Representative Town Meeting - Regular Meeting

This meeting of Westport's representative town meeting is now called to order. My name is Jeff Weiser, and I am the RTM moderator. We welcome those who are joining us tonight in the Town Hall Auditorium and those on westportct.gov streaming live and those watching on optimum government access channel seventy nine. On my right tonight is the RTM deputy moderator Lauren Carf. And a note regarding public participation in tonight's meeting, members of the Westport electorate may comment on any agenda item when we open discussion for that item.

Comments will be limited to three minutes. Emails may be sent to rtm dlwestportct dot gov. That is DL for distribution list so rtm dlwestportct dot gov. Those emails go to all RTM members but they will not be read aloud during the meeting. Tonight's invocation will be delivered by Sylvie Middleton.

Sylvie Middleton has Westport roots as a poet and life coach and author of the year that was immersed in poetry. Her journey evolved into a healing practice where she spends time with youth poetry workshop through Homes With Hope and she continues to write and inspire others through the transformative power of words. So so Sylvie, welcome and come on up.

Hello.

Thank you, Andrew, and the entire RTM for the honor of inviting me to deliver tonight's invocation. I would like to begin with a reflection on something both fundamental and overlooked, the power of poetry in the lives of our children. Poetry has a way of giving voice to feelings that are often difficult to express. For young people, it opens a space where emotions, hopes, dreams can be explored freely, honestly, and without judgment. When a child writes a poem, they are not just completing an assignment.

They are discovering their own voice. Through my work leading poetry workshops across our community, I have seen this transformation firsthand. In partnership with Homes with Hope and alongside Jen Aman, the HEAL program director who's with us tonight, we have brought these workshops to students across Fairfield County since the 2022. We have worked with many students, especially those who might otherwise feel unseen, and we discovered something remarkable. When allowed to write freely, students open up in ways that were honest, courageous, and deeply moving.

Their words revealed resilience, creativity, and vulnerability, and wisdom beyond their years. They also revealed truths about their lives, truths that cannot be ignored and deserve to be heard. These workshops led to the publication of voices of our children, a poetry anthology that is far more than a book. It is a testament to what happens when children are given the tools to express themselves. In these workshops, students explored everything from giving their favorite foods, colors, and nature They're gonna hand out a book to the places they call home.

Witnessing this process was both a privilege and an honor. Knowing that writing can evoke such depth in our young people gives us hope. It reminds us that they now have a pathway understanding growth, healing, and development. When we truly listen to our youth, we often learn just as much from them as they learn from us. This is why poetry deserves a stronger presence in the classrooms. It should not be an occasional exercise. It should be essential. Poetry teaches empathy, creativity, and emotional literacy. It helps children understand themselves and the world around them. It could, and I believe should, one day be considered a required part of the curriculum.

If we truly want to support the well-being of our students academically, emotionally, and socially, we must create spaces where their voices are heard. Poetry is one of the most powerful of those spaces. As we move forward as a community, may we continue to listen not only to each other but to our children. May we create space for reflection in a world that moves too fast. And remember that expression is not a luxury.

It is a necessity for growth, understanding, and connection. I am honored to support this cause in any way I can through conversation, collaboration, or continued programming for our students and our community. After all, poetry is for everyone. Thank you for your time, your leadership, and for everything you do in service of our children and this community. Please rise if you are able for the pledge of allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic

for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, and with justice for all.

Thank you, Sylvia, and thank you, Jen Eamon, for coming along and for running the heal program now for many years at homes of hope and doing a great job there. So thanks for being here. As we discussed, you're welcome to stay, but you're welcome to enjoy your evening. Thank you. I'm follow you guys. Thank you.

I hope you enjoyed the poem. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

A poetry bonding workshop for the RTM. There we go. We could use that maybe after budget season. Thank you. Thanks, guys. Would the deputy moderator call the roll, please?

Yes. Miss Kuykendahl? Here. Mister Mandel? Yes. Miss Purcell? Yep. Mister Tate? Yep.

Mister Keenan?

Might be late. Late.

Miss Levy? Here. Mister Mull? Here. Miss Pitok? Here. Mister Burkhart? Absent. Mister Drake? Here. Mister Izzo? Here. Miss Kopak? Here. Mister Colabella? Here. Mister Lucas? Here. Miss Wiley?

I she's on the phone I think on the are you on the oh, shoot. Didn't call the phone.

Alright. We'll keep going and come back. How's that? Mister Gold? I know I know he's here. Yeah. Miss Kramer? Here.

Mister Lowenstein? Here. Miss Chaum? Here. Miss Banks? Here. Mister Bronstein?

Here.

I am here. Miss Sorrelli? Here. Miss Briggs? Here. Mister Carson? Here. Miss Lautenberg? Here. Mister Kling?

Here.

Miss Bateau? Here. Miss Cohn?

I think miss Cohn is on the phone. But, miss Wiley, are you on the phone? Yes.

I'm here.

Thank you. We sorry for the late dial in. Miss Cohn, I believe, will be on the phone, but not yet.

Okay. Miss Grayson? Here. Mister Newman? Here. Miss Johnson? Here. Miss Kale? Here. Mister Moore? Phone are you on

the phone, mister Moore? Yes. Think he will be. Is that Ms. Cohn or Mr. Moore?

Yes, I'm here.

Ms. Cohn?

I'm here as well.

And Mr. Moore?

Yeah, I'm here. Just got on.

Okay. Just a little trouble with the eye. There we go. But thank you. I we thought you were there, and miss Cohen's here, and miss Wiley's here on the phone. Good.

Okay. Miss Schneeman? Here. And mister Weiser?

Yes.

So including the phone 35.

35.

3034 right now.

And mister Keenan might be here. There are 34 present expecting mister Keenan. Mister Burkhart is going to be absent and mister Moore is on the phone with COVID. Oh, yeah. And speaking of that, we send April birthday greetings tonight to miss Carf.

Happy birthday, mister Colabella, and especially to the aforementioned Addison Moore who, after our budget meetings, if they're short enough, will be the first time he will be able to join us legally at the Spotted Horse for a drink. Not not to give away his age or anything but so happy birthday everybody. Enjoy your birthday month. Are there any RTM announcements or meeting announcements? Yes, Ms. Kofak.

Hi. Pam Kopeck, RTM district three. Who does not love the Memorial Day parade? Who does not love their RTM t shirt? Many of us last year did this. Our friend good friend Julie Wellman, who's no longer with us. You guys can probably hear me because I

on RTM. Thank you.

Yes. She's on yeah. I'm Jesus. Alright. She's not on the RTM. She's no longer in this room. Don't anybody tell her I

did this. She'll

anyway. Anyway, Julie came up with this wonderful idea for the t shirts. We marched last year. It was fun. We had the banner. We had flags. Nobody yelled bad things at us. I was shocked. Everybody in town knows Jimmy Izzo. So unless your name is Jimmy, don't stand next to him during the parade or you'll find out how few friends you have. Your neighbors will come up to you and go, you're in the RTM. So it's it's a wonderful experience. But for those of you who don't have shirts, lost your shirt, want a different size of a shirt, let me know. We have a minimum order of 12. So I'm hoping there are 12 people that need a new shirt.

Get in touch with me. They're 21 or $2 something. I've gotta check. We gotta get the twelve first. So, anyway, if you're interested, let me know. We can get him ordered. He can turn him around pretty quickly, but I'd like turn this around before we all get crazy with the budget. And Memorial Day is May 25, and we will be marching. It

would be great to have a huge turnout this year. It's always good. And possibly the most remarkable thing is I think last year we were marching and I heard three people say thank you RTM. Can you believe it? So there you go. So hope hopefully you can all march. It's a lot of fun if you're not already marching doing something else. Any other RTM announcements? Yes. Ms. Pursell.

Kristen Mott, RTM district one. I do not have my visual aid this year, but the Westport garden club sale is coming up May 9. Please put it on your calendar. This is our biggest fundraiser every year. It's a fun community event held at Jessup Green. Again, it's a Westport garden club plant sale May 9. Please join us.

Thank you, miss Purcell. Yes. Miss Briggs.

I

just wanna let everybody know that the annual Westport Young Women's League Minuteman race is April 25 so we'd love to see as many people and families out there racing. There's a five k, a 10 k, a walk, as well as a kids fun run.

Thank you, miss Briggs. Yes, mister Mandel. There's another surprise. He's back.

Not to Mandel, our team district. Hey, Bill Meyer used to come up here and I'm just continuing the process. You know, twenty some odd years of of him doing it and me doing it. It's great. Three different things. So, all of you know about Your State, Your Business. The Chamber of Commerce put this series together of speakers. We had the controller, we had the secretary of the state, and we had the attorney general last week, and then we landed the the big fish of all, the governor is coming on Monday to speak to the business and the residents community in Westport. So, it's at the Westport Library, 11:00. Sign up at westportwesternchamber.com and we're planning on a big turnout and we're gonna hear what the governor has to say to our community.

So come on out. Concert on May 2, Supper and Soul returns with Vanessa Collier, a phenomenal blues artist who we had play our second Supper and Soul in 2018. And, I was in London and was hunting around for music and lo and behold, headlining the London Blues Festival was Vanessa Collier. So, I went to see her and she was excellent. And then, I walked up to her after the show and I said to her, hey, you remember when you played in that little church in Westport? She goes, yeah. I go, that was my show and by the way, I'm bringing you back. She said, excellent. So, on May 2, phenomenal blues artist is coming, buy your tickets, you can do dinner and concert or concert only. And, coming up on May 17 is the tenth annual Westport Dog Festival.

