You might look at this photo — taken yesterday at the Compo Beach bathhouse — and see one final wisp of summer.
You’d be wrong.
It’s all the junk people took out of their lockers, when they cleaned them out after their last day at the beach.
They just piled it in a corner, too lazy to bring it home — or even give it away.
Bet the students at Fairfield beach would be happy to scrounge.
Dan-after reading your numerous posts, suggest you change your title to “The Town Crier and Junkman”.
Curious as to why people would take the time to take the stuff out of the lockers only to leave it lying about?
Probably because when Parks & Rec cleans the lockers in the fall, they didn’t want to get yelled at for leaving anything in them.
Do they actually yell? That would be harassment.
It’s not all students at Fairfield Beach. Gorgeous homes actually.
That whole locker area/bath house is a dump.
Some of the chairs look like they’re in good condition. I guess we live in a throw-away society.
It is by far no dump! It is the best place to play hide and seek with the kids! They love it!
Anonymous is correct. That area is a dump and has been for a long time. The town does nothing to repair and keep the bathhouse clean. It is not swept or picked up during the summer. Empty lockers are not secured and all kinds of disgusting trash is left behind. There is never an attendant on duty as in the past.
That being said, it does not excuse those who were too lazy to properly dispose of their items. These are most likely the same people who leave their lunch debris on the beach, don’t pick up after their dogs and disregard the on-leash and off-leash areas. But why should they? No one is every around to enforce the rules. Westport at it’s finest.
Sounds like the Longshore Golf Course. They had to lower green fees in August because the course was in such crappy shape. What’s going on with the Parks & Recreation Department? These are the crown jewels of the town and it is unacceptable for them to be treated so shabbily.
I was the “dump” anonymous and my hope is that once the BS bs is finally put to rest that the political class will start to focus on actually improving the town facilities. Tearing down the dump of a pavilion at compo beach and replacing it with a structure worthy of its location would be a good start. And yeah I’d pay more in taxes to do it because it is an investment not an expense.
While I appreciate the reaction and agree to a point about the poor condition of the pavilion, beach, etc., many in town don’t realize how much some of the departments have been devastated by cuts because taxpayers don’t want a higher mill rate. Sure, Anon 1 says s/he will pay more in taxes, but not many others are willing to do that. Not saying it is right or wrong and don’t actually have the capacity to get into THAT argument right now, but “you get what you pay for” and “you can’t have it all”
The amusing thing, of course, is that Westport has the lowest property taxes among surrounding towns. If Norwalk and Fairfield can afford to pay the property taxes they pay, you’d think that Westporters could cough up a few more bucks to keep the beach area, Longshore and other town assets actually used by Westporters in better shape. Heck, the town is throwing money at the Levitt pavilion with half of the benefit (as in half of the folks that go to concerts there) going to non-Westporters. What’s up with that?
Actually, we don’t get what we pay for. The management of the town’s finances is a bad joke.
Natrob is spouting the overused talking point that we have been hearing all year from the liberals and socialists. I am SICK of it.
People are paying more than enough around here. Have you ever looked at the annual taxpayers listing? Sure, let’s just keep pushing the rate further up. Whatever is best for the town…right? Who cares about the actual residents.
I’d rather that improvement come from private donations, some type of public fund, or a corporate sponsorship. No need to tack it onto future tax rates. That’s absurd.
Longshore golfers, through their greens fees and permit costs pay almost 100% of both the operational costs and capital gains costs incurred for the golf course. The golf course is required to be revenue neutral. All the golfers ask is that our money/investment be spent wisely, and that the town care for the course as much as the golfers who play it. Sadly, that was not the case this year.
… and now that they have cut green fees due to a significant lack of demand for playing a course in lousy condition, they will cry poverty next year.
Some of the conditions on the golf course are the result of years of neglect and cannot be remedied in the short term. The golf course needs a long term plan to produce better playing conditions. Some of the other problems are a direct function of the amount of traffic on the course. The high traffic stresses the greens in the heat of the summer. If the traffic were lower and the greens were reconditioned to have a better chance of growing grass when the weather is the hotest and the traffice the highest, you might have a better shot a decent playing conditions. Now, we have the worst of both worlds.
Sterling & Smith seem to do OK with the amount of traffic they get which significantly exceeds Longshore. Over $3 million was spent on a complete renovation and a irrigation system in the last decade – all paid by increases in green fees and permit cost.
Between the Parks & Recreation Department, the Golf Advisory Committee, the Parks & Recreation Commission, the Greens Committee, the Men’s Association, the 2 women’s association, a PGA pro/concessionaire who runs the 1st Tee Operation (in addition to on-course rangering, the driving range, pro shop and cart rental operation) – perhaps a management/organization plan that encourages accountability and efficiency should be put in place before another Long Range Plan is considered. Ask someone what went wrong this year, and it’s like watching a game of “not it.”
