By Bill Riccio, Jr.
Voice Editor

It may seem corny to some, unimportant to others, but a designation given to the city by a national magazine is taken seriously in City Hall. For the second year running, BusinessWeek Magazine named West Haven the best place in Connecticut to raise children.

For Mayor John Picard, the announcement, made last week, is an indication of the work his administration is attempting to accomplish in making the city a better and more attractive place. In a sense, he sees it as a vindication for all the tough decisions he’s had to make over the last several years.

“This is another positive for the city,” he said. “This shows to the outside what many of us know about living in West Haven.”

BusinessWeek does the survey each year, and uses independent researchers to determine the designations. Included in the data collected are school performance as well as the number of schools, crime rate, job growth, family income, parks, theaters and other facilities as well as household expenditures. Affordability, school performance and safety are major components in getting designated, according to Picard.

“The shoreline is a big factor in our success,” he said this week. “The fact the people of this city worked so hard to preserve the shore, and the Land Trust of West Haven (Inc.) works to keep it whole is one thing the magazine looked at.”

There were other tangibles as well. The location of two major university campuses, the University of New Haven and Yale West facility off Morgan Lane was a major determination in the magazine’s findings.

“With the revitalization of downtown, the arts center, the UNH students moving into Savin Court, the railroad station, the magazine saw many positives that couldn’t be ignored,” Picard said.

The designation seems to verify other positives the mayor and other city and state officials are relating about the city, according to Picard. He said he’s noted a different tone and attitude when state officials talk about the city as well as business developers.

“People seem to sense that good things are happening here and we’re on the verge of something good,” he said. “When state officials talk to me, they do it in a positive tone. When we have business people in the area, they are aware of what we’re doing. It’s all coming together.”

Picard believes the tough decisions he’s had to make to reshape the financial structure of West Haven is paying dividends.

“There’s a positive buzz about West Haven. That wasn’t always the case,” he said.