So, if you don't have a dog, get a dog. If you have a dog, bring the dog and have a good time. It's a real good bark in the park. Thanks.

Thank you, miss Mandel. Mister Izzo.

Jimmy Izzo, RTM three. Unfortunately, I'm not bringing you things like mister Mandel does things for you. I mean, we're so fortunate to have such a great promoter, Don Kirschner, in the house. Just like to let you know that the VFW, every Thursday, has a veterans lunch, which I found out through while I was doing this blue bunny thing with Rita and the hero hero fundraiser. Every Thursday I mean, one third last Thursday of every month. So stop in if you're around. It's wonderful to see the veterans. It's a great lunch. You get to meet people. And if you have any announcements, you can make them there.

And speaking of our fundraisers that we did for Hero to Hero, we raised we raised $40,000. We were lucky to have senator Blumenthal come give us a nice speech, so it worked out well. Five of our firefighters are, graduates of here are the heroes, so it was nice to meet them. So next year, if we do it again, we hope to see you all there. We'll try to put together in more we'll give you more time than a month. Thank you all. Have a great day.

Thank you, mister Rizzo. Mister Colobello.

Indrich Colobello District 4. April 25 fashionably west port in accordance with homes with hope as well as the downtown merchant association will be hosting a fashion runway show. This will be the seventh year and it streams all the local stores of clothing brands as well. There will also be other merchants that will also be involved. I also wanna thank Claudie Shom, Pam Kopak, Julie Wahman, who is still alive but just not on the RTM anymore.

Kristen Schieman, Don O'Dea, Andrew Moore, Jeff Weiser, Jay Keenan, Mike Perry, nancy kale sef brostein mark shornick my treasurer for the sons of the american legion last year we planted roughly close to three almost 3,000 tulip bulbs at the beach as well as little parts of the minuteman statue this now brings the total of 5,586 tulips planted by the rtm in the last couple of years so give yourselves a round of applause come on come on. So they're actually starting to come up now. So over the next couple of weeks, make sure you go and take a look before the deer get them or I get them. I'll be keeping track of those deers. Also, today, the parks and recreation hosted a meeting to interview the two concessionaires for Campo Beach Lawn Shore as well as the halfway house.

It was comprised of myself, Liz higher from the board of finance. We had Michael jinta from parks and recreation and Eric barbieri our director and then we had jerry grove from parks and recreation commission. So we're hoping to have an answer hopefully by the end of the week, possibly next week. And both vendors have promised that if they get the bid that they would be ready to go within the May.

Wow. Great.

Not bad. Right? That'd be pretty good. Currently, right now, the construction down at the marina is supposed to be commencing and finished before Memorial Day. They're actually about a week and a half ahead of schedule from what I've seen, what I've gathered.

And then you have the tidal gates, which if anyone has been down there, it is an amazing structure of what it takes to rebuild those tidal gates by building out that entire bridge plus the close to a 100 ton crane that's out there. It's really fascinating. I'd also like to quickly from the RTM, I'd like to congratulate Eileen Flug on her retirement from the town of Westport. And I'd also like to congratulate Candy Savin, was just appointed as the assistant town attorney for the town of Westport. Both amazing can both amazing attorneys, but also people who really gave back to the town and looking to give more. So thank you.

Thank you, Andrew. Any other r t m announcements? For those of you if you didn't notice the the budget books are up here for those people who requested them. And, if you did not request one and would like a printed one rather than the ones online saving paper, there are a few more in Jeff Dunkerton's office and you can come in and pick them up the next couple days. But there might be one up here with your name on it if you ask for it.

Our next regularly scheduled meeting is May 4 and that will be the town budget. That's Monday, May 4. Tuesday, May 5 is the education budget. In between now and then, there are going to be a lot of committee meetings overlooking the various department budgets. I think just about every committee either has or should meet, so keep keep up with your committee chairs and make sure you can make those meetings because as we all know, that's where a lot of the work gets done in analyzing the budgets before they come to us on May.

So, it's gonna be a busy month, so good luck to all. And so if there are no further announcements, would the deputy moderator read item one of the call?

To take such action as the meeting may determine upon the recommendation of the board of selectmen and the director of human services and in accordance with the policy for gifts to the town to approve acceptance of two gifts to the town from the Friends of the Westport Center for senior activities as follows. I guess I have to return that.

Yeah. Sure.

A donation of 100 stacking club chairs for presentations, lectures, and classes valued at $62,565, and b, donation of up to $40,000 for the installation of an upgraded sound system for all programming rooms. The difference would be paid from the human services WCSA donation account.

Thank you, miss Garfin. Presenting for the administration will be the director of health and human services, Elaine Dano, and the veteran who knows to come up before the before she's

invited. Yeah. No waste of time.

Yeah. You.

Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Elaine Dano, human services.

As Human services.

Yes. Human no health. We like health, but we're just human services. So the stackable chairs, we're so grateful to the friends of the senior center. They've done a tremendous job doing fundraising for us over the years. This particular purchase on behalf of the senior center is a result of a of an intense fundraising effort that they made back in 2019 to help expand the senior center. And the $62,565 donation is essentially going to pay for all of these 100 stacking chairs. While that doesn't sound that exciting, I just wanna point out the reason that we need new chairs is that we've been using the same chair since 2004. So they've lasted this long. They're very good quality.

So we're purchasing the same style chair with better fabric, better. I don't know if it's better, but it's gonna stand up a little bit better than the existing ones are now. And, we are using a state contract, so Inselco is the organization that we're purchasing the chairs from. And initially, we were going to buy them at 25 chairs at a time, but we have determined that it just makes more sense for us to purchase all of the chairs with thanks to the friends of the senior center. We're able to do that in one fell swoop. So happy to answer questions.

And we have a committee report from human health and human services, Wendy Bateau. A hastily prepared committee report, I believe.

Do you want to talk about the sound system first? All right, I'll talk about this. Wendy Bateau District 8. As Jeff mentioned we had our meeting about a half hour ago to go over this and actually covered two donations from the senior center. I don't really have much to add to what Elaine said.

The only thing I would say is that some people have mentioned that the expenses seems fairly large for a 100 chairs. I will say that the senior center membership is growing growing growing in all of its programs and 2025 it offered 100 programs with 85% participation, served 24,000 plus meals, and expanded important on-site services and expanded social connections too. These chairs have been very hard used. They're over they're over 20 years old. They were they were from 2004.

And in order to in order to use the state approved supplier, this was this was the the price that was that was able to be obtained. I should point out that the chairs are really sturdy they get moved around from place to place not just the auditorium not just the dining room but also in the exercise center and in a variety of places so it really is a good deal and thanks to the senior center the friends of the senior center for stepping up and we the committee voted unanimously to recommend that the rtm approve this this appropriation. We also had a meeting about the next item elaine' going to talk about so maybe we should do that before we have a vote on this. Yep yep thank

you the second piece of our request is another approval for another donation from the friends of the senior center this is for a sound system upgrade We have not improved our sound system also since 2004. So this is you know, aside from a microphone and a few projectors, we've done a comprehensive assessment of what our needs are sound wise, and this is a huge opportunity for us to actually get sound all the way through the entire building, all the program rooms so we can both communicate better within the whole system. So we can actually talk to everybody in the senior center if we needed to at one time, but also, you know, having different volumes for different rooms and really accommodating the needs of our seniors. So we're very grateful. The cost of the upgrade is $57,013.

Friends of the senior center have agreed to pay $40,000 towards that project, and we will use money from the Westport senior center escrow fund, is donated funds from the community to close that gap to accommodate the entire sound system upgrade.

Thank you again. Absolutely. Miss Bateau.

Wendy Bateau, district eight. At the same meeting a half hour ago, we discussed this appropriation request for for the sound system I don't know if you've seen the number of programs that the senior center offers but there is always something whether it's an exercise class or a group conversation or a lecture or an actual concert and the concerts range from single individuals to large groups. So the sound system has not been not been improved since 2004 and if you know about electronic equipment and sound equipment that is a very very long time and in this case there really wasn't that much equipment to begin with so they' going to be doing a whole upgrade getting new speakers updated wiring wireless mics they' be able to install the equipment and move it around to all the rooms not just the main dining room and program area and the thing about this one is however there's a slight complication The sound system is not being supplied by a state approved vendor so in order to come up with a price they got three bids and chose one of the vendors. The vendor supplied a contract the contract needed negotiation as per our lawyer so he was negotiating it this week consequently this item hasn' t been approved by the board of select many yet however the attorney I guess it was eileen not ira has said that the contract is fine it'92s coming up with the board of select men tomorrow so the committee recommends there for has recommended unanimously that the rtm approve this conditional on the approval of the board of selectman tomorrow rather than waiting another month to approve the financing so that they can go ahead with getting getting their equipment.

The motions were made by Jack Kling, seconded by Ellen Lautenberg, and both were recommended unanimously.

Thank you, miss Beto. We now turn to the public. Would anyone from the Westport electorate like to comment on these two donations? Anyone from the electorate? Seeing none, do we have a resolution?

Resolved. That from the recommendation of the board of selectmen and the director of human services and in accordance with policy for gifts to the town, the acceptance of two gifts to the town from the Friends of the Westport Center for senior activities are hereby approved. A, a donation of 100 stacking club chairs for presentations, lectures, and classes valued at $62,565 and b, a donation of up to $40,000 for the installation of an upgraded sound system for all programming rooms. The difference will be paid from the human services WCSA donation account. Second.

