Susan Johnson

On my weekly public affairs show “Let’s Talk About It,” we spoke with a guest who’s been working hard to bring progress to our district. Joe Pliss is a member of the Windham Planning and Zoning Commission as well as the First Taxing District Board. He told us that he feels a deep connection with our community and wants to make a difference.

Windham has two taxing districts in Willimantic and the Windham Villages, which consists of North Windham, Windham Center, and South Windham. As part of Pliss’ work on the First Taxing District Board, he and his team govern how the Windham Villages address their police and firefighting services. The board also funds some Windham Youth Sports and the historic libraries in the area. Both Willimantic and the Windham Villages had their own town governments, plus the Town of Windham Government, until consolidation in the early 1980s.

Windham serves the region and the state. We have a hospital, Eastern Connecticut State University, a state community college, a vocational tech school, the only Regional Fire School in Eastern Connecticut, an airport, a regional police and fire dispatch center, Regional Veterans Health Center, three regional homeless shelters, more subsidized housing on a per capita basis than any other town except Hartford, and a regional Department of Motor Vehicles. This shows what Windham, a town of approximately 25,000 people, does for Connecticut and the surrounding towns!  

Commissioner Joe Pliss believes there are many opportunities to conduct small or incremental development in Windham. Since parts of the town have access to water, sewage could be developed and attract more individuals to our community. We're already taking big strides. Windham has recently built a new community center, renovated its high school, and continues to develop a whitewater park in the downtown area. The park is already being used every Saturday morning for the farmers' market. These projects show that Commissioner Joe Pliss understands what it takes for Windham to be successful and continue its growth. 

Please click below to listen to the entire show!

Member of Planning and Zoning Commission talks about improving Windham.