Tag Archives: Board of Selectwomen

Longshore Sailing School Lease: Rough Seas Ahead

Posted on December 9, 2023 | 45 comments

A new lease for the operation of Longshore’s sailing school seemed to be cruising along.

Now, however, it may have hit choppy waters.

Residents are questioning the process by which the next 10-year lease may be awarded. The present one expired October 15. The Board of Selectwomen are scheduled to vote on Parks & Recreation Department director Jen Fava’s recommendation at their next meeting, on Wednesday (December 13, 9 a.m., Town Hall auditorium).

Bill King, Heidi McGee and John Kantor — board members of Greenwich Community Sailing, which submitted a bid to the town for the sailing school/ boat rental contract — contacted “06880” with concerns about the process. McGee and Kantor grew up in Westport, and still live here.

Separately, so did Jeff Manchester — another native Westporter, involved in a competing bid.

Longshore Sailing School (Photo copyright/Stefen Turner)

According to Manchester, RFP responses were due October 18, with feedback to come a week later.

After several delays, on November 30 3 potential suitors — the current operator, former operators currently running the Greenwich Sailing School, and a Boat Locker team — all independently met with Parks & Rec director Fava, deputy director Rick Giunta, and a sailing consultant doing business with the current operator.

On December 4, the 2 bidders received a brief message from Fava. She thanked them for their interested and said, “Upon further review, we have chosen to move forward with Longshore Sailing School” — the current operator.

Sources say that the 3rd member of the panel interviewing the RFP candidates was Stu Gilfillen, director of education for US Sailing. Sources say his department employs a leader of the current Longshore Sailing School to teach instructor training courses.

Previously, Gilfillen “liked” Longshore Sailing School’s Facebook page. “Not sure how this was not a conflict of interest,” the Greenwich group says.

After news broke of the Parks & Rec decision, reaction on social media was quick and intense. Among the comments:

  • What the hell happened here?
  • Why would the town renew its lease?
  • I am stunned and disappointed to hear this.
  • And may the worst team win. Makes you wonder what influenced the outcome.
  • This is sad in so many ways.
  • Bull****!
  • What a disaster. Were there other applicants?
  • Has anyone complained to Parks and Rec? The place is unsightly for residents who use the park.
  • I don’t understand how anyone over the age of 12 thinks this is an acceptable way to leave things.
  • WTF?!
  • Did anyone else make a bid?
  • So sorry to hear this.
  • It is dangerous for young children who play on the nearby playground.
  • Yikes! Hurts my eyes.
  • This desecrates all those shipshape awards given to students over the years.
  • It’s a law suit waiting to happen.
  • Seems a shame to sacrifice a 50-year-old institution that’s brought joy and taught work ethic to generations of CT kids. No way they can make a case to the town they are the best candidate in light of track record ( insurance ??) and literal photographic record. Frankly they are a liability to Westport and the surrounding towns’ children.
  • Supremely disappointed in this outcome.

The 2 unsuccessful bidders have independently asked for a review of the Parks  & Recreation Department selection process, “particularly given the dawning realization that there was a serious conflict of interest involved.”

They hope the Board of Selectwomen will carefully review the matter, before voting to approve the contract.

“06880” asked Parks & Recreation director Fava for a comment about the process.

She said, “The RFP referenced training and certification in accordance with standards of the United States Sailing Association. Stu Gillfillen is the director of education for US Sailing, so we reached out to him to participate in our process as his expertise pertains directly to the core of this operation.

“We do not believe there was any conflict of interest as Stu knows all of the respondents personally and all have had various affiliations with US Sailing.  Additionally, the decision was not up to Stu alone and questions from the panel were fair and consistent across the board.”

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King, McGee and Kantor described the background of the Longshore sailing program.

It began in 1960, the year Westport purchased the private Longshore Country Club.

The Westport Recreation Commission (now called the Parks & Recreation Department) ran the program until 1975. That year, “Longshore Sailing School” took it private.

At first a sole proprietorship, Kantor — its president — reorganized it in 1978, as a for-profit corporation.

It ran successfully for decades, say Kantor, McGee and King. It was a pioneer and national model for community sailing programs.

An additional location in Old Greenwich was established in 1998. Called Greenwich Community Sailing, it was sponsored by Old Greenwich Yacht Club.