Thank you, miss Clark. Mister Kling, anyone from the RTM like to comment on this? Yes, mister Kling.

Evening, Jack Ling, District 7. You really didn't think I wouldn't comment on this, did you? As a little background, well, first of all, I rise to urge your support for these two gifts. They are wonderful gifts. They'll enhance the quality of the center, which is already, in my opinion, number one in the state and maybe number one in New England.

A little background. I've been involved with the Board of Friends since its inception in 2001 when the center opened, the new center. I actually was president for about fifteen years. But, I want to tell you the story of how we got these reserve funds to enable us to give them back to the town of Westport. When we were charged with expanding our senior center, I think it was 2019, Elaine said, the Friends went out with a major campaign and raised a mere $325,000 to help pay for that expansion.

The town took 150 right away, leaving us with 175. We spent the next 75 over the last seven years as gifts and capital gifts to the center, leaving us with 100, and so this is the remainder of our reserve fund going to the chairs and the sound system. By telling you ahead of time that we now have no more reserve system, I want you all to pay attention to our fundraiser next year coming up, and not only fund our operations, but help us rebuild our reserve fund. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Kling. Any other members of the RTM like to comment on this item? Good luck following that. Great great background.

Seeing no other comments, we're voting on the following resolution upon the recommendation of the board of selectmen and the director of human services in accordance with the policy of gifts to the town, the acceptance of two gifts to the town from Friends of Westport Center for Senior Activities are hereby approved. A donation of a 100 stacking club chairs for presentation, lectures, and classes valued at $62,565 and because that was already approved by the board of selectmen, I'm gonna say b is subject to approval by the board of selectmen, Donation of up to $40,000 for the installation of an upgraded sound system for all programming rooms. The difference would be paid from the human services WCSA donation account. Right? All in favor?

Any opposed? Any abstentions on the phone? Ms. Cohn?

Yes. Support.

Yep. Mr. Moore? Yes. Ms. Wiley?

Yes.

Great. Unanimous. Thank you very much, miss Dano and miss Bateau. Would the deputy moderator read item two of the call?

To take such sorry. To take such actions, the meeting may determine upon the recommendation of the board of selectmen and request by the arts advisory committee in accordance with the policy for gifts to the town to approve the acceptance of an anonymous donation. Gary Lee Price Circle of Peace, estimated value $50,000 appraisal to come.

Thank you, miss Carf. Presenting for the administration or the town or is the administrator I think the administrator of the Westmore Act collection, if that's what you call yourself, Kathy Benowitz. Thank you.

Yes. Hello. I'm Kathy Benowitz, town curator and member of the Westport Arts Advisory Committee and representing that and the Westport Public Art Collections and the town of Westport Art Collections. Yes. This is a wonderful opportunity.

I need you to look to your packet for a visual on that sculpture. It's a bronze sculpture of three small children, life size, holding hands circle, children, an an absolute joy joyous piece. The history of this piece is that it was actually installed originally. It dates from the nineteen seventies, but it was installed originally at Save the Children here in Westport where it was in in place of the at in the entrance for decades. When Save the Children moved to Fairfield, it relocated to that site.

With Save the Children now diminished to one office building due to the current federal policies and this and funding decisions. The they are not staying at that location, and the donor who had placed it, who is a board member of Save the Children, wants it to be relocated in Westport and specifically asked that it be adjacent to the Westport Library where so many children can enjoy it. We had several site visits to the library with library staff, and we ideally would like it on River down at the Riverwalk, but with the pending changes of Riverwalk and the enhancements that will occur there, we are putting it in a temporary location at the top of by the cafe entrance and the entrance to the main library for it to be greeting people as they come in. And then once the improvements to the Riverwalk area happen, it'll be relocated to the lower area. It's falling within the map of the library's park grounds, which is a relationship they have with the Park and Rec department.

The donor, in addition to donating the sculpture, is going to be donating funds through the Friends of Westpac who will then be a a pay through for the cost of the base, the cost of the move, and also five year of both moves and also five years of its cleaning and maintenance. So it's a very, very generous offer, and it's really going to be an enhancement to the site. The work is by Gary Lee Price, and as we've stated, it's estimated at $50,000 We already presented to the Board of Selectmen, it was approved. But because of the clip level at $20,000 it has to come to the RTM. And yesterday we met with the LMA committee and they recommended it move forward.

We've also been working with our zoning, and PNC has approved the location. So we've been simultaneously tracking that and gone through all the processes that are appropriate to move the location. I'd like to read a letter from both the donor and from Bill Harmer. The donor writes, for literally thousands of children over the decades that will be charmed and enchanted by these bronze dancing cheerful youth, I'm grateful for all of you to for making this possible. Bill Harmer writes, on behalf of the Westport Library, I wish to express how honored we are to be the future home of Gary Price's circle of peace.

This is a meaningful and powerful work, and its presence at the library will add a profound artistic and symbolic dimension to our campus. It reflects our shared commitment to community, connection, and the free exchange of ideas. We are grateful for the care and thoughtfulness that has gone into this process, and we look forward to working together as the approval process moves forward. The proposed placement near the library entrance and eventually along the river walk feels especially fitting and will create a welcoming, inspiring experience for all who visit. Thank you again for the leadership and partnership to bringing this to life.

We look forward to celebrating this addition to Westport's public art collection. With appreciation, Bill Harmer. So I'm happy to answer any questions.

Great. We'll have a committee report from Library, Museum, and Arts from miss Kramer.

Karen Kramer, RTM five. Well, the purpose of the meeting we had the meeting yesterday to cover the special meeting to accept this wonderful gift. Personally, I love that statue. I my family lived down that way and every time I passed I said, getting home. It's a wonderful statue and so we are accepting it.

The LMA committee meeting with our wonderful chair Christian Purcell, Brandy Briggs, Adam Drake, Wendy Bateau, Candace Banks, and myself Karen. We are very grateful. Kathy Benowitz of the Advisory Arts Committee presented the history in terms of the proposed donation. The sculpture previously she says, so to save the children Westport when save the children relocated to Fairfield, the sculpture moved with them. Due to space constraints at the Fairfield location, we are lucky enough that the sculpture is no longer able to remain there.

And as she said, the anonymous donor has donated the sculpture valued at 50,000 to the Westport Advisory Arts Council with the express hope that it will be displayed on the grounds of the Westport Public Library. The donor has committed to funding five years of ongoing maintenance costs, all moving and installation costs, and cement footings will be provided by the library. After the initial five year period, the advisory arts council will assume responsibility for ongoing maintenance costs. And we already heard the placement plan but I'm supposed to say it again, while the library undergoes ground reconstruction the sculpture will be temporarily installed on the pavilion side of the building upon completion of the grounds it'll be permanently relocated to the Jessup Green side of the library Full details are included in the presentation provided by you. And all I can say is we're very grateful.

Personally, to me, it is the best. Thank you very much.

Thank you, captain.

Thank you, miss Graemer. Do we we now turn to the electorate? Does anyone from the Westport public like to comment on this gift? Anyone from the Westport public? Seeing none, do we have a resolution?

Resolved that upon the recommendation of the board of selectmen and request by the arts advisory committee, in accordance with policy for gifts to the town, the acceptance of an anonymous donation, Gary Lee Price, circle of peace, estimated value of $50,000 is hereby approved.

Thank you miss Garth. Mister Kling, any members of the RTM like to comment on this donation? Any members of the RTM? Yes, mister Mall.

Lewis Mall District 2. I always wonder who mr and mrs anonymous are they certainly are very generous and I just clicked off what was it, a $167,000 of gifts tonight. But thank you, Kathy. And since you do know who the donor is, would you express to them our thanks? Absolutely. Thank you.

Thank you, mister Mull. Great point. Anyone else from the RTM? Seeing none, we're voting on the following resolution. Resolved that upon the recommendation of the board of selectman and a request by the arts advisory committee in accordance with the policy for gifts to the town, the acceptance of anonymous donation, Gary Lee Price, Circle of Peace, estimated value of $50,000 is hereby approved. All those in favor? Any opposed? Any abstentions? Miss Wiley on the phone?

Yes.

Mr. Moore?

Yes.

Ms. Cohn?

Yes.

It's unanimous and we're still at 33? No, 30.

24. 30. 34.

34. 34 to nothing.

And I wrote 24.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. Happy. Great job. And would you reach item three of the call, please?

To take such action as the meeting may determine upon the recommendation of the board of selectmen in accordance with policy for gifts to the town to prove the acceptance of a donation in the amount of approximately $27,175 from the owners of 455 Post Road East for the purpose of funding roadway improvements on East Main Street in the vicinity of Whitney Glen Drive and acting as the local traffic authority to approve the installation of a new crosswalk, two rectangular rapid flashing beacon signs, and related sidewalk improvements at that location.

Might just touch that every once in a while to keep it up. Sure. Otherwise and hopefully

Good evening david ginter from redness amide here on behalf of the owners of 455 Post Rodeast here with me this evening is rick redness as well. We are currently in front of the planning and zoning commission for the redevelopment of the former Humane Society property at 455 Post Road East. As part of that process that we're currently going through, we are working with our neighbors at Whitney Glen, the condo association located right here to our north and west. As part of our ongoing discussions with the neighbors to make sure that they are satisfied with this proposed development, They had some raised some concerns regarding safety for their residents as it pertains to crossing of East Main Street. As some of you may know, that is a senior, type development.

