This week’s charrette about a new public safety headquarters, to be shared by Police, Fire and Emergency Medical Services, drew public attention to Westport’s 10-year capital forecast.
It includes nearly 70 projects estimated to cost at least $1 million. They range from those well into the planning stages, to others far in the future.
The cost of all $1 million-and plus projects: $431,521,675.
Another 200 or so items are listed for than $1 million each. They bring the total 10-year capital plan to $473,517,178.
Not every project will come to fruition, of course. Those that do may be substantially altered. And the capital forecast changes annually.
Most would be funded by bonds. Private funds would be sought for major recreational improvements like artificial turf on athletic fields, a Longshore clubhouse cart barn, the Inn at Longshore renovations, and a pedestrian bridge across the Saugatuck River. ARPA is funding some previously approved projects. too.
The combined public safety facility is the costliest item. It’s listed at $92.5 million.
Coleytown Elementary School renovation/replacement is projected to cost $85 million, while the Long Lots Elementary replacement — much further along in development — is listed at $80 million.
The next most expensive project — listed for $12.2 million — is for replacement of the Coleytown fire station.

Coleytown Elementary School (center) and the Coleytown fire station (lower left) are both in the new 10-year capital forecast.
Click here, then scroll down to “2024-25” for the first 2 items: “10-Year Consolidated Capital Forecast,” and the forecast over $1 million. Here are the projects listed for at least $1 million:
Central public safety headquarters: $92.5 million
Coleytown Elementary School renovation/replacement: $85 million
Long Lots Elementary School renovation/replacement: $80 million
Coleytown fire station replacement: $12.2 million
Longshore pool area improvements: $8.83 million
Longshore construction fees/clubhouse cart barn parking and surrounds: $8.175 million
Inn at Longshore renovations: $8 million
Longshore parks maintenance facility: $6.695 million

Replacement of the Longshore maintenance shed has caused controversy in town.
Transform Parker Harding Plaze (combine with downtown project): $6 million
Staples High School roof replacement of 2006 addition/other areas not replaced in 2023: $5.275 million
Bedford Middle School roof replacement: $5.225 million
Jesup Road/Taylor Place design and construction: $5.1 million
Kings Highway Elementary School roof replacement: $4.993 million
ARPA projects approved previously (facilities, human services, health, arts, schools): $3.707 million
Saugatuck fire station renovation: $3.6 million
Staples High School Loeffler field and baseball field, artificial turf: $3.5 million

Loeffler Field at Staples High School. Artificial turf here, and on the adjacent baseball diamond, would be funded privately. (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)
Public ssafety radio system subscriber units replacements: $3.25 million
Greens Farms Elementary School roof replacement and replair, exhaust fans replacement: $3.235 million
Longshore golf course irrigation system: $3.095 million
Old Mill walkway reconstruction, rehabilitation of tide gates: $3.082 millionARPA funds, $2.498 million bonding
Saugatuck Elementary School HVAC upgrades (5 years out): $3.072 million
Longshore and Evan Harding renovations: $3.045 million
Longshore pickleball courts: $3.025 million
Cross Highway bridge over Deadman Brook: $2.5 million
Sidewalk rehabilitation: $2.5 million
Longshore waterline installation: $2.2 million
Pedestrian bridge across Saugatuck River design and construction: $2.15 million
Greens Farms Elementary School retrofit AHUs: $2.132 million

Like all Westport schools, Greens Farms Elementary needs constant attention. (Drone photo/Brandon Malin)
Fire Department replacement of ladder truck: $2.1 million
Deadman Brook at Jesup Road design, permitting and construction: $1.95 million
Longshore Zone 5 parking and enhancements: $1.948 million
Long Lots Road bridge over Muddy Brook design and construction: $1.8 million
Longshore tennis and platform courts renovation: $1.78 million
Town Hall space planning design and renovation for ADA compliance: $1.75 million
Revaluation — assessor: $1.69 million
Hillandale Road culvert replacement at Muddy Brook: $1.675 million
Charles Street, Park Street and Riverside Avenue signal streetscape: $1.675 million
Wakeman E field artificial turf: $1.65 million
Staples High School, replace sports flooring: $1.624 million
Fire Department, replace engine or quint: $1.6 million
Coleytown Middle School artificial turf: $1.6 million
Staples High School, evaluation of stage rigging: $1.576 million
Riverside Avenue and Bridge Street, landscaped roundabout: $1.575 million
Town Hall exterior repairs, painting, chimney replacement: $1.55 million

