I'm very excited to read about renewed efforts to revitalize Groton's Thames Street. However, two things must happen for any revitalization to become a reality:

1) The sewage treatment plant that is unfortunately on the waterfront must somehow be made to smell less. Simply put, Groton City stinks and while I'm sure that there are means to better contain the smell, nothing will happen unless this fact is acknowledged by city leaders and efforts are made to contain the smell.

2) The cabal of a few out-of-town business owners that own the bulk of Thames Street must be made to either sell or renovate their properties. These owners are sitting on blighted, closed properties with no incentive to sell. Unless the blight ordinance can be enforced in a manner that encourages these business owners to do more than sit on decaying property, again, redevelopment will fail.

I would hope that city leaders would try with everything in their toolbox to work on containing the sewage plant smell and enforcing a blight ordinance with some teeth. Thames Street has so much potential, let us hope city leaders actually do something to make this plan a reality.

Joseph Marino

Groton