I believe the average age is somewhere around 77. And folks, do frequently, go from their, units in Whitney Glen to the shopping plaza across the street. And East Main Street can be a very busy road with many cars traveling at fairly fast speeds, especially coming down from Post Road. It is a one lane road right

in front

of their property. It converts back to a two way road with sight distances being a little difficult for any of you who have traveled down there. So we are proposing to improve the situation, the walking situation, for the folks at Whitney Glen by installing sidewalks along their front of their property. They have an existing sidewalk network that comes down their entrance drive right over here. We are proposing to install sidewalks to connect them to East Main Street along the frontage of their property to a new crosswalk located right at the entrance and egg the rear entrance and exit of the shopping center.

That crosswalk will be equipped with the rapid flashing, beacons. So the the stop or the, crosswalk signs that you can hit the button, and you can see the lights start to flash to alert oncoming traffic that, hey. There is somebody entering the crosswalk. Please slow down. Let the pedestrians travel forth. This is all being done by the developer of 455 Post Road East. All of the work will be done by them. And, upon completion, the town of Westport will be, taking on, all future maintenance, of this. I think that'92s everything. If you have any questions happy to address them.\

We have a committee report from the transit committee, Ms. Levy. And thank you, I didn't introduce Mr. Guenter and Rick Redness from Redness and Mead who are here as representing the owners.

You, David. Melissa Levy, RTM district two and transit committee chair. David I mean, I'm just gonna be repeating basically what he just said. David Ginter of Redness and Meade presented the committee with information on the donation of a sidewalk crosswalk and two rapid flashing beacons on East Main Street. There were a few questions about the exact location, amount of sidewalk being laid down, and who would maintain the sidewalk.

Mister Ginter was able to show us on a map with the drawings the exact location of where the work would be completed. It is roughly a 100 feet of sidewalk, and the town has agreed to be responsible for the maintenance after the donation is completed. This proposal received the approval of the first Lechman's office last week. It also received approval by the board of Whitney Glen Drive Association. I don't know what their association is called. The general consensus from the transit committee was that it was a very well intended and generous donation being made to help members of our community. I made a motion, which was seconded by Claudia Schomm, and the vote was unanimous in favor of accepting this donation. Thank you.

I'll do this from up here. Thank you, in case we need the the map at all. Thank you, Ms. Levy. Any members of the public like to comment on this? Yes, please. Come on up.

My name is Carl Morton I'm a resident of Whitney Glen and a board member I just wanted to thank the r t m for this as well as cold still and Rick redness and the four fifty five corporation because this is something that is very needed in our community as you know it is a senior residence and a lot of people have had concern about this crossing so they are very much appreciating what is being done thank you.

Thank you very much very helpful input anyone else from the public like to address this? Alright seeing none. Do we have a resolution?

I think it's time for the new technology.

Yeah. Right.

Yes. We have a resolution then the RTM comments.

Sorry. Resolved

that upon the recommendation the board is selected in accordance with the policy for gifts to the town, the acceptance of a donation in the amount of approximately $27,175 from the owners of 455 Post Road East for the purpose of funding roadway improvements on East Main Street in the vicinity of Whitney Glen Drive and acting as local traffic authority to approve the installation of a new crosswalk, two rectangular rapid flashing beacon signs, and related sidewalk improvements at that location is hereby approved.

Thank you, miss Garth. Mister Kling, now would any member of the RTM miss Johnson, come on down.

You you think after being on this body for six years, I'd remember the process. But, anyway, hi. Jennifer Johnson, RTM district nine. Thank you. Thank you. Obviously, this is any any inch of sidewalk we can get, and and the chance that we are going to additional funding is fabulous. I do just have some questions. I am very familiar with this stretch as it's part of my regular travel pattern off the post road onto onto beyond where I end up living. But and and so I am very excited to see this development going because it for one reason, it does create a walkable sidewalk on the post road, which is I I believe. Right? You're gonna be putting a sidewalk there. Has this project been

Who?

Approved at this point by the P and Z? No. Okay. So it's still pending. I'm sorry. I the the map

was the

map the map was really helpful. So what I was trying could

you bring the map back up?

Oh. Oh, there. No. Did you bring the map?

If we don't need it, it's okay. But if you do you wanna point

I just wanna visually point out things for us to oh, I'm sorry. Did I blow it? Thank you. So the stretch that's as you go down East Main Street, will there be sidewalks added on that portion of the property that Coastal has developed? And can we? Because I I believe that as RTM district representatives, we wanna kinda see things in the context. So is there a sidewalk as you continue down East Main Street, on the coastal property gonna be a part of, this of the development? Do you know?

On the coastal property, yes.

Right. But then when you get to the adjoining property, there's no I'm speaking right from Yeah.

Rick Redness. Yes.

Okay. So because what I'm trying to look is we're looking to figure out ways to improve network connectivity in our town and obviously leverage wonderful donations, I'm calling the attention to the need to connect to that new piece of sidewalk on East Main Street across the private property, appears not to be part of this project. I don't know if you know anything about the status of that. And it would be great if the sidewalk that you guys are putting in actually is the entire frontage of the winter what any green Glen property so we can create ultimately figure out a way to create a a full network of sidewalks. Because once you create that sidewalk on the post road, there are gonna be people traveling down that, and that is a speedway.

So I'm raising attention to that. We have sidewalk projects around. So I'm hoping that as part of as you move through the PNC approval process, I'm standing here to advocate for that in addition to the wonderful donation that you guys are giving. I don't so I'm just raising that issue. Is there anything you wanna say about that? Because I've one other

I can say is I I did watch there was a pre application before PCC on that property. Okay. Hasn't moved forward at this point, but, obviously, someone is thinking about that redevelopment for the future. And at that time, they would go on their property and do what they need to do. But we are taking our the entire frontage that we have and improving that.

Let's talk about okay. Great. And then one other question. So this donation is 27,000 for a 100 feet and a beacon. Right?

Yeah. That's the net cost.

The net cost. So I I will have an opportunity on item five where we are looking at $500,000 for a beacon and 800 feet of sidewalk. So I know that each project isn't necessarily the same, but the cost differential between how we're creating sidewalks and able to build them for 27,000 with a beacon versus one area for a half 1,000,000 is something that we I think would be helpful as the body, not you guys, to consider.

Well, again, this doesn't have hard I mean, this doesn't have soft costs and processing. The the donation is net of just the work in the field. So there's no profit overhead design, etcetera, is is not a part of that number.

Okay.

So so what you're accepting is the sidewalk in that hard cost.

Okay. Fine. Thank you. Thank you very much, and thank you.

Thank you.

Any other RTM members like to comment on this? Mister Mandel?

Matthew Mandel, RTM District one. So the people cross from Whitney Glen over into the retail area. At that point, maybe call it back up, what kind of warning or protection are there to be? So if you look up where it says curb walk r r r r f p, you're making that left over the thing. Now you're sitting there and you're walking through a middle of a parking lot.

What kind of designation might there be on the ground so that they can walk across it? A visual designation. I think that should be added for the protection of the people who are now walking in the parking lot. Now, obviously, the status quo would be to leave it, but I think a good improvement would be to have some kind of line saying this is where they're walking so when they're going across, people can see it and understand it and they'll stay in that area. So that's my suggestion. Otherwise, thanks for doing it.

Any other other other stayed in the kitchen? You wanna come up? Touch this so it keeps

I up don't need the name. Well, maybe. Yeah. Okay.

Christian Schneeman, district nine. Thank thank you for for doing this. I have two questions. One was brought on by Jenny's question, which is if this is only hard cost, is it possible the town will incur other costs related to this soft cost or others? Is this essentially all this is gonna cost, or is there gonna be cost to the town? The applicant is providing all those

I'm sorry. Sorry. The applicant is providing all those costs, so there's no cost to the town.

So there won't be. Okay.

Just going forward maintenance.

Great. My other question is just from a I assume public safety gets involved at some point. That's probably more part of the p n z process, but I just know that there there all there always seem to be a lot of rules about where crosswalks can go from and to and other rules associated with sidewalks. So I'm assuming that public safety will weigh in on whether this is all feasible.

Yeah. So traffic safety did attend the board of selectman meeting two weeks ago with us, they were okay with with the location of this.

Okay. Great. Thank you.

Anyone else from the RTM? Seeing none, I'm going to take my computer back.

Thank you very much.

Thank you. And would you just push that till it goes off? Yep. We are voting on the following resolution.

Sorry?

Oh. That upon the recommendation of the board of selectmen, in accordance with the policy for gifts of the town, the acceptance of donation in the amount of approximately $27,175 from the owners of 455 Post Road East for the purpose funding roadway improvements on East Main Street in the vicinity of Whitney Glen Drive and acting as the local traffic authority to approve the installation of a new crosswalk two rectangular rapid flashing beacon signs and related sidewalk improvements at that location is hereby approved. All those in favor? Any opposed? Mr. Moore?

Yes.

Ms. Cohen?

Yes.

Ms. Wiley?

Yes.

Unanimous 34 to nothing. Thank you and thank you to the owners of 455 Post Road.

Thank you very

much. Thank you. Okay. Would the deputy moderator read item four of the call?

To take such action as the meeting may determine upon the recommendation of the board of finance and request by the director of public works to approve an appropriation in the amount of 1,870,000 along with bond and note authorization to the sewer reserve fund account for the design and construction for the upgrades to Pump Station Number 10 and its force main.

Brian Thompson, WPCA general manager. I'll be presenting for Peter.

Great. Thank you.