In 2001 Kantor, still president of Longshore Sailing School, Inc., donated the existing building to the town of Westport. A long-term lease was granted by the Town in order to amortize its cost.

That lease expired October 15, 2023.

Longshore Sailing School (Photo/John Videler for Videler Photography)

In 2017, Longshore Sailing School’s ownership changed hands. Jane Pimentel purchased all shares of its stock (including all assets: boats, docks, tools, furniture and equipment, at both locations) from Kantor for the token amount of $10.

Kantor, King and McGee now believe that “a public program, in a municipal park, should be run by a non-profit organization. That is the standard model for community sailing programs throughout the country. Now that the long-term lease is ending and the building is fully paid for, it is the right time for change.”

The trio have concerns about boating safety at Longshore. The Sailing School, they say, taught boating safety courses since 1960. But in 2017, the new owners “abruptly” stopped offering Connecticut Boating Safety certification courses.

In 2023, LSS also removed the boating safety component (one of the 2 weeks of “Sailing One”) from the junior program’s curriculum. “Boating safety education should never be compromised in a community sailing program – and certainly not for the sake of profit,” Kantor, King and McGee say.

They also note that a non-profit could give back to the community through lower user fees, and scholarship for people needing financial help.

Furthermore, they say, Pimentel’s group closed the sailboat rental program on weekdays in mid-August for the last 2 summers — “historically, the time of peak boat rental demand.” Last summer, they continue, LSS further cut sailboat rentals on weekdays through most of June.

In 2021, Kantor and fellow Greenwich Community Sailing Board members say, Longshore Sailing School abruptly abandoned its long relationship with Greenwich. It was “a needlessly embarrassing, avoidable, and well-publicized separation. Bridges were burned. As a result, LSS lost roughly 1/3 of its revenue, and its safety net of cooperative partnership.”

The bidders call the facility a winter “eyesore” Last year, they say, “tools, sails, electronics, hoses, etc. and all manner of equipment, including gasoline containers, were left unsecured outdoors – next to the children’s playground. Kayaks were left unsecured on beach racks, windows were left open, boats were left upright and uncovered – filled with moldy leaves, snow and ice – throughout the fall and winter.”

The situation seems the same this year.

(Photos/John Kantor)

Manchester — another bidder on the RFP — says that when vendors made a pre-proposal site visit to Longshore in late September, both they and the Parks & Rec team were surprised by the lack of upkeep on town-owned land.

Manchester calls it “a huge liability to the town, for any kid who walks a few steps from the playground and is injured.” The ice skating entrance is nearby too.

He adds, “Westport residents, the new hotel operator and any visitor will be stunned to see one of the best pieces of real estate in Westport being rented out as a junkyard, for a mere $5,000 license fee per annum.”

(“06880” covers the Westport waterfront. Please click here to support our hyper-local journalism. Thank you!)

45 Comments

Posted in Local business, Local politics, Longshore

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Roundup: Downtown Parking, Remarkable Theater, Sweetgreen …

Posted on August 12, 2023 | 21 comments

There’s no such thing as a free lunch — at least, if you’re eating in or taking out downtown.

Downtown parking though, has always been free — for 1 or 2 hours.

During the pandemic, enforcement of parking limits was suspended.

Tickets may soon return — but only after those parking limits are extended.

The second agenda item on Wednesday’s Board of Selectwomen meeting (August 16, 9 a.m., Town Hall auditorium) reads:

Acting in its capacity as the Local Traffic Authority, to re-establish the enforcement of timed parking limits previously suspended by the Board of Selectmen at its public meeting of June 10, 2020, and further, to establish uniform parking limits and times of enforcement throughout the town-managed and owned downtown parking lots known as Parker Harding Plaza, Sigrid Shultz Plaza, Baldwin, Bay Street, Jesup Road, and Taylor, and the Town roadways known as Main Street, Church Lane, Bay Street, and Taylor Place, by changing FROM the currently posted “1- and 2- hour parking” limits TO “3-hour parking” limits and enforcement times TO “8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.” And further, to request permission from the CT DOT to change the current parking term limits posted on Post Road East FROM “1- and 2-hour parking” TO “3-hour parking.”

