Peter Quercia saw a problem and set out to find a solution . There are black and white signs around much of Willimantic that Quercia estimates are close to 50 yearsold . “ They look like junk on a pole , ” he said . “ I think it portrays a ghetto image . ” So Quercia approached First Selectman Jean de Smet to ask for permission to repaint some of the signs . “ I’m disabled on a limited income , ” said Quercia . “ I’m looking for some work and I’m not having any luck finding any . ” De Smet gave Quercia permission to repaint some of the signs , and agreed to reimburse him for supplies . De Smet even gave Quercia a letter , which he laminated and carried with him after several people challenged him over his removal of the signs .

Quercia estimates that he has refurbished 35 signs , so far . The old signs are barely legible . The black paint has faded away , and many of the metal signs are bent and rusty . Quercia straightens them with a rubber hammer , and repaints them with a high-quality oilbased paint . “ They’ll last for decades , ” he said . He paints the poles hunter green , and the finials atop the signs a bright red . “ I’m kind of proud of my work , ” said Quercia . “ They’ve come out better than I expected . ”

But Quercia said he hasn’t received reimbursement for the supplies he has purchased so far . And he wants to know why the town cannot pay him a flat rate for the signs that he is repairing . He estimates there are about 100 more of the antique signs around town . “ It costs the town $ 120 or $ 130 apiece for the new green and white signs that they put up , ” said Quercia . “ I could redo the old ones for $ 30 , and they’ll last longer . ” Quercia would like to see Windham agree to pay him the $ 3 , 600 or so it would cost to redo the remaining signs in town .

“ What do they do with the old signs when they replace them with the green ones ? ” he said . “ Do they throw them in a landfill ? And those green signs are ugly . ” Quercia feels his project is a winwin situation for everyone . “ With the millions of dollars they’re shelling out for the new magnet school , ” he said , “ they can’t find a little bit of money for this ?”

But the town has ordered a cease and desist on Quercia’s project . Pubic Works , Public Safety Committee member Dawn Niles said the order comes from the First Selectman’s office . “ Jean de Smet understood that he would be doing the work at cost . That was not his understanding , ” said Niles . “ She gave him the opportunity out of the goodness of her heart . It has spiraled out of control . ” Niles said there is no money in a tight budget for new street signs in Willimantic . “ We did approve $ 549 at our last meeting to pay for his supplies and for the work he had done to date . We even gave him money for labor for those signs , ” said Niles . “ But that means that someone else doesn’t have that money to work with . ”

De Smet acknowledged that the cease and desist came from her office . “ I gave him several copies of the new letter , ” she said , “ saying if he wants to be paid for this , he needs to cease and desist . ” De Smet said that Quercia would get the money appropriated by the PWPS Committee once he came in to sign a W-9 , but that the town couldn’t make further payments toward the project . “ Our budget is so tight , ” said de Smet , “ every envelope is accounted for . We appreciate his efforts , and it’s a good thing . But it’s not OK for him to say he wants to come in and do something for free , and then come back and ask for payment for it . ”

Quercia said that he already has materials on hand and he intends to continue with the project . “ I don’t know why there’s a controversy , ” he said . “ I don’t see one . ”