Town Hall needs upgrading too.
Fire Department, replace engine or quint: $1.5 million
Replace 6 Freightliner plow trucks: $1.5 million
Imperial Avenue parking lot, improve appearance and safety: $1.5 million
Long Lots Elementary School, athletic field renovations artificial turf: $1.5 million
Compo Road South sidewalk replacement: $1.47 million (grant)
Deadman Brook at Myrtle Avenue culvert: $1.4 million
Bedford Middle School, replace millwork: $1.358 million
Replace 5 Freightliner plow trucks: $1.25 million
Compo Beach entrance, walkway, fencing: $1.25 million
Longshore renovation, Cuttings Lane East: $1.215 million
Westport Library, partial roof renovation: $1.2 million

Partial Westport Library roof repair is in the capital forecast.
Greens Farms Elementary School, replace hot water boiler, pumps and valves: $1.186 million
Coleytown Elementary School, casework replacement: $1.143 million
Staples High School, AHU at gym with AC and BMS controls: $1.129 million
Staples High School, AHU at gym: $1.056 million
Staples High School, replace cooling tower filter, pump, water treatment, BMS controls: $1.046 million
Compo Beach retaining wall, north side: $1.025 million
Fire Department, replace rescue truck: $1 million
Staples High School, asphalt repair and replacement: $1 million
Pump station #8 rebuild: $1 million.
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Lots of millions 💰💰
You need Musk 🤩🤩
🇺🇸🇺🇸
Still
Even mentioning artificial turf and listing long lots school at 80 million 🙂 haha.. suuuure.
You can double that forecast.
If a shed is costing $7m do the math on these other figments of their faking it to get BOF approval 🙂
This crap is so tiresome.
Wishing the fashion show the best of luck tonight.
Does every penny go to homes with hope ?
And I mean every penny.
Long Lots at 80 million is about as believable as me telling everyone I’m marrying Taylor Swift next weekend.
she would be very fortunate
“Evaluation of stage rigging” at Staples for $1.5M? Certainly not an expert but that seems… not correct.
Lots of artificial turf in the list? Long Lots athletic fields? Doesn’t the $80-$100M Long Lots cost estimates include the fields? Why the additional separate line item?
This list needs some official scrubbing. I’m afraid to do the math here. Did anyone add this up yet?
I noticed that also. The product is so full of toxic chemicals and compounds, there’s no way we should be considering adding more of it to our athletic complexes. We should be removing all of it!
The impacts to the environment, all the runoff into the drainage areas and little brooks that border these properties, it’s wild there isn’t more outcry. Besides poisoning the properties around the fields, it all ends up into the Sound!
The lack of more discussion about the health considerations and exposure, especially to child athletes, definitely speaks to the fact that the public doesn’t know about the dangers it poses in this regard. There are more injuries to athletes like torn ligaments, muscle tears, and joint damage. (My colleague’s teenage year old daughter tore her ACL playing soccer on turf, while she was being scouted by colleges, so it changed her trajectory far more beyond her injury!) The materials used contain old ground up rubber tires, which are known to leech chemicals. Even PFAS has been found to be used – the “forever” chemicals. The US population has been experiencing myriad types of cancer at increasingly younger ages, but we still want to bury our heads in the sand when reasons like this type of exposure in our kids formative years are glaringly obvious.
Wondering how many folks had to look up the word, “charrette.”
I sure did.
I thought it was something you smoke ?
A roundabout at Riverside and Bridge St? How will that be squeezed in, landscaped or not?