Click here for the livestream of the Board of Selectwomen session, or watch on Optimum Channel 79. Comments may be sent to selectwoman@westportct.gov prior to the meeting.

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The 3rd agenda item for Wednesday’s Board of Selectwomen’s meeting is also of interest: a request from the Remarkable Theater to use the Imperial Avenue parking lot from August 28 through November 3 for a 4th season of drive-in movies.

From 2020 through ’22, the Remarkable’s season began in the spring.

Paul and Melissa Levy, at the Remarkable Theater.

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Jacqui O’Brien was one of several readers who sent photos of a strange object seen over Westport skies last night.

Susan Leone was the first to identify them as SpaceX Starlink satellites.

They were launched yesterday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It was the 9th flight for the first stage booster supporting the mission.

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As first noted on “06880” over a year ago — but denied vociferously by Organic Krush — Sweetgreens is indeed moving in to Compo Shopping Center.

Organic Krush has already moved out.

No date has been announced for opening. But the fast-casual salad-based chain — which emphasizes healthy eating and sustainability, and has 158 outlets in 13 states — already has Westporters excited.

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The recent food drive for Homes with Hope’s Gillespie Center and food pantry — which included a special, fill-my-shopping-cart trip by a mother and 2 children —  was celebrated yesterday, at the Sunrise Rotary Club’s weekly meeting.

The sponsors — including also the Westport Rotary Club, Westport Police Department and Saugatuck Rowing Club — presented a check for $1,105.62 to Homes with Hope.

Those cash donations were in addition to the hundreds of bags of groceries that were dropped off, as shoppers entered and exited the store.

From left: Liz Wong, Sunrise Rotary president; Rob Hauck, Rotary member; Helen McAlinden, Homes with Hope president; Paris Looney, HWH vice president, and Sunrise Rotary members Bruce Paul and Bruce Fritz. (Photo/James Wong)

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The link provided yesterday by Wakeman Town Farm for their September 9 Harvest Fest fundraiser was incorrect. Click here for tickets, and more information.

Wakeman Town Farm’s Harvest Fest is coming soon.

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Many Westporters love pickleball. Some hate it.

But all can agree: the Smart Shots Pickleball Social is great.

The September 30 event (6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Milford Indoor Tennis) is a fundraiser for A Better Chance of Westport.

Level-designated courts will ensure exciting matches. Vendors will offer pickleball services and products. A raffle includes special prizes. The Porch @ Christie’s is providing food (available for pre-purchase).

The event is sponsored by ATP (Alan & Tina Pickleball). Click here to register. Questions? Call 203-984-1949.

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We like to think of Long Island Sound as “ours.”

But — as Karen Como’s “Westport … Naturally” photo reminds us — humans were not here first.

(Photo/Karen Como)

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And finally … anyone who saw the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man” knows that Rodriguez’s story is astonishing.

The Detroit musician wrote and sang haunting protest songs. But he never found an audience, and settled into a life as a laborer and office worker.

He was “discovered” in Australia however — and then, even more so, in South Africa during apartheid. According to the New York Times:

“To many of us South Africans, he was the soundtrack to our lives,” Stephen Segerman, owner of a Cape Town record store, said in the documentary.

“In the mid-’70s, if you walked into a random white, liberal, middle-class household that had a turntable and a pile of pop records, and if you flipped through the records, you would always see ‘Abbey Road’ by the Beatles, you’d always see ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ by Simon and Garfunkel, and you would always see ‘Cold Fact’ by Rodriguez. To us, it was one of the most famous records of all time. The message it had was ‘Be anti-establishment.’”

Astonishingly, Rodriguez did not know he had fervent fans in South Africa. Equally astonishingly, South Africans thought he was dead. One rumor was a drug overdose; another, that he had killed himself onstage.

In 1998, he was discovered — alive, and living in obscurity in Detroit. He was invited to South Africa, and played concerts at  sold-out venues.

He was “discovered” again more than a dozen years later, with the release of “Searching for Sugar Man” — a film about his strange but vibrant life.

Rodriguez — whose full name was Sixto Diaz Rodriguez — died Tuesday, in Detroit. He was 81.

Click here for a full obituary. Click below to hear Rodriguez.