This request is 1,870,000.00 for the rebuild of Pump Station 10 located at 407405 Greens Farms Road on the Fairfield Town line near the Greens Farms Bridge. It was originally built in 1979, services the east quadrant of town from about Maple Avenue South, Maple Avenue North to the town line and as far north as the Hunt Club. Its design capacity is five sixty five gallons per minute or 813,000 gallons per day. It goes through a 10 inch force main that comes from the pump station that travels westerly on Greens Farms Road up Buckley Avenue South through the stop and shop parking lot and up along the state right of way up to its discharge point at Maple Avenue South and Post Road. Originally installed in 1979, all the components of the station are original.

Electrical, alarm system, pumps, valving, wet well, the brick and mortar of the building, the roof, everything. It's the transformer. With this rebuild which will be the eighth rebuild of a pump station we've done in the past ten years over a total of 17 stations, all these components will be upgraded to today's technology and should have about a fifty year life on it. The force main is a three phase project the first will be the design and installation of the new force main starting about the center of stop and shop parking lot the main entrance, from there westerly has all been lined in place with a slip lining production to avoid excavation and conflicts with current utilities especially the three forty five kilovolt line that was put in several years ago by Eversource. The lower section from the middle of Stop and Shop down coming down Stop and Shop parking lot to Buckley Avenue South turning on Greens Farms, that will be relocated to a newly acquired easement through the rear parking lot of 1850 Post Road East, the HomeGoods property, just West properties.

That will be the first phase of the project once the new force main is in and up and operational, the valving, the pumps, the electrical, the transformer, the control panels, and the alarm system will all be upgraded subsequent to that. Hopefully, the force the window of opportunity we have for the force main as developed as defined by the property owner and their tenants of the building are between August 1 and must be completed by October 1. That's a very large window to install this line through that property. The second phase again will be to rebuild the pump station. The brick and mortar is fine.

The components will be all upgraded. The wet well where it is pumped from will all be sealed to preserve that concrete as you know, with breakdown of sewage, it creates hydrogen sulfides which eat away the concrete. We can line that and preserve that brick and mortar. The third phase will be the restoration of the parking lot, the rear parking lot of eighteen fifty post release. In negotiations of this, there was no monetary transaction but just the restoration of their back parking lot in lieu of them giving us the easement.

That work will be done a year after the completion so sometime May '27. So it's quite a long project to get completed in that three phase situation. I think that's about it for Pump Station 10, if you have any questions.

Thank you. Stumpster. We have a a report joint committee report by miss Kail, public works and finance.

Nancy Kail, RTM district nine. I'm, providing a report tonight on behalf of the finance and public works committees. We met on March 18. Attendees included members of both those committees plus Pete Rakowitz and Brian Thompson. So what is this?

It's a 1,870,000.00 appropriation with bond and note authorization for design and construction upgrades to Pump 10 and is forced main. The funds will be placed in a sewer reserve fund for project costs and debt service, the why. This pump station was installed in 1979 and has reached its the end of its life. The system has experienced ongoing leaks and deterioration. We have appropriated and repairs have been made previously to many portions, but remaining sections require a full upgrade.

And this project is in the capital plan for this year. The project scope was detailed approximately eight twenty feet of force main upgrading electrical and mechanical systems the reroute is a portion of the line via the easement at 850 Post Road East is important the reroute will reduce the system length improve reliability and minimize construction disruption. The three phases were outlined the timeline for the project is a spring twenty twenty six start extending into 2027 due to the phased work and the coordination requirements. The context this is part of the town' long term effort to modernize aging sewer infrastructure It's part of multiple pump stations that have been upgraded over the past ten years. The engineering design was competitively bid with favorable pricing.

That's right.

Yeah. Okay.

And the town has a strong

two for that'92s that'92s that'ninety that'92s

and fees the current balance is approximately 2.2 to $2,400,000 and annual contributions from sewer users are $100,000 to $200,000 This fund supports ongoing capital and operating needs for these sewer projects. And while smaller projects are usually funded by the sewer fund reserves themselves, larger projects like this one are typically bonded. And this approach will preserve the reserves for future needs including aging stations elsewhere such as on Imperial Avenue. In conclusion the committees determined that the project represents a necessary investment in critical infrastructure and aligns with the town's capital improvement strategy. The votes finance committee Jill Grayson Jill Grayson motioned and Pam Kopech seconded six zero zero public works Jackling motioned and Gail Kuykendall seconded seven zero zero.

Thank you miss Gail we now turn to the westward electorate would anyone from the public like to speak to this item anyone from the public seeing no one do we have a resolution

Resolved that upon the recommendation of the board of finance and request by the director of public works, the sum of $1,870,000 along with bond and note authorization to the sewer reserve fund account for the design and construction for the upgrades to Pump Station Number 10 and its forced main is hereby appropriated.

Thank you miss Garth. Mister Kling, any member of the r t m like to comment on this item? Any member of the r t m? Seeing none, we'll vote on the following resolution that resolved it upon the recommendation of the board of finance and a request by the director of public works, the sum of 1,870,000 along with bond and note authorization to sewer reserve fund account for the design and construction of the upgrades to Pump Station Number 10 and its source main is hereby appropriated. All those in favor? Any opposed? Miss Cohn on the phone?

Yes. Rachel Cohn.

Miss Riley?

Yes.

And Mr. Moore? Yes. And Mr. Keenan is here so he's voting. Yes. So we're at 35 to nothing. Thank thank you. Boy, that was easy. Jeez. Thank you very much. Thanks, mister Thompson. Would the deputy moderator read item five of the call, please?

To take such actions, the meeting may determine upon the recommendation of the board of finance and the request by the director of public works to approve an appropriation in the amount of $995,000 along with bond and note authorization to the educational facilities improvement fund account for parking lot repaving, curbing, and sidewalk improvements at Saugusuck Elementary School and Kings Highway Element Elementary School.

Thank you, miss Carr. Presenting for the administration will be mister Barakowicz. So let's make it really hard for him. The last one was way too easy.

Please do.

So you'll really enjoy retirement.

For the record a hundred and five days. Evening. Pete Ratcliffe, director of public works. This is one of the last three schools that we are taking on the paving for. We started a program at the request of the board of finance where we took over all the paving for the school parking lots back in twenty COVID years.

We have gone through the Coleytown Complex except for Coleytown Middle. We've gone through Staples at Bedford. We did some work at Long Lots. We completely redid Greens Farms. So these last two, Saugatuck and Kings Highway, they're gonna be sorry.

Two of the last three. The last one will be Coleytown Middle because we anticipate that Long Lots will be completely reconfigured and done when the school is is completed. It's about a 135 or a 136,000 square feet of pavement between the two schools. One of the reasons that this is a little more expensive than road paving is of the configuration of all the lots. It's very complicated to pave these in an efficient manner.

So the estimate is based on higher rates than we use for road paving, which is a linear project. Basically, we will be bidding this out in this month, getting bids in just before the project starts as school closes and we'll have about eight weeks to get the work done before school opens again. And this was shown in the ten year capital forecast at a funding level of about $1,000,000. So the estimate is pretty close to it. In the package for the Board of Finance, there's a number of aerial photographs that make it very obvious that the maintenance on these has been done.

But you can see numerous crack seals all the parking lots that we're gonna be redoing. And it's usually, we only do crack sealing once or twice. These have actually been crack sealed probably four or five times. So it's one of the reasons that they're in such poor condition. With that, I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, mister Ratcliffe. We have a joint committee report from mister Colabella from finance and public works.

A hundred and five days?

Actually, hundred and two.

Hundred and two. There you go. I don't think you should leave, but that's just my opinion. Andrew Colabella, District 4. The finance and public works joint committee met Wednesday, March 18 at 7PM to review and request the public works department for the expenditure of $995,000 as Pete had discussed that this was something that the town had taken over starting in 2020 going through all the parking lots throughout the eight public schools.

It was pointed out on town gs map where each of the areas scheduled to be paved were located and discussed, the condition of the existing paving. If you go through the current parking lots right now, there's a lot of heaving. You have cracks, and even the crack sealant is not strong enough to uphold that. If you crack seal, usually, you have, like, a lifespan of not even two years at that because once water gets in there, it goes down, freezes, pops, and it comes up. Average lifespan of asphalt is usually twenty to twenty five years if it's done properly.

But being in the Northeast, nothing is guaranteed. The committee has asked several questions regarding asphalt pricing, scheduling around school and sports and whatnot. This meeting was audio recorded for anyone who has an interest in listening to it. I think it's pretty good, some of our best work. But it was unanimous from both committees. Thank you.

Thank you mister Golubella we now turn to the westward electorate anyone from the public like to comment on this paving item anyone from the electorate seeing none do we have a resolution

Resolved that upon the recommendation of the board of finance and request by the director of public works, the sum of $995,000 along with bond and note authorization to the educational facilities improvement fund account for parking lot repaving, curbing, and sidewalk improvements at Saugatuck Elementary School and Kings Highway Elementary School is hereby appropriated.

Second.

Thank you, miss Garth. Mister Kling, anyone from the RTM like to comment on this? Yes. Miss Levy.

Hi. Melissa Levy, RTM district two. Just a quick question for Pete. I was talking to Seth about this and asked if the question came up about oil prices skyrocketing and how that might affect the pricing as you go out to bid.

That's a great question, but I don't have an answer for it.

