In 2012, Stephen and Jessica Rose decided to solve the lack of wonderful fresh peaches he was accustomed to from his farm in Georgia.
Stephen loaded a 1968 Jeep Gladiator with fresh, hand-picked peaches, and brought them to Nashville. In 5 weeks, the couple sold 10 tons of peaches.
Today, The Peach Truck delivers pickup joy to over 25 states. They also ship direct to homes, across the country.
Mary Lou Roels
Westport resident Mary Lou Roels — a professional artist — is a delighted Peach Truck customer.
She notes, “super-fresh fruit needs to be used quickly.” But there are only so many peaches a person can eat.
So Mary Lou started making peach jam.
Her batches have no preservatives. They’re simply the fruit, fresh-squeezed lemon juice and cane sugar.
“It’s as organic and pure as possible,” Mary Lou says.
She makes them in small quantities — cooking down for hours, and watching to release the flavors and natural pectin.
She gave jars as gifts. (Full disclosure: I was a very satisfied recipient.)
As demand grew, she created a website.
And she branched out beyond peaches.
Her strawberry-lemon rind jam is so tart and fresh that people tell her they couldn’t help themselves — they ate it with a spoon right out of the jar.
Other flavors include blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, black plum, and a special fig jam that complements a charcuterie board of dry cheeses and breads.
A sampling of Mary Lou Roels’ jams.
Her jam has been requested by an oncology unit at a hospital, for a young girl on oral chemotherapy with severe allergies. The staff tried everything to take the taste away.
They needed something pure, organic, with no preservatives — not even added pectin.
Mary Lou’s strawberry jam did the trick. The fruit flavor was so intense, the girl did not taste the medicine.
Customers buy Mary Lou’s jars for teacher, holiday and birthday gifts. She designs each label, and can be personalize them for any occasion.
It’s not easy making all those jams. Mary Lou is working right now on a big order: 250 custom jars, as wedding favors.
An award-winning journalist/filmmaker with extensive experience covering Gaza, and a former head of the Israeli Prison Service Intelligence Division will take the stage at The Westport Library next Tuesday (April 16, 7 p.m.).
Shlomi Eldar and Dr. Yuval Biton will discuss the impact of Yahya Sinwar’s leadership on Hamas. He is widely believed to have helped mastermind the October 7 terror attack in Israel.
Eldar has spent more than 30 years covering Gaza, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority for Israeli television. He has been awarded Israel’s most important media award, the Sokolov Prize, and 2 Ophir Awards (Israel’s Oscar equivalent) for his documentaries.
Dr. Biton was on the medical team that removed Sinwar’s brain tumor as he served a 20-plus-year sentence in an Israeli prison. He spent many hours with the Hamas leader during his prison term. Hamas kidnapped and killed Dr. Biton’s nephew on October 7.
The conversation is presented in partnership with the Bennett Center at Fairfield University and the Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield County.
Cabry Lueker became perhaps the youngest person to deliver a Representative Town Meeting invocation, at Tuesday’s meeting.
The Staples High School senior — and co-chair of the Wesetport Youth Commission — thanked the Westport Public Schools for the close relationships he’s forged with teachers and peers, and the academics and clubs he’s been exposed to.
Cabry also described his fulfilling work on the Youth Commission. Noting past projects like the Compo Skate Park, Toquet Hall, Dodge-a-Cop and iMentor, he said the Commission “symbolizes the power and importance of the youth in our town.”
He concluded, “I hope we can all keep legacy and leadership in mind as we navigate issues, especially contentious ones, in our town.”
Cabry Lueker offers the RTM invocation. (Photo/Andrew Colabella)
Westport Police made 3 custodial arrests between April 3 and 10.
Two Waterbury men, ages 22 and 20, were arrested for larceny, and criminal attempt to commit larceny, following an investigation into a September motor vehicle theft of an unlocked vehicle, with the key fob inside, near Church Lane. The vehicle was used the next day during a home invasion in Westport. Both men had previously been arrested for their involvement in that crime.