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21 Comments

Posted in Downtown, Entertainment, Environment, Local politics, Restaurants

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[OPINION] Save Westport Now Says: Save Gardens Now!

Posted on August 9, 2023 | 48 comments

Yesterday, Save Westport Now — which describes itself as a 43-year-old grassroots organization dedicated to protecting residential neighborhoods, preserving Westport’s small-town New England appeal, ensuring smart growth, preventing over-commercialization, and preserving open space — e-mailed every member of the Board of Selectwomen, Board of Education, Long Lots School Building Committee, Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting.

The subject: the possible relocation of the Westport Community Gardens, as part of the Long Lots renovation or rebuilding plan. Save Westport Now says:

As the Town mulls its options regarding the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve, we offer the following observations:

First, we believe that the Long Lots School Building Committee, appointed by First Selectwoman Jen Tooker, has inadvertently overstepped its authority in thinking that they have the unfettered right to determine the future of this cherished municipal asset.

We have reviewed the RTM minutes concerning the acquisition of this property and note that, although 2.2 acres were earmarked for additional school parking, the remaining 4.5 acres were acquired for other municipal purposes.

The Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve are just south of parking for Long Lots Elementary School (green), which is just south of the current building (yellow).

Indeed, in 2001 when the RTM was debating the acquisition, then-School Superintendent Elliot Landon assured the RTM that they would “work cooperatively and collaboratively” with the town to develop the parking in such a way that “it enhanced municipal uses as well.”

Thus, while it is true that playing fields (as well as affordable housing) were mentioned during the debate, the future use of that extra acreage was specifically left open.

Since then, of course, the property has been designated as a community garden and preserve and, for the last 20 or so years, the property has been under the supervision of Parks & Rec — 2 indisputable facts that buttress the argument that a school building committee does not have the unilateral authority to deal with this property.

Second, we note that removing these Gardens and the Preserve in favor of other uses runs counter to the Town’s Net Zero promise, as well as its most recent Plan of Conservation and Development, which explicitly calls for the preservation and enhancement of open space.

As the Plan recognizes: “Open space helps protect natural resources; provide flood storage, wildlife habitat, and tree canopy; enhance overall community appearance; and enhance the quality of life of residents and visitors.”

In fact, the town has long been concerned with this issue since Westport has
very little open space, especially compared to other towns in Fairfield County. If anything, we need to be creating more gardens, preserves, and open space — not less.

And third, we believe that equity and fairness dictate preservation of the Gardens and Preserve in their current locations.

Aerial view of the Westport Community Gardens, with 100-plus plots. The Long Lots Preserve is located on its perimeter.

While adding additional playing fields to our town’s inventory may be
desirable, the town currently has approximately 20 playing fields that can conceivably be made available during the 18- or 24-month construction period contemplated for the new school facility.

Alternatively, other temporary sites can be identified and used for sports during the construction period.

Once construction is complete, the town could then build new field(s) on the site of old building. There is, however, only one town garden, and it simply cannot be moved or replicated within that time frame — if at all.

Ditto for the Preserve.

In sum, the long-term pain for gardeners and the negative environmental ramifications for residents if the Gardens and Preserve are forced to vacate far outweigh the temporary sacrifice that sports teams may suffer if the Gardens and
Preserve are allowed to remain in place.

Finally, it is important to note that when the Long Lots School Building Committee was first proposed by the First Selectwoman, we and others voiced concern that the list of appointees did not include someone from Sustainable Westport.

Indeed, a number of RTM members objected to the formation of the Committee specifically on those grounds. They were adamant that SW needed to have a seat at the table — that SW needed to be involved at all stages of the project.

But the administration assured the RTM that the Committee had the necessary expertise to handle the project.

Recent events, however, have validated those concerns. The fact is that the Gardens and Preserve play a critical role in helping to sequester carbon and protect our pollinators.

Relaxing in the Westport Community Gardens.

Based on what we believe are a set of faulty assumptions and priorities, we are concerned that the Committee may make well-intended but misguided recommendations that result in the squandering of these important and critical assets.

And the idea that this will be “only” a temporary measure strikes us as short-sighted and failing to properly understand the value of what has been created here.

