This is in response to Paul Choiniere's recent columns, "Candidates: Don't neglect Fort Trumbull," (Feb. 8) and "Debate begins on approach to Fort Trumbull," (Feb. 15), concerning the lack of development activity in New London's Fort Trumbull area.

As someone who played a minor role while on council during the taking of properties at The Fort, it is gratifying to hear of renewed discussion as to how best to proceed in starting to finish the work begun there more than a decade ago. While the city's foolhardy attempts at bulldozing its way to vitality over the past 50 years cannot be reversed, the land still remains beckoning new ideas.

Our future mayor, Michael Passero, is off to a good start by visiting the Norwich Community Development Corporation and inviting developers to a symposium at The Fort. We need fresh ideas. We need an expanded tax base that will help fund improved municipal services and keep tax bills from driving homeowners and businesses away. We need people in office who listen, take note of what other urban areas have done, who network, support and act. With the current administration we have gotten very little of this.

Oh, and then there's that area called the State Pier.