A 36-year-old Stamford man was charged with illegal operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license, traveling unreasonably fast, engaging police in pursuit and violation of traffic control signals, after an officer with radar on Riverside Avenue clocked the vehicle traveling 51 miles an hour in a 30 mph zone, at 12:15 a.m. The driver went through a red light at Post Road West before eventually stopping on Wilton Road.
A 27-year-old Greenwich man was charged with larceny, and criminal attempt to commit larceny, after a fraudulent check was deposit at First County Bank, and funds were then withdrawn from it.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
Traveling unreasonably fast: 4 citations
Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 3
Operating a motor vehicle under suspension: 3
Driving while texting: 2
Speeding: 2
Failure to obey traffic control signals: 2
Failure to register a commercial vehicle: 2
Disorderly conduct: 1
Interfering with an emergency call: 1
Creating a public disturbance: 1
Reckless driving: 1
Evading responsibility: 1
Distracted driving: 1
Following too closely: 1
Improper passing: 1
Failure to drive in the proper lane: 1
Operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance: 1
Failure to renew registration: 1
Failure to insure a motor vehicle: 1
Failure to return plates: 1
Improper use of markers: 1
Failure to carry a license: 1
Misuse of license plates is no laughing matter. It can result in up to 30 days in jail, a fine up to $500, and possible license suspension.
Kammy Maxfeldt — the longtime and much-loved Birchwood Country Club golf pro — died April 4. She was 63, and had battled cancer.
Her obituary says, “Family and faith were most important to Kammy. She took love seriously, and sacrificed her time and talent to do anything for her family and friends. Her Birchwood family, and Norwalk/Port St. Lucie network of friends meant the world to her. Kammy was a faithful Christian, with a strong connection to the Jewish community as well.”
She fell in love with golf at a young age, playing with her father in Holdrege, Nebraska. She competed in her first tournament when she was 10, and played on the Holdrege High School team.
Kammy then played at the University of Oklahoma
She played 84 of the top 100 golf courses in the US, and had 13 holes-in-one.
Kammy worked at golf courses in Oklahoma, Tennesse, Texas, Florida and New York. She spent her final 21 years as head pro at Birchwood.
She enjoyed teaching golf, especially to children (to whom she also taught life lessons).
Kammy was the 2013 National LPGA Professional of the Year, and ranked the #1 instructor in Connecticut by Golf Digest for 2022-2023. She was the 2024 Metropolitan Section PGA Golf Professional of the Year.
She is survived by her mother, Emma June; sister Darcy Bomer (Gerard); brother Trent; niece Devri Penrod (Aaron); nephew Bryce Bomer; uncles Merle Nelson (Sherri) and Lonnie Nelson (Tricia); aunt Bettie Louise Murdoch; shih tzu “Little Man Bogiem”; and many friends.
There will be a gathering of family and friends, and a celebration of life, on April 19 (12 p.m.) at the Hermitage Funeral Home in Old Hickotry, Tennessee. Click here to share memories and expressions of sympathy for the family.
Kammy Maxfeldt
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Jesup Green has been all over the news lately.
We don’t know whether the trees at the top will remain, or be removed for parking spots.
Perhaps these pine cones were arranged in a message about its future. Perhaps someone randomly created this heart.
Whatever the reason, it makes a nice “Westport … Naturally” photo.
And finally … Cabry Lueker’s RTM invocation (story above) is a reminder of the importance of youth voices. Sure, this song is from 1967. But it still resonates:
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Posted onApril 11, 2024|Comments Off on Rev. Taylor Renews A Contract — And A Congregation
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport does not rush things.
Whether the issue is tapping the endowment to pay for building maintenance, or where to stand on a social justice issue, members study and debate deliberately.
Then they act decisively.
That’s the process they’re taking to replace former minister Rev. Dr. John Morehouse.
When Rev. Alan Taylor showed interest in becoming interim minister — while still serving at Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois, where he’d developed a refugee resettlement program and mental health awareness team, engaged his church in legislative advocacy and charity work, and where his wife and teenage children were living happily — they worked out a hybrid model.
Rev. Taylor spends 10 days a month in Westport. Back home, he carries out his duties via email, Zoom and phone. He serves in partnered ministry with UU Westport’s longtime minister of music, Rev. Ed Thompson.