It took 20 years and almost 10,000 hours of volunteer labor to get the Gardens and Preserve to this point. They cannot be rebuilt overnight or easily replicated.

Please listen to the more than 1,800 people and organizations who have already signed petitions and letters, and act now to make the preservation of the Gardens and Preserve our highest priority when planning for the creation of what is sure to be a superb building where Westport’s children can continue to grow and learn.

Respectfully,
Ian Warburg
Co-chair, Save Westport Now

48 Comments

Posted in Education, Environment, Local politics

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Westport Boards And Commissions: From A(rchitectural Review) To Z(oning Appeals)

Posted on February 2, 2022 | 9 comments

A recent legal challenge to the makeup of TEAM Westport — the town’s multicultural commission — shined a light on local government.

Seven boards or commissions are elected by voters. Members “must be” registered Westport voters. Those boards are:

  • Board of Assessment Appeals
  • Board of Education
  • Board of Finance
  • Board of Selectwomen
  • Planning and Zoning Commission
  • Representative Town Meeting
  • Zoning Board of Appeals

In addition, voters choose the Probate Court judge, and the Democratic and Republican Registrars of Voters.

The RTM — Westport’s “city council” — includes 36 members, from 9 voting districts. Elections are non-partisan.

However, much of the government work is done by appointed boards and commissions. Members are chosen by the 1st selectperson, and “shall be” residents of and registered voters in Westport.

Those 45 groups make suggestions and decisions — usually advisory — covering a wide swath of Westport life. They include arts, aesthetics, recreation, the police, education, youth, senior citizens, people with disabilities, the environment, animals, downtown, housing, the water, mental health and conservation:

The only member of any of the elected and appointed boards who receives a salary for service is the first selectperson. (The other 2 members of that board receive a very small stipend. Board of Assessment Appeals members receive an even tinier stipend: $200 each.)

Everyone else is a volunteer.

To learn more about Westport’s elected and appointed officials, click here.

The Westport Youth Commission dates back to the late 1960s.

 

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Posted in Local politics

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Westport Women Lead The Way

Posted on December 10, 2021 | 15 comments

In a different world, this would not be news.

But this is our world, so it is.

Last night, Danielle Dobin was re-elected chair of the Planning & Zoning Commission. That means that the 3 major boards in town — P&Z, Education and Finance — are led by women (Dobin, Lee Goldstein and Sheri Gordon, respectively).

Of course, the Board of Selectmen is composed of 3 females too: Jen Tooker, Andrea Moore and Candice Savin. So it’s now — officially, and wonderfully — the Board of Selectwomen.

Westport’s female leaders are both Democrats and Republicans.

This is a first in Westport’s 186-year-old history. Is it also a first in the 233-year history of our state?

Danielle Dobin, Westport Planning & Zoning Commission chair.

PS: Let’s not forget Anna Rycenga, chair of the Conservation Commission!

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Posted in Education, Local politics

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Candice Savin Selected, Sworn In As 3rd Selectwoman

Posted on November 23, 2021 | 4 comments

Jen Tooker and Andrea Moore made history last week. They were sworn in as 1st and 2nd selectwomen — the first time 2 females occupied to town’s top spots.

They made history again. As a special meeting of the Board of Selectwomen, they chose Candice Savin as 3rd selectwoman. This marks the 1st time in the town’s 186 years that all 3 members are female.

Savin was quickly sworn in, in the selectwomen’s meeting room, by Town Clerk Jeffrey Dunkerton.

The swearing-in ceremony.

Savin’s route to Town Hall began when she  ran on the Democratic ticket, with 1st selectman candidate Jonathan Steinberg. They lost to the Republican candidates by 69 votes.

Steinberg declined the 3rd selectman’s seat, citing his obligations as Westport’s state representative in Hartford.

Libertarian candidate T.J. Elgin — who received 64 votes — claimed he was then the rightful 3rd selectman, since Savin had run for the 2nd post. He filed a lawsuit in Superior Court, but withdrew it yesterday.

Savin — whose most recent position was Board of Education chair — was endorsed by the Democratic Town Committee last week.

The new 3rd selectwoman told “06880”: “I am so pleased to take on this role, and look forward to working with Jennifer Tooker and Andrea Moore on behalf of our town.”

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Posted in Local politics

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