The wheels of progress turn slowly in Harvard.

The town is still wrestling with affordable housing—a topic it was struggling with 30 years ago. With the development proposed by the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, it seems there might be a solution in sight that will help the town ward off 40B developments. Will the town move quickly in pursuit of this solution, or will it entertain endless debate and analysis that will send the project into a black hole?

The town center overlay district has been put on hold, after more than a year’s work by representatives from the Planning Board and its two subcommittees, Town Center Planning and Master Plan Implementation. It is closely tied to whatever happens with plans for a town center sewage system, another issue long debated, with no end in sight.

A wind energy systems bylaw will be on this year’s town warrant, thanks to a group of citizens who were concerned that the Planning Board wouldn’t be able to get a draft approved in time for this year’s Annual Town Meeting, even though that was its expressed goal a year ago. Backers of the citizens petition to get the bylaw on the warrant pointed out that, with energy prices skyrocketing and the uncertain future of tax incentives and grants for energy-related home improvements, there is no time like the present to move forward with a wind bylaw.

Solutions to all of these issues—affordable housing, a town center overlay district, a town center sewage system, and alternative energy systems—are key to the sustainability of life in Harvard as we know it. We would do well to address all of them with a greater sense of urgency.