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 years old. “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.”