You cannot compare the greens at those other courses with Longshore. Longshore’s greens have poor root structures and very little sand in the soil. The $3 million should have been spent rebuilding the greens. Given the current soil conditions, the greens cannot stand the stress put on them in the summer. The trees that shade many of the greens and reduce the amount of sunlight that hits the greens add to the problem of keeping health grass on the greens.
The management issue may be at the primary hurdle. If no one cares, you get the result you see.
Stop with the “lack of funds” excuse. The entire stretch from lockers to both pavilions has been a disgrace in good times and bad. Lousy leadership. Should be clear by now.
Exactly. Bingo.
Perhaps we could get Doug and Melissa to make a donation for a new bathhouse and name it for them?
Or perhaps Natrob and Anon1 can pool their financial resources together to do it. Since they seem so eager to clean up one tiny blip on the radar.
I grew up in Westport thru the 60’s-70’s and Compo was this way back then also. At first I thought these were people from Weston but nope, it’s still the same old Compo I remember. Some things don’t change.
The run down & outdated pavilion is a disgrace to our town. Shocking that a town with so much to offer doesn’t make that renovation a priority. Our beaches are the greatest asset we have in Westport, and an attractive pavilion area would compliment the natural beauty. We must think out of the box for ways to raise funds this project if it cannot be done through raising taxes. It is an investment in the future of our town, and would be appreciated by so many.
Fairfield has a brand new pavillion and bathhouse (Penfield) that puts Westport to shame!
Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Maybe, but we have a $10,000,000 dog toilet.
Since it will probably take four more years to come up with a plan, maybe Westport can host the next term’s presidential debate out at our pavilion & charge big bucks to pay for it.
Or else we could just have government build it now and pay later…isn’t that the way it works?
With interest rates at record lows… yes
Better hurry up before someone messes everything up and gets the building placed on the national or state historic building register. Then your stuck with it the way it is.
This is something I’ve been trying to figure out for a LONG, LONG time. I agree with all of you above. That whole pavilion area is a complete disgrace. The covered pavilion is coated in ketchup and ice cream and God knows what other funk. Would a weekly–or dare I say daily–powerwash especially in the summer be too much to ask???The bathrooms are beyond disgusting. Moving on to Longshore….what gives??? We have gem in Longshore and it’s like a joke. Three pools right on the water. They are surrounded by an eyesore of chainlink fencing and there are no chairs to sit on…unless you lug in your own. The bathrooms there are 100 times worse than the beach.
I just cannot figure it out. Yes, our taxes are less than some other towns, but come on. We pride ourselves on having these facilities and they are somehow just barely so-so.
Some one creates the conditions you deplore, and in doing so reveal just how little they value these “gems.” Maybe we shoul;d charge more to use the facilities so those who create the mess can pay to clean it up.
Most of the deplorable conditions are not caused by locker renters. Youngsters roaming the bathhouse and “using” unsecured lockers make most of the mess. Since the town does no maintenance the mess remains and continues to grow. Regarding “lack of funds” just where does the rental fee, sticker fee and daily pass fee for out-of-towners go? That’s all in addition to the taxes we pay.
One thought…could be a good target project for student community service organizations in town…some fresh paint and a large dumpster would go a long way. As an aside, can parks and rec maybe give a power wash to the covered pavilion next to Joey’s?? It really is a disgusting place to have lunch or an ice cream cone with the kids.
It is the people who use the facilities that make them disgusting. When a resource is preceived as a free good, those who use it do not value it.
Fairfield is also a top 50 town to live in the country. Fairfield is just as affluent as Westport but the people of the town actually care about the appearance of the town.
Different sort of people.
As someone who studies demographics and towns for a living, I can tell you that you are completely misinformed. Try again.
As do I as a matter of fact. Look where the people move to. Look who’s population is growing and look what town is slowly deteriorating and becoming increasingly run down. Fairfield is the spot now. It has just as much wealth and people are choosing Fairfield over Westport. Sorry “Loser.” Jealous much? Truth hurts huh?
I’m honestly too busy to post the countless number of reports and trending data catalogues that refute your claim. But if you are a professional at this, as you say you are, then you’ll be able to find them. Look over your studies again.
Also, it seems you are taking the critique personally. That tells me your opinion cannot be validated as you bring personal feelings into the mix. A huge red flag for me.
Finally, I was born in Westport but have lived in Fairfield for 25+ years now. I do not think there is any shred of jealousy to be found. Nice try, though.
How old are you? Take this to the playground.
Study some more. The census data tell the story.
Pleeeeeeease rebuild the bathhouse damage with bricks, keeping them in their original state. I agree – the pavilion is a problem, but not the bathhouses. They are a relic and they serve a purpose. And, as someone has mentioned, they have seen thousands of rousing games of hide-and-seek spanning at least three generations.