Rev. Alan Taylor
The Westport church still has not called a permanent minister. They’ve renewed Rev. Taylor’s contract for a second year, through August of 2025.
And there’s an option to renew it again, for one more year after that.
As he did a year ago, Rev. Taylor asked his family if the arrangement was okay. His wife, Angelica Taylor-Cortes, gave up her career as a language instructor and cross-cultural consultant to stay at home with their children, now 16 and 13.
Being away from his family one-third of every month is not easy. But, Rev. Taylor says, “my wife recognizes how fulfilled I am. This is such meaningful work, providing leadership to a congregation that was once a flagship in our denomination.”
The congregation is still, he says, “thoughtful and engaged. They want to create a community that benefits themselves, and the entire country.
“A significant number of folks want to figure out how to live their faith in a meaningful way, through charity, social justice and advocacy.”
Noted architect Victor Lundy designed Westport’s striking Unitarian Universalist building.
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport has a long, storied history. Activists like Jerry and Denny Davidoff were national leaders in the UU movement. The church played a major role too when Connecticut considered eliminating the death penalty.
Locally, Rev. Ed Lane had coordinated clergy to protest the Vietnam War.
Over the years though, the local church pulled back a bit. There was, Rev. Taylor learned, “a certain amount of conflict” over the past decade.
They always continued their charity work. During COVID, for example, the congregation provided meals in Bridgeport, by making sack lunches. It was the only organization to do so.
That type of problem-solving — and the Westport church’s history — appealed to Rev. Taylor, whose background included 3 years as a counselor for abused children, and working in Illinois on gun violence prevention, the criminal justice system, and with undocumented immigrants.
In Westport — and from his home office in Oak Park — Rev. Taylor wants to help the church here lay the groundwork for the next 25 or 30 years.
The sanctuary on Lyons Plains Road.
He is challenging the congregation to have “difficult conversations about what is important, both as a group and one-on-one. We need to understand what we really value.”
To do that, Rev. Taylor says, “individuals need to hear each other’s thoughts. These are not natural conversations to have. They take incredible energy. But they can be really beautiful.”
Church members like David Vita are, he notes, “very effective at this. They’re helping us figure out how to come together as a progressive faith community, and discern our core commitments.”
In Westport, Rev. Taylor has joined with other clergy on important projects. After October 7 he headed to Temple Israel, the congregation’s Coleytown Road neighbor.
In return, Rabbi Michael Friedman brought their Torah to the UU church.
Rev. Taylor has also taken his congregants to Bridgeport’s Islamic Center, to show solidarity.
The newly rehired interim minister looks forward to uniting the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport over the next 16 months.
Or perhaps the next 30.
Rev. Alan Taylor.
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Comments Off on Rev. Taylor Renews A Contract — And A Congregation
Maxx Crowley, president of the Westport Downtown Association, writes:
I nominate Huong Belpedio from our WDA team as an Unsung Hero.
She is a pivotal member of the WDA. Since joining us in 2021, she has transformed the organization. She tripled our financials, doubled our membership, opened doors to new opportunities with sponsors and businesses, and most importantly brought an incredible attitude to the team.
During transition periods with our marketing and events position, Huong stepped up to play those roles. She made sure that “the show goes on!”
Huong and her husband John have been in Westport for decades. She is a true symbol of what it means to be a Westporter.
Not only does her passion for the town show in her WDA work, but through her involvement with her son Michael, a senior at Staples. She has helped the swim team and Staples band grow too, opening doors to new opportunities and sponsorships.
Words can’t describe what Huong means to our WDA team, and to Westport.
Yet that’s one small part of Huong’s story. Here’s more:
Huong was 8 years old when her family left Vietnam, with the fall of Saigon.
She was the second child of 6. But because her older sister had cerebral palsy — and her mother was hospitalized when they arrived in Queens — Huong had to mature quickly.
She took on many tasks most 8-year-olds could not handle.
Her parents stressed the importance of education. Huong applied to prestigious Brooklyn Technical High School, and was accepted. She commuted every day from Astoria, by subway.