Not that you're yeah. Not not that you're gonna know what the price is at this time, but what I guess, if the price is more, what happens to our process? Do we have to

Well, the reactivity of the cost of asphalt binder is a lot slower than than the gas prices at the pump. So, you know, it has to first, it would have to be escalated. The oil prices would have to escalate for, you know, a couple of months, and then it would filter through to this process of making asphalt. We're pretty confident in our numbers here, being conservative. If for some reason oil goes up to $200 a gallon, then we may have to come back and talk to you for another appropriation.

But I at this the reason that we're doing the bid in April and then get a contractor in May and start paving immediately is so that the bid price for asphalt is fairly close to when they're laying down the asphalt. In all of our asphalt bids, there is an escalation clause, and it works both ways. If the binder price goes up, we have to pay that escalation per formula. And if asphalt price goes down, we get paid per formula. So, unfortunately, geopolitical events are completely out of my control.

So I don't know what's gonna happen with the prices. But we we will We may have to come back but I I don't I don't anticipate it at this time.

Okay. Thank you.

Thank you miss Levy. Any other questions from the RTM? Any other questions? Seeing none we're voting on the following resolution that resulted upon the recommendation of the board of finance and request by the director of public works, a sum of $995,000 along with bond and note authorization to the educational facilities improvement fund account for parking lot repaving, curbing, and sidewalk improvements at Saugatec Element ary School and Kings Highway Elementary School is hereby appropriate. All those in favor? Any opposed? Any abstentions? And Ms. Wiley on the phone?

Yes.

Mister Moore?

Yes.

And miss Cohen?

Yes.

That's unanimous 35 to nothing. Thank you again, mister Rakowitz. Could the I would the deputy moderator read item six of the call?

To take such action is the meeting may determine upon the recommendation of the board of finance and the request by the director of public works to approve an appropriation in the amount of $495,000 along with bond and note author authorization to the municipal improvement fund account 30503310500489 for the construction of a mid block crosswalk signal and associated sidewalk improvements of Wisteria Lane and Easton Road.

Great. Welcome back

to Keith Wilberg department of public works presenting on behalf of Mr. Rakowitz a hundred days a little context with this because it can be a little confusing we started looking at doing sidewalks on Eastern Road literally in Covet in 02/2021 we were pursuing at that point a lot sit program for about 8,000 linear feet of sidewalk. If you recall some of the history back in twenty twenty two twenty twenty three we were also doing a whole series of traffic and pedestrian safety meetings and so while we were trying to get approval for our lots of project there were a whole lot of people who lived over on Wisteria Lane Rocky Field Road Warnoch Drive who had a very serious problem with their children crossing the street at Wisteria Lane to get on the West Side of Easton Road and walk up to the Cullytown campus. To the point where we met with the deputy police chief ryan Paulson and we met with several people out there several different times and this was as the ball was rolling so to speak to try to get our approval for the lots of project we weren't sure when we were going to get that sometimes the state projects don't come so quickly or as quickly as we would like.

So in 2024 we decided because of the public outcry in West Area Lane we couldn't wait for state approval and what we did was we broke out eight fifty linear feet of sidewalk and we checked with the DOT if they would be okay with us putting in a crosswalk, a mid block crosswalk which they generally don't like and an RRFB. Lo and behold they were so we decided to make a special project out of this by pulling eight fifty linear feet out of the larger projects of the sidewalk that''s going to go from Western Road up to Cooley Town Road. It is on Eastern Road it is not the same project that I think there was an appropriation for recently for the design of the lots of projects this is a standalone project for eight fifty linear feet of sidewalk a mid block crosswalk and it' going to serve the people from again, Easton Road, Wisteria Lane, Rocky Field Road, that area. So two separate projects. This is a standalone project that we are going to be paying for separately than the lots of project.

So towards that end, we went to the board of finance for 495,000 for the request. That's the price we've gotten from our design engineer. Subsequent to finding or going for the appropriation, we found out low and behold the town received a low SIP different program grant of about $404,000 that will be reimbursable towards this project we still need to request the $4.95 but when we' have the sidewalk built we can put in basically the bills and the 404,000 losip grant has been earmarked towards this project. To get ahead of perhaps the impending questions too that I heard referenced why is this eight fifty linear feet of sidewalk and an rrfb four ninety five thousand whereas the other one was much much less. This project has everything that gives me headaches for sidewalks.

If you go there and look at it and I do urge you to drive out there, starting on the corner of Wisteria Lane, there's a steep bank, a big tree, and a hill and a stone wall that needs to be cut into there. We need to dig into the side of the wall to put our landing. Across the way on the west side of Easton Road, We've been working with the people at 49 Easton Road. They've been fantastic. But they have both an upgrade and a downgrade there, and there's no other place to put the landing, the equipment for the RRFB without doing extensive grading, both cut and fill, moving stone walls so that we can get a five foot sidewalk in, moving utility poles that are in the way because now we're gonna be cutting down into it, and removing several large trees.

So sidewalks sometimes can be more difficult to shoehorn into a space than a road. So I hope that at least in some part answers the question why is this one more expensive than the other one. I hesitate always to give a price on a sidewalk cause I say it depends it depends it depends. But that's the gist of it and that's what this project is. I'd be glad to answer any questions on this.

Thank you, mister Roeborg. We have a committee report by miss Kopak, joint public works and finance.

Pam Kopak, RTM district three. Everything Keith already said, in fact, he also got back to me and explained to me LOTSIP versus LOTSIP, which is very confusing. But the the key to that is we said, you know, why are we getting all this low this money for Westport? And LOTSIP, we just get. Am I doing this right? LOTSIP, you apply for. And Public Works has been trying more in recent years to apply for more grants and things. So we are getting the funding for it. So this thing, the lot low SIP money is here available. We're gonna get that $404,000.

So this really is costing us $50. This makes this project makes me happy because tonight we have hopefully approved projects money for two places that I travel a lot, Main Street and this, that are just horrible speedways. So I'm hoping this slows it down. We had both committees unanimously approved, and that's

it.

Thank you, miss Goebak. Would we turn to the Westport Electorate. Would anyone from the public like to comment on this item? Anyone from the Westport Electorate? Seeing none, do we have a resolution?

Resolved that upon the recommendation of the board of finance and request by the director of public works, the sum of $495,000 along with bond and note authorization to the municipal improvement fund account 3 0503310Dash500489 for the construction of a mid block crosswalk signal and associated sidewalk improvements with Sierra Lane and Eastern Road is hereby approved appropriated.

Thank you. Thank you, miss Garth. Mister Kling, any member of the RTM like to comment on this? Yes miss grayson

So as I've mentioned before, this is really important to me because this is where I am. But we talked about going from Wisteria to Pony Lane. Sorry. We talked about going from Pony Lane to Wisteria. Can someone explain?

Miss Grayson, say your name next week. Well, you got they're not ready. That's okay.

Jill Grayson, District 8.

Still Kehoe Wilberg. This breakout project is from Pony Lane up to Brooklawn. The bigger project was originally, before this was broken out of it, was from about Weston Road, little bit further north of Weston Road all the way up to Coleytown. So you had the big one. We're taking out a smaller piece of it that goes from Pony Lane to Brooklawn, North of Wisteria.

Okay. So from Pony Lane to Brooklawn

to the left. Microphone.

And then a crosswalk

at Crosswalk. That's correct. Microphone, plea

That's correct.

Anyone

else from the RTM? Yes. Miss Johnson.

Me again. Jennifer Johnson. First off, obviously, Fabley is doing more sidewalk projects. I have two requests that I think we would all be interested in. We have a 123 miles of roughly of town road and sidewalks and neighborhoods where we can safely cross our priorities for all of our residents.

And we have limited money and limited grant funding and a limited staff time to just decide what projects we're gonna do. So I'm obviously gonna support this project, but I think as an RTM member and as an RTM in general, I think we would probably like to have a little more voice into understanding which projects are chosen. And because we have this particular project, while I totally respect it was a yellow bucket item in one study, it is not on the safe streets for all study. It was not on a priority road or a priority list on that matrix that we had about, I think, 4 or $500,000 worth of a study done by a professional agency that came in and consolidated all of our efforts and said this is the based on hot spots analysis, this is where we might wanna be putting our limited time and limited money. So I have two requests that we figure out a better way to have the RTM engaged in understanding when you guys go for projects.

And I also think it would be super helpful because I did listen to that very excellent RTM finance and public works recording that Andrew had mentioned. And in it and Nancy Cale raises an excellent point that I think it'd be super helpful for the community as a whole to just and I know that this is a moving target all the time, but it would be helpful to know what grants we're going for, what grants we have received, and where those things stand. And I think that that is not hard to give that information to the public so we can all feel a little bit a part of this because with a 123 miles of private public road, and this project is a mile and a half, and it's in the end of 4 and a half million dollars, and it doesn't even have a bike lane. I think we we have to just kinda understand some of these choices that we're making. But, again, I think this is gonna be a wonderful project, and I do thank you guys for your all your efforts on it.

Thanks.

Thank you miss Johnson. Yes miss Bateau.

Wendy Bateau, District 8. Thank you to Pete and Keith and the Public Works people. As a practical matter, this is a necessary improvement. This is a very dangerous area. If you think about what Keith was mentioning, keeping him up at night, imagine the parents of the kids who walk along there. It is a dangerous area and it really does need to be improved and whatever else happens as we go forward thinking about how we're going to apply for grants and so on That's fine but as a practical matter now please vote for this.

