Elected officials are often faced with weighing the delicate balance between public and private interest, ensuring the former is protected, while not unduly infringing on the latter.

By and large, our elected officials manage the task successfully and above reproach. At times, however, what should be a clear line of demarcation becomes a bit blurred.

In an ideal world, governmental bodies would have ample tax dollars available to provide for the necessary services needed in our communities - police and fire protection, well-maintained roads and streets, efficient and environmentally-safe sanitary sewers - as well as providing some of the desired but less "needed" elements of civic life, such as parks or various and sundry "restoration" projects that directly benefit a small and select few.

Ideal worlds seldom, if ever, exist. And the world, while good, is certainly not ideal in the town of Winona Lake these days.

The small, historic town on the eastern shore of Winona Lake is a quaint little burg with a famous and storied past. Its renown was brought to it by the famed preacher and leader of the temperance movement, Billy Sunday, and the Chatauqua religious tradition. It is this legacy that Winona Lake Restoration Inc. wants to venerate in its efforts to restore the town to its turn-of-the-century luster.

This is a laudable goal and one worthy of the town's support, both private and public. It is not, however, laudable to give that renovation primacy over the other, more immediate needs of the town. Those being the provision of essential services town taxpayers expect to receive from their civil government - namely, adequate fire protection and serviceable streets and drainage infrastructure.

These divergent needs appear to be coming to a head.

The necessary work to bring the restoration project to fruition is coming along nicely. Thanks in no small part to the efforts of Brent Wilcoxson, president of the town council, who also happens to be a partner in Winona Lake Restoration. He has been instrumental in seeing that a portion of Park Avenue, coincidentally the heart of the restoration area, has been given a major face lift, with a reconstruction of a major intersection, installation of new curbs and a street reconstruction completed last year. That work is scheduled to be continued this year at a cost of $375,000 for the next phase.

Therein lies the rub.

The town will have to shell out $115,000 from its coffers and combine that with proceeds from a bond issue to complete the next phase of road work on Park Avenue. Not an insurmountable sum, granted, but is it the best use of the town's tax dollars?

Maybe not.

You see, the Winona Lake Fire Department is in dire need of a new tanker truck, and the town council is struggling with how to pay for that plus other infrastructure work needed in other areas of the town. There are some streets that are in worse condition than Park Avenue, according to some town council members; there is a looming problem with the treatment of the town's sewage; and there are areas with deficient storm water drainage begging for attention.

Certainly, this balancing act isn't unique to Winona Lake. Many municipalities have more needs to address than funds to address them. But the Winona Lake situation does raise some troubling questions.

Should the revamping of Park Avenue take priority over the acquisition of a serviceable tanker truck for the fire station? Should other streets in greater need of repair be put on the back burner so the main street in the restoration area can get the work? Should needed storm sewer improvements and addressing the sanitary sewer capacity problem be relegated to a lower tier of priority so that the restoration area can be brought on-line as quickly as possible?

I wouldn't presume to tell the powers-that-be in Winona Lake how to answer these questions. But I can't help but think that public health and safety issues need to be addressed first, before any cosmetic improvements are made.

I also can't help but wonder if the process has been thought out completely.

We're told that once the Park Avenue project is completed, the promised merchants and restaurants will start popping up like daisies in a spring meadow. But would a prudent businessman or -woman risk their capital to make the type of investment forecasted for Winona Lake if the safety of that investment can't be guaranteed?

What would the response be?

"Sorry, Mr. Merchant, your new shop in our historic district burned down. But if we would have had a fire tanker truck that worked, it would have driven down a beautiful new street."

I don't think that would be much consolation.

Perhaps there is a solution that can benefit everyone. Perhaps the Park Avenue project can be reduced sufficiently so that it can be fully funded by the bond proceeds and the $115,000 the town intended to put toward that project could instead be used in the purchase of a new tanker trucker that would benefit everyone in the community, including the new merchants.

It's something that reasonable people should consider in meeting the needs of the whole community. [[In-content Ad]]