She then headed to New York University (and her 4 younger siblings followed her).
She then earned a master’s degree at St. John’s University — working during the day, and attending night school.
Huong was hired by Price Waterhouse, in their audit practice. She rose to manager, then went to Wall Street. She worked at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse in equity research, before moving to SAC Capital in Stamford.
After giving birth to Michael, she became a full time mom. She works tirelessly in support of his activities.
The WDA treasurer who hired Huong calls it the best hire of his career.
Huong Belpedio is indeed a jewel in downtown Westport — and everywhere else. Congratulations to this week’s Unsung Hero!
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On Monday — after more than 6 hours of debate — the Planning & Zoning Commission voted narrowly to approve plans to renovate Parker Harding Plaza, and add the spots lost there to Jesup Green.
Last night’s Representative Town Meeting debate was quicker, less contentious, and led to a different outcome.
By a 33-1 margin (with 2 abstentions), the town’s legislative body postponed discussion of a request for $630,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to redesign Jesup Green and the Imperial Avenue parking lot.
They needed more time, they said, to study the plans, and hear from their constituents.
The debate will continue at the next RTM meeting, on May 8.
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The Downtown Plan Implementation Committee holds a public meeting tomorrow (Thursday, April 11, 8:30 a.m., Town Hall Room 201).
The agenda includes Parker Harding Plaza, Jesup Green and the Imperial Avenue parking lot; Avery Street pole removal, and sustainability.
There is also an agenda item called “parking maps.” Click here for the DPIC website’s comprehensive downtown parking maps, and a list of all lots (including the number of all-day, timed, and electric vehicle spaces in each).
A full house filled Branson Hall yesterday, to celebrate Homes with Hope’s 40th anniversary.
Former directors Pete Powell and Jeff Wieser joined current CEO Helen McAlinden; past and present founders and board members, and 95-year-old Dolores Bacharach, wife of co-founder Jim Bacharach (plus their 5 children, from as far as California). They honored 4 decades of housing the homeless, feeding the hungry, and offering hope to neighbors whose lives are not as fortunate as others’.
Dolores Bacharach (front) and her 5 children (from left) Jeanne, Kathy, Jim, Charlie and Ann. Jim Sr. was a founder of what is now Homes with Hope.
Former Westporter Livio Sanchez debuted a documentary film about Homes with Hope’s first 40 years. Using interviews and archival material (including long-ago video), it traced the non-profit’s groundbreaking history, from a controversial concept (with plenty of NIMBY and it’s-not-our-problem opposition), through its move from a drafty firehouse (now OKO restaurant) to an old maintenance shed on Jesup Road (now the Gillespie Center and Hoskins Place), and the current array of multi-pronged programs.
Branson Hall, at Christ & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, was an apt site for the heartfelt event. Homes with Hope began as an Interfaith Clergy of Westport project.
Today, the organization’s offices are in a CHT building.
Further showings of the video will be announced soon. To learn more about Homes with Hope — including how to donate and volunteer — click here.
Homes with Hope founding member Rev. Pete Powell. (Photos/John Videler for Videler Photography)
The University of Connecticut’s 2nd straight NCAA Division I men’s basketball championship Monday night was a great triumph for the team. Coach Danny Hurley deserves a ton of credit, for assembling and leading the Huskies.
Before him, Jim Calhoun earned fame for turning UConn into a national powerhouse. On the women’s side, Geno Auriemma has done the same, with even more success.
Back in the day though, there were other University of Connecticut men’s basketball coaches.
And one has a Westport connection.
In the middle of the 1962-63 season, 60-year-old Hugh Greer died of a heart attack. His place was taken by assistant basketball coach George Wigton.
Wigton led the Huskies to an 11-4 record, the Yankee Conference championship, and the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament.
He remained at the Maine school for 30 years. When he retired in 1996, as the revered coach of men’s basketball, men’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s squash — and assistant director of athletics — Bates named a scholar-athlete award in his honor. In 2009 he was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.
There is no record of whether, in his induction speech, he thanked Westport for giving him a home after being bounced from Storrs — and then launching him off to Lewiston.