Thank you Ms. Bechteau. Anyone else from the RTM like to comment on this item? Anyone else? Seeing none we're voting on the following that upon Resolved that upon the recommendation of the Board of Finance and a request by the Director of Public Works the sum of $495,000 along with bond and note authorization to the Municipal Improvement Fund account 30503310Dash500489 for the construction of the mid block crosswalk signal and associated sidewalk improvements at Wisteria Lane and Easton Road is hereby appropriated. All those in favor? Any opposed? Any abstentions? Ms. Wiley?

Yes.

Ms. Cohn?

Yes.

And Mr. Moore?

Yes.

Great. 35 to zero. Thank you. And would the deputy moderator read item seven of the call?

To take such such actions, the meeting may determine upon the recommendation of the r t m transit committee to appoint a Westport resident to serve as director to the Westport transit district for a term beginning 05/01/2026 and ending 04/30/2030.

Thank you miss Garfin. Thank you mister Wilberg and mister Reckowicz.

Thank you.

Good night. Presenting for the town and the transit committee is the chair of the transit committee, miss Levy.

Hi there. Melissa Levy, RTM district two, chair of the transit committee. The committee convened in an executive session at approximately 06:25 last night to conduct interviews for the position of codirector of the Westport Transit District for the twenty twenty six, twenty thirty term. Prior to this, we sent out a public notice for a search for the next term for the co director position. It was posted on March 4, and potential candidates had through the March to submit their applications.

The following candidates applied and were interviewed last night. Sal Lechione, he was a former r RTM district nine member, and Peter Gold, the current Westport transit co director and RTM district five member. Each candidate was asked a consistent set of questions focused on their qualifications, prior problem solving, and operational experience, and their vision and strategy for addressing Westport's transit needs. Following the interviews, the committee deliberated on the candidate's professional experience. Members shared their perspectives on each candidate's strengths and potential contributions.

And after the discussion, the committee agreed it was ready to proceed to a vote. Based on the deliberations, the committee determined that Peter Gold's extensive experience and deep knowledge make him well suited to continue serving in the role of co director. By a vote of eight in favor, with one recusal, Peter Gold being that recusal, and one abstention, Jill Grayson, the RTM transit committee recommends that the full RTM reappoint Peter Gold as codirector of the Westport Transit District. Thank you. Thanks, Peter.

Thank you, miss Levy. We turn to the Westport Electorate. Would anyone from the Westport Electorate like to comment on this? Yes. Thank you,

Good evening. Karina Bedford, Westport Transit. I stand before you tonight with great enthusiasm and recommend that we appoint Peter Gold as director of Westport Transit. As his fellow co director, I've had the privilege of working alongside Peter directly. And I can say without reservation that he is among the most dedicated and effective public public servant Westport has been fortunate to have in its corner.

Since joining the Westport Transit District together, Peter and I have accomplished a great deal. Most notably, we have made the microtransit model a success in Westport. We've expanded service well beyond the commuter rail corridor to establish reliable transit options for our seniors and other residents who depend on public transportation in their daily lives. We have achieved all of this while ridership has grown and our budget has decreased. That is a reflection of how hard Peter and I work to find best and most effective or efficient ways to serve our, Westport community without compromise.

Every dollar is scrutinized, every opportunity is pursued, and the results speak for themselves. A cornerstone of that success has been Peter's approach to contract negotiations. He is meticulous in his review of contract language, ensuring that every provision clearly and unambiguously reflects the Westport Transit District's interests. He has a sharp eye for detail and the patience to work through complex agreements without cutting corners. This quality has protected Westport Transit District time and again from terms that could have proven costly or unworkable.

Peter is steadfast in his convictions and consistently champions the needs of underserved communities within our town, always working to maximize service and impact within the budget approved by our funding body. He does not simply accept limitations. He looks creatively and persistently for ways to do more for those who depend most on public transit without losing sight of fiscal responsibility. Peter brings a vast knowledge of the transit district's history, its origins, its evolution, and its place within the broader transportation needs of Westport. That simply cannot be replicated.

That institutional memory is invaluable, and it informs every decision he makes. What sets Peter further apart in is his exceptional relationship across Westport. He knows this town and its people deeply, and he uses those connections purposefully, whether by sitting down one on one with the stakeholder to address a concern quietly and efficiently or by convening a broader meeting when it when an issue calls for a wider input. He has a gift for bringing the right people together and moving forward towards a resolution. That reputation extends well beyond Westport's borders.

Peter is respected and highly regarded by our neighbors at the Norwalk Transit District, including its CEO, Matt Pence, and been up by our service vendor, Via. These are relationships built on professionalism, reliability, and mutual trust. And it is precisely because of that professionalism that Peter understands when partnerships must have limits. As regional conversations about consolidation continue, Peter has has been clear eyed about what is in Westport's best interest. Any merger with the Norwalk transit district would place Westport at a structural disadvantage.

Norwalk's larger population means greater board representation, and Westport would consistently find itself outvoted on decisions that directly affect our residents. Beyond that, the state legislation underpinning reg regionalization has not produced any concrete funding commitments since its initial announcement. Until there is something definitive on the table, it would not be prudent for Westport to yield the autonomy and accountability that has made Westport transit so effective. Peter holds this line firmly but diplomatically, and that is exactly the kind of advocacy Westport needs at the regional table. On a personal note, I am proud to work alongside Peter and even prouder to call him my friend.

He is kind, patient, understanding, and easy to work with. He has a wonderfully interesting sense of humor that makes most challenging days a little lighter. I could not ask for a better partner, and Westport could not ask for a more committed co director. I urge the RTM to reappoint Peter Gold with confidence and enthusiasm. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, miss Bedford. Any other members of the public? Recognize maybe that was a little more than three minutes, but it was really hard to cut off all those nice comments about Peter. Thank you Karina, and for your service. Thank you. Any other members of the public? Seeing none, do we have a resolution?

Resolved. That upon the recommendation of the RTM Transit Committee, Peter Gold is hereby reappointed to serve as director to the Westport Transit District for a term beginning 05/01/2026 and ending 04/30/2030.

Second. Thank you, miss Carpenter. Mister Kling, anyone from the RTM like to comment on this item? Anyone on RTM? Yes, miss Johnson.

Yeah. I know you got a ten minute letter. I'm hi. Jennifer Johnson. I I'm gonna read a couple excerpts from the letter that I sent the RTM today because the public hasn't and because since we're all getting lots of emails, you may not have had an opportunity to read it.

By way of background for RTM district nine. By way of background for some members who are new on the RTM, I did have the opportunity and the honor to serve as the transit director over ten years ago. Also in that capacity, was appointed by Josalov to be the MPO, a voted member of the MPO, which is a federal body that provides funding for transportation. I also served as the transportation chair of the Southwest Regional Planning Agency. So this is as many some of you know, I've been here a lot along the way on this particular topic, and I know personally and love Peter.

So and I have told him many times that I think the world of him. I just disagree. Just a couple of things in terms of context with Carina's lovely statement about Peter and the hard work that he's done. Westport was, and I'm gonna raise this because it's interesting and that we have gone to the moon this week. And back in '19 in the mid seventies when we had this transit district, Westport was awarded the community of the future.

We had over 400 community of the future by NASA. We were recognized as the community to create, and we had these minibuses, and it was an incredibly exciting time. This is a different time and a different era, and a lot has changed in the state since the last time we went to the moon. And for one thing, we are the only town that does it this way. And the state has tried very hard to appoint the to for the communities to understand the benefits of consolidation because consolidate our transportation, unlike our schools and other things, transportation is like air.

We all live and move around the region. So I'm going to just raise a couple points from my letter for the benefit of the public who did not receive this letter. I'm gonna so I'm not gonna read the whole thing, but I'm gonna basically say the transit districts were designed to operate as independent entities separate from municipal legislative bodies. It was in state in state enabling legislation that which I sent everybody. It's very complicated.

But in Westport, the RTM has been appointing its own members to handle both the governance and exit executive roles of the transit district. This situation is having real life consequences. Here are important examples. Regional collaboration is increasing the norm across parts of Connecticut, and transportation challenges today require scale, expertise, and coordination. A merger with Norwalk Transit District should be seriously considered for several reasons.

Westport is not currently receiving an equitable share of the state and federal transit resources compared to Norwalk, which operates extensive fixed route services and microtransit as well as paratransit services. I did an financial analysis looking at the five year financial statements of Norwalk Transit District. For every dollar that Westport puts into this program, we get about $3 back. For every dollar that the town of the city of Norwalk puts in now they're three times larger than we are. For every dollar, they get $27 back.

That's a shocking difference. And that is something that we, as Westport residents, are dealing with traffic congestion every day. There are 10,000 people that come in and out of this town per the railroad park analysis that was done ten years ago. It's obviously changed. At 17,000 rides total, when there was 77,000 rides when I was transit director and 400,000 rides, we're just not simply getting where we need to go.

So the combined transit district would allow for professionalism management. It's not saying that Peter is not professional and wonderful at what he does. And but importantly, Westport would retain equal representation on the governing body because the way it's decided is based on the size of the population. If you have up to a 100,000, you get two board members. We would have two board members.

Norwalk Transit District would have two board members. These are all complications that we could discuss later. But our current transfer transit leadership has resisted this for years. It's time for the RTM to take a leadership role in aligning Westport with modern transit governance and directing a path towards regional integration. I urge all my RTM colleagues to join together in charting a new and much better path forward for Westport's transportation future.

