fix in to build somewhere that benefits a politician or his/her major contributor?

I like bike lanes and sidewalks. They make a day out with my kids easier and more manageable.

But I like knowing all the facts before going into debt to spend $2.1 million (probably $4 million when the inevitable cost overruns and unforeseen delays kick in). A map would be nice. A few details, too.

You know what I also like?

Senior Citizens and Playgrounds.

Lewisboro seniors have been relegated to a one-day-a-week tenancy at the local firehouse for decades. They have use of a room that firefighters use for training and equipment, so when the senior leave at the end of that day each week, their books, games, chairs, tables, and other supplies leave with them.

It would be nice for Lewisboro seniors to have a dedicated senior center in town. A place they can use seven days a week. I think it’s the least we can do for our older friends and neighbors.

But in all the years that local seniors have been forced to use a training room at the firehouse, no one on the Town Board has ever suggested a bond issue to build a permanent senior center. Why is that?

And a few years ago, when some of us asked for a new playground, the Town Board didn’t say it was urgent. They didn’t put a bond on the ballot to pay for one.

Instead, the Town Board told people that if they wanted a playground, they ought to go out and raise private funds to pay for it.

So we did. And that’s how the new playground at Lewisboro Town Park got built.

Seniors, on the other hand, are still waiting for their dedicated senior center.

I met with these residents recently, and agreed to help them form a 501 c-3 to raise the necessary funds for a senior center. And win or lose this year, that’s my next mission.

We’re not a poor town, so I am confident the funds can be raised.

The question remains: why has the Town Board made seniors wait for so many years? A generation of elderly residents using the firehouse once a week has already passed on to their eternal reward while waiting for the Town Board to show some urgency.

I guess some bonds are more equal – and more urgent – than others.

I just wish the Town Board considered our senior citizens as important as a small patch of bike lanes and sidewalks to benefit a select few, who may or may not be political donors (we won’t know until they release a map, and that won’t happen until voters approve the $2.1 million bond).

An entire generation of senior citizens in Lewisboro have been using the town firehouse as a “temporary” senior center.

They are allowed use of a room for one day a week.

When they are done, everything belonging to the seniors’ group must be packed up and taken home. Because the Fire Department needs and uses this room the other 6 days a week.

And as generous as the Fire Department has been … 20 years is a long time to turn over such a large space to an outside group every seven days.

Why has this gone on for two decades?

Because no one in Lewisboro town government is prioritizing the needs of our older neighbors.

Lewisboro pedestrian bond: right idea, wrong time