George Wigton coaching at Bates, soon after leaving Staples.
If you missed VeroFest ’24 — or if you were there, and want to relive the 5 days of performances, panels, workshops and more — click here.
The link brings you to the Westport Library’s VersoFest page. It’s filled with dozens of photos and a wrap-up of highlights, from Chuck D, the Spin Doctors, Doors drummer John Densmore, and much, much more.
The final event of VersoFest ’24: a rap panel.
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To celebrate Arbor Day — and the vital role trees play in our environment — Earthplace will again host a “Toast to the Trees.”
It’s Saturday, April 27 (4 to 6 p.m.; tasting sessions at 4:30, 5 and 5:30).
It’s a great blend of nature, beer and family fun, Attendees can stroll along Earthplace trails, sip craft brews and enjoy family-friendly activities. (Kids get non-alcoholic sparkling beverages.)
There’s also a pop-up beer garden, food trucks, lawn games, and a campfire for s’mores. For tickets and more information, click here.
Brooke Saporta, a Staples High School junior, is founder of Share the Hour.
The goal is to “expand no-cost, barrier-free literacy growth opportunities to struggling underprivileged kids at the age when the biggest impact can be made.”
Brooke worked with Dr. Alexandra Estrella, superintendent of Norwalk Public Schools, to bring the program to Kendall Elementary School.
Twenty students, and 15 middle and high school volunteers, meet twice a month (“sharing the hour”) after school. Students focus on a different career path each time.
Brooke received a grant from First Presbyterian Church of Stamford, which she’ll use to expand Share The Hour to more students.
Chris Fuller’s 1-man show, “Cheese Fries and Chili Dips,” has just been optioned for a feature film by James Guyer, executive producer of “Sasquatch Sunset.” The movie will handle mental illness in a “light comic but sensitive way.”
Chris — who grew up in Weston — lives with bipolar manic disorder.
He’s also doing a special performance May 18 at New York’s Triad Theater for Mental Health Awareness Month. Two Yale doctors will join a post-show discussion panel. For more information, click here.
Ernesto Heidelberg, a longtime leader with the Westport-Weston Community Emergency Response Team, died February 9. He was 85.
He was born in Argentina, where his parents emigrated from Germany to escape the Nazis. He was an excellent student, possessed a sharp intellect and near photographic memory, and was fluent in several languages, including Spanish, German and English.
Ernie earned a dual Ph.D. in mechanical and electrical engineering.
At 24, he emigrated to the US, and worked at IBM. After a year he returned to Argentina, married Zulma, and moved with her to Lexington, Kentucky. In 1974 they moved to Boulder, Colorado, then to Westport in 1981.
Ernie was at IBM for 29 years, working globally to innovate consumer product safety and environmental processes. He taught a global product safety training program in association with Duke University and Leeuwen University in Belgium. He also volunteered on the boards of several engineering organizations.
After 9/11, Ernie became president of Westport’s CERT, and led it for 13 years. He encouraged Zulma to get involved. Together they organized and trained volunteers for emergency preparedness, helped open and manage shelters during Hurricane Sandy, and worked closely with the EMS, Police, and Fire Departments.
Ernie is survived by his wife of 59 years, Zulma Heidelberg, and their daughters Denise of Milford, and Monica of Westport and San Francisco.
Contributions in Ernie’s memory may be made to CERT. Checks can be made out to “Town of Westport”; on the memo line write, “In honor of Ernesto Heidelberg.” Mail to: Mike Vincelli, CERT president, 3 Winslow Rd., Weston, CT 06883.
Ernie Heidelberg
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Westport has begun bursting with color — and life.
Jim Hood shares this backyard scene, from the Compo Beach neighborhood, for today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature.
And finally … if Earthplace’s upcoming “Toast to the Trees” (story above) had a theme song, it would be:
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For Dogsname — the quirky, funky, fun and supremely successful website and app design/marketing/branding/social media company — it all began with a Girl Scout.
She was selling cookies, and knocked on a door. “What’s your name?” she asked the 5-year-old who answered.
“Luke,” he said.
“That’s a dog’s name!” she said.
It became a Scott family joke.
Two decades later, when Luke’s father John opened an agency in Westport — and hired Luke, who was ready to leave New York City after working there for 5 years — Dogsname was perfect.
But, Luke worried, no one would know what the company did.
“Trust me,” John said. “You want a name that shows you can have fun, and make money.”
A screenshot of the Dogsname website — which features a moving swing and clouds — shows off the company’s fun, engaging vibe.
Dogsname opened on March 1, 1999 on Post Road East, in a small office building between what was then the Brook Café and Carvel. Their first client was a bee sting analgesic company.
“We had a Netscape browser, a 128 modem, and an AOL email,” Luke recalls.
They built websites and created digital platforms. More prosaically, they designed logos and business cards.
On March 29, 2000, John died of a heart attack while jogging at Compo Beach. He was 51 years old.
Luke took over the business. He was 27 years old, recently married and the father of a 3-month-old boy.
He and Kristen Hanly — another co-founder, also in her 20s — picked up the torch.
Luke Scott
Over the years the company has moved, to another Post Road site above the Tack Room, then the South Norwalk Lock Building near the Maritime Center, and back to Westport on Ketchum Street behind Viva Zapata. Since 2016, Dogsname has called Bridgeport home.
But no matter where the firm is, Luke — who graduated from Staples in 1991 — has always felt anchored in Westport. Their national roster of clients includes many local businesses.
Dogsname today is “wildly different” from 25 years ago, Luke says. Up to 90% of their work now is digital — double what it was then.
Web design now begins with mobile; the phone experience has become the top priority.
But “everything has meaning,” Luke says, “from I-95 billboard headlines, to website meta tags, business card details and email subject lines. Words matter, every time.”
Social media is the starting point for most marketing efforts. That ecosystem influences how clients market themselves, and how Dogsname advocates for them.
Dogname’s clients range from healthcare and consumer packaging to transit-oriented projects. They’ve sold millions of dollars worth of merchandise for clients via Shopify and WooCommerce, and helped lease over 5,000 apartment units in Connecticut, South Carolina and beyond.
Bill Stankey, founder and CEO of Westport Entertainment (based in Fairfield) calls the Dogsname team “a merry band of creative rock stars who love a challenge. They helped me build several tremendously successful businesses for my clients. My clients think I’m a genius. But I really know I’m a genius for getting Dogsname on board.”
Dogsname has done branding and signage for train stations in Fairfield County, and the new Anthem Square 10 apartments in New Haven.
Branding for The Lloyd, a boutique hotel in Stamford.
Bridgeport also holds a special place in his heart.
“I’m incredibly proud we’re based here,” he says. “It’s time for this city to shine. The location is great. It’s got a nice cultural nucleus. There are lots of impactful small businesses, artists, activists, entrepreneurs — wonderful human beings. There’s so much energy everywhere.”
He and his wife Marcella’s 6-year-old son Zion is a kindergartner at nearby Adam J. Lewis Academy, the innovative, life-changing school founded by Patty Lewis and Westporter Julie Mombello.
(Adam J. Lewis’ branding is done by The Bananaland — Marcella’s own marketing and design group. They share space with Dogsname, on the top floor of a renovated YMCA overlooking downtown. “Same studio, different shop,” Luke says happily.)
For 25 years, Luke’s company has stayed on top of trends. That’s not easy. He spends an hour a day finding out what’s new. Staff meetings are often devoted to the latest developments in technology, search and more.
Those meetings never take place on Friday. Dogsname is committed to work/life balance, with a 4-day, Monday through Thursday week. Most of the staff is now hybrid. “It works well for us,” Luke says.
The Dogsname crew, in the elevator at their Bridgeport office. From left: Abelardo Pulido, Scott Andersen, Luke Scott, Katy Wood, Jessica Forster.
That balance has come with time. When Luke took over the company at 27, it was “a huge responsibility to keep the doors open, the lights on, and our people and my family fed.”
Now, he realizes, his business is “all about relationships. That’s what makes it fun. Technology is okay, but people are the jam.”
So what will the next 25 years mean for Dogsname?
“We’ll continue to be innovative, in an industry that’s rapidly changing,” Luke says.
“We’ll stay small, nimble and impactful. We’ll tell the right stories, for the right clients.
“We will creatively help clients build their businesses, and have fun along the way.
Of its Wag Central project, Dogsname says: “New England’s finest 4-legged canine cultural hub came to us to define and design a full-scale marketing effort to fetch local clients. We jumped right in.”
Here’s one example of that fun: Luke’s email is warden@dogsname.com. Other employee emails include RescueDog, SpaceDog, Dog Tracker and SnoopDogg.
And this: Occasionally, Dogsname hears from people who request a name for their dog.
“They actually think that’s what we do,” Luke says. “But that’s cool.”
He always replies with a suggestion.
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Last week, the Representative Town Meeting’s Transit Committee voted 7-2 against recommending that the full RTM spend $630,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to redesign Jesup Green, and the nearby Imperial Avenue parking lot.
Tonight, the final item on the full RTM’s agenda is to vote on a request by the director of Public Works, and a recommendation by the Board of Finance, to approve an appropriation of $630,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Fund for design
and permitting of the redevelopment of Jesup Green and the Imperial Lot.
Here is the report of the RTM Transit Committee, which the full RTM will consider tonight (Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall auditorium; click here for the livestream):
Presentation
Director of Public Works Pete Ratkiewich began the meeting with a PowerPoint presentation on downtown parking. The presentation included an overview of the history, the proposed scope of work, costs and timing as well as the reasons for the $630K appropriation request. The discussion primarily focused on the Parking Harding and Jesup lots. (Note: the current Jesup lot is also known as the “ Taylor lot.”)
● History
○ Many downtown parking issues today are similar to those 20 years ago.
○ Desire to connect to the river front wherever possible.
○ Most recent plan: 2015 Downtown Master Plan.
Parker Harding Plaza, through the years.
● Parker Harding
○ Current layout does not meet ADA and Fire Code standards (currently short 3
ADA spaces).
○ Proposed redesign would result in a net loss of 42 spaces.
○ Jesup Green (upper portion) identified the location for the relocated 42 spaces.
● Overall goals
○ Reconstructed Parker Harding and the Taylor lot (lower Jesup) with no net loss in parking.
○ Proposed 850 square foot net increase in green space (once phases are complete).
● Funding/Cost:
○ Current Appropriation Request: $630,000 full design/permitting for Taylor Lot (lower Jesup Green) and Imperial lots.
○ Prior Appropriation (2022): $400,000 completed schematic designs for Parker Harding, Jesup and Imperial, and full design of Parker Harding.
○ Capital Cost Forecast: $11 million
● Projected Phasing – Town is working to move forward with a phased approach:
○ Phase I: construct parking on Jesup Green to alleviate parking issues caused by
Parker Harding reconstruction. Then reconstruct Parker Harding.
○ Phase II: Re-align Jesup Road. Convert part of Taylor Lot (lower Jesup) to green space.
○ Phase III: TBD – “will occur when the police station is relocated”.
Summary and vote
● The committee thanked the DPW and Downtown Plan Implementation Committee for their hard work.
○ Appreciate the decades-old history and efforts.
○ Committee agreed we all want to find a balance between thriving downtown, river access, and enhanced green space.
○ “We’re getting there.” But the only way to accomplish that is to “look at it
holistically first.”
● Desire to move forward but recognized that some things have changed and some things have not yet been adequately addressed:
○ Explore gaining spaces elsewhere before taking Jesup Green (e.g. Baldwin). “Put concrete where concrete is now.”
○ Why not use a portion of the $630,000 to fund an analysis of the cost of structured parking and/or fee-based parking?
○ Evaluate impacts of soon-to-be implemented 3-hour timed parking.
○ The Jesup side should be coordinated with the police station site. For these reasons, the majority of the committee felt that the $630,000 appropriation is not justified.
The Baldwin parking lot, after its recent renovation.
Motion made to approve the $630,000 appropriation:
● 2 in favor – (Bloom, Burkhardt)
● 7 against – (Lowenstein, Liccione, Cohen, Johnson, Benmosche, Gold, Levy)
Below is information with additional detail on some of the issues/points raised by the committee at Monday’s meeting.