Thank you. I appreciate everyone's time. This is a complicated issue. We deal with it every year, and I can't help but have printed out this quote, which we have heard before, that doing the exact same thing over and over again and again is basically the definition, and expecting different results is the definition of insanity per Albert Einstein. We keep doing the same thing every year nor the the state of Connecticut shut down our transit district back in the eighties and we became a volunteer transit district.

And it's been an experiment that has not worked, and the rest of the state is moving forward, and we're being left behind. And I urge us to all come together and and work on this for the next generation. Thanks.

Thank you miss Johnson. Mister Carson.

Joe Carson district seven. I was watching the masters highlights today and I picked up some Westport journal articles in the past couple years. That was a mistake. And I read about this. Okay?

I'm glad it was not part of the conversations the last couple years. But what I find really odd about this situation is that RTM is here is given charge with funding operations, anything over 20,000 and we can fund the rtm but we' at the same time approving and this is nothing against peter one of our own members to run it. That doesn' make any sense to me. Whoever runs that should be someone outside of rtm and again i'n new to this process but it doesn'92t make sense to me that if we'92re here charged with financing the town we should not give one of our members the ability to run the finances of that organization that's all I'm saying okay and I understand the issues in the past and I'm sure you do an honest job but to me there's a conflict of interest here. We're voting something for a member when we should not be doing that.

Thank you, miss Carson. Any anyone else like to speak to this? Yes.

Miss Pitok. Hi. Jenna Pitok, District 2. I think that there's a lot of really great points raised, obviously I'm new to this as well. And I am in support of Peter and his appointment, but I'm also want to reiterate, I think, some of what we're hearing, which is it is odd to me as a new member of the RTM that we have a volunteer transit district.

It seems like a crucial element of our town, of our operations. And I do think it's worth kinda questioning the direction forward of of how we're operating. I also just wanna make sure that we're thinking about and I plan to, as a member of the transit committee, work closely with Melissa and the rest of the committee to incorporate all modes of transit. I think there's been, typically an emphasis on the operation of Wheels2U, which is obviously a very significant part of the budget and of the transit district. But I think we should be looking more closely at multiple modes of transportation, especially public transportation, bike transportation, as we're kind of as somebody said earlier, charting the way forward with how Westport is approaching public transit.

And I think I've spoken about this in other forms, but being able to connect better connect the train station to downtown, making sure workers can get from one mode of public transportation to the next one is is an important part of what Wheels2U can offer, but there could and I am very impressed with the service that was the many bus services of the past. And I think that, certainly it's worth looking at all of these options in in the time to come.

That's it.

Great. Thank you, miss Pitak. Anyone else? Yes. Miss Levy.

Melissa Levy, RTM district two. These questions and considerations were brought up last night, And I just wanted to remind everyone that the issue at hand is just voting on the appointment of the transit district director, not all of the other issues that come along with the transit. So, you know, as the transit committee, we plan to work with the, co directors of the Westport Transit District and talk about these issues and bring them up throughout the year, but that's not what we're talking about here. And we did cast a wide as net as we possibly could. We we sent a press release out.

It went to the journal. It went to Dan Woog. Some people picked it up. Others didn't. Even Bike Westport Bike Walk Westport, whatever the name is, they sent it out.

And we only had two candidates, And both of them are, you know, a current and past RTM member. So there's really not much more that we can do but to accept, you know, what we've received and to evaluate the candidates. And Peter was by far, the most qualified and unanimous almost unanimously voted in to continue in this, you know, position. So, you know, we welcome anyone in the future. There will be you know, in in two years, I think Karina might wanna exit.

So we encourage everybody to talk to people and and try to get more interest. And I don't disagree with you that it shouldn't necessarily be someone within the RTM, but that's that's what we got. You know? So I just wanted to make that clear.

Thank you.

No offense, Peter.

Bottom of barrel, Peter.

Mister Mandel.

Mister Tate, are you stepping up to be the next one? Matthew Mandel, RTM district one. We are voting on Peter and the creativity that Peter has brought has been truly astounding. And he the wheels to you program, the Limerick program to get people to think about doing the travel by public transportation is is marvelous. The idea that now you not just go to the train station, but you can go downtown.

And soon to be initiated is bringing him to Campo Square or Campo I guess, Campo Square where where Trader Joe's is and then CVS. Expanding this to be able to use it in different ways and not just to the train station. And this was brought specifically by Peter and his accomplishments should be marveled at and we should be voting for him. That he's an RTM member, he just happens to be an RTM member and he recuses himself when there are votes. And we are a small community, a community of volunteers and all 36 of us are volunteering and that says something about our hearts and what we wanna do for our community.

And if there are other things that we can do, we step up and that's what Peter has has done here. So I wholeheartedly support Peter's renomination and his vote to and his our vote for him. And Peter, keep up the good work because I I I really appreciate it. And from the Chamber of Commerce, let me switch hats for a second as we men often have many hats, you're helping out the businesses in this community by bringing people to the areas of retail, not just to the train station. And I think that is something that we should all appreciate as well.

Thank you, mister Mandel. Anyone else from the RTM like to comment on this? Mister Colabella, come on down. You guys having a party over there? I wanna

Party? Where was my invite?

Yeah. Really? Jeez.

Weak. Andrew Colobello, District 4. If anyone has a problem with Peter Gold being appointed and you knew that this was coming coming before you, you could have thrown your name in the hat your name in the rain and you didn't. You as elected officials, all 36 you could throw your hands up at me all you want, Jill. You can get upset.

I do not care. I'm gonna put it to all of you right now, including you. If you have a problem with Peter being in charge, you, as an elected official, not just in your district, but your entire community, could have gone out and find someone in this community to run it. You are in a town of 28,000 residents. 20,000 of them, 262 currently right now are registered voters. You could have gone out to any one of them and said, would you be interested in running a transit district? And you didn't. Who's calling? See you later. So Yeah. With that being said, you didn't make your move.

We Now the card We get the point.

Yeah. Now the cards are laid out, and that's it. But these last several years, Peter has led with knowledge, professionalism, courteous courtesy, and expertise. His expertise has been developed over his time as transit director in keeping it going. It may not be what it used to be. Westport is still currently in a transition where we've had an influx of people over the last five years where our town has grown, and we are changing, and we are slowly going with it. If you want to ride a bike to work, go right ahead. We don't need a transit district for bicycles. You can just hop on a bike and go. But there are people who do not want to ride a bike.

Sorry. In a town, people want choices. They want variety. The mini the current transit district, in my opinion, the micro biz the microbus program, it works. I like it.

And I think Peter has done a wonderful job, especially with every year he has fought tirelessly working around the clock to make sure that that funding stays going. So in the next couple years I hope I hope Carina stays on but if there's other people that are interested in going get out there and start talking to people. And no matter what, I don't care, and I will say this wholeheartedly, I will always back the candidate with the most knowledge and the most expertise because in this town, we do not vote politically. We vote based on expertise, people who can get the job done. And Peter can get that job done.

So I'll be voting for Peter.

Thank you, mister Colabella. Anyone else from the RTM like to comment on this? You can come back a second time. Yes. If anyone else likes to come first, maybe. But, no, come on up.

I think Karen's raising her hand.

Pardon me? I think it Jerusalem.

Hey, Joe. Alright.

Well, hang Joe Carson.

That's okay. Listen. We'll get you.

I have nothing against Peter. Okay? But just give me an explanation. What other department in this town can be run by an RTM member?

Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber of

And run the budget.

I think just Just give me an explanation. Mister Carson I

have no idea. Just think quiet. Wait a minute.

Mister Carson. Mister Carson, I just wanna make a make a point. The transit and I'm pretty sure I'm right. The transit district is not a department. So no other department can be run by an r t m member if this is a special something rather that is a transit district.

Okay hold on I'm I'm I'm not aware.

But I just I just wanted to Fine

but let me just say

The r t m No Peter hang on.

Okay.

Let him finish. Let him finish, please. Let him finish.

Alright. So you're saying to me that any person in this room is eligible eligible to run the transit committee and other things where we are voting to pay or support their budget. Is that true?

We're we're voting to appoint a transit director whose budget we then vote on to support if we approve that budget.

Last few years, the board of finance has cut

That's right.

The budget. Right?

That's right.

And we put it back in.

Correct.

Is that true?

Yep. Well, not every year, but quite a few years. Yeah. That's correct.

Alright. Thanks.

Yep. Yes. Miss Levy, for the second time? Sure. Come on down.

One. Get out there. I

mean, this this sort of speaks to a little bit of the odd situation that the transit district is within the town. It's not really run by the the town administration. It really is an RTM construct, and that's we're really talking about I think we're gonna reelect Peter Gold pretty unanimously or a great majority, but we're talking about some of the things that are unclear with regard to the whole transit district. And so I don't want us to get too tied down in reorienting the transit district, but it's it's an interesting conversation that will probably go on for a long time.

I just wanted to make one one point. Melissa Levy, RTM district two. You know, it's a volunteer position, so it's not like Peter's getting paid for this, and we're voting on him and his budget and what he's gonna make or what Karina's gonna make. It's totally volunteer. And we aren't the only ones who are voting on it.

The board of finance is looking at it. And I will just say sort of anecdotally, I met with Peter and Karina recently, and we were talking about budget things a little bit. And, they were talking about how they're you know, they're looking to, hopefully expand with the EV chargers and the EV cars, and they have a they have it in the budget. And correct me if I'm saying any of this incorrectly. But I said, well, what if you don't get those things? Are you allowed to then take that money and move it towards marketing or something? And they were like, absolutely not. We would take it out of the budget. It would not be part of it. Where I was thinking, oh, this would be great.