RTM Transit Committee discussion:
Various questions were raised by the committee: Jesup Green
● Multiple questions were raised about the apparent conflict between the proposed parking plan for Jesup Green and stated goals in the 2015 Downtown Plan:
○ Prior plans recommended both expanding riverfront access wherever
possible while retaining existing open space, including Jesup Green.
● Concerns raised around paving green space for more blacktop:
○ Current plan takes upwards of ⅓ of Jesup Green, and removes several
mature trees in the middle and upper portion of the Green.
○ The proposed first stage is to build the 40 spots on Jesup Green before
the redevelopment of Parker Harding.
● Concerns about losing green space on Jesup with no guarantees about the future.
● Currently the entire width of the library opens up to the Green on both floors. Under the proposed plan for Jesup Green the library would overlook a parking lot.
● Is Jesup Green deed restricted?
● Why hasn’t the cost of structured parking been considered before moving forward to pave the upper portion of Jesup Green?
○ Pete Ratkiewich indicated “no shovels in ground until 2025,” indicating that a delay of a
couple of months to evaluate a deck on Baldwin will not seriously delay the
project.
● Is a new waterfront playground a driver of the current DPIC plan?
Jesup Green is surrounded by a road, police station, the Westport Library, parking, and the Saugatuck River. (Photo/Samuel Wang)
Taylor Lot / Jesup Road
● It was noted that the current configuration of the Taylor Lot balances the needs of downtown (including across the river) and the library while providing good access to the waterfront (especially ADA) and Jesup Green .
● Existing waterfront
○ Does it make sense to take upwards of ⅓ of Jesup Green (estimated cost – $4 million) to build a different green space near the library’s lower entrance when there is green space there now?
○ Existing green space along the river and in front of the lower library entrance is lightly used and enjoyed, but not well maintained.
● Jesup Road was recently repaved. Does it make sense to spend money on ripping up a new road?
○ Could proposed angled-parking lead to further congestion caused by people
circulating for parking and/or backing up into the line of traffic?
Economic Changes:
● Does the new plan actually reflect changes the town has seen in the last few years with increased economic activity downtown and new stores, restaurants, shops and cultural attractions?
Timing/Need:
● Concerns that “we’ve lost the forest before the trees”; the 8-24 for Parker Harding has not been approved by the P&Z. Nevertheless, the committee is voting on an appropriation that would result in paving Jesup Green for the purpose of recovering parking spots lost at Parker Harding, on a plan that so far is not approved (?). (NOTE: The P&Z approved the 8-24 for Parker Harding last night.)
● Comment: “Is there any reason why we can’t live with parking as it is now until the police station moves, then do all 3 phases together so we know we are going to get the green space back?:
Discussions have begun about a new police station. The current one is adjacent to Jesup Green.
● It is not clear if the 40 spots on Jesup Green will be needed once the timed parking is implemented – then people who need longer term parking may choose not to park on Parker Harding or Main Street:
○ Consider monitoring the impact of the 3-hour limit first.
○ How often is Baldwin lot full (just holidays or more frequently?).
○ Perhaps wayfinding signs could help with parking losses on Parker Harding.
● Concerns around whether ARPA funding can be used when Westport’s downtown is thriving following the pandemic-related influx of new residents.
● Concerns around opportunities for public feedback:
○ Next formal phase of public comment will follow after Jesup Green is paved.
○ Public never asked the question whether they prefer more parking downtown or green space.
● Those who expressed support for the current appropriation felt that further delay is akin to “paralysis by analysis”; the phased approach outlines how the town will ultimately end up with more green space. But others expressed concerns that the promise for more green space in the future could be jeopardized by lack of funding appropriations for various phases and the uncertainty around the timing and plan for the police station site.
● Concerns that we are spending a lot of money on one narrow view forward:
○ Both $630,000 request and $400,000 prior ARPA funding represents over $1 million in plans for one view without any funds directed to evaluating alternatives for parking other than paving ⅓ of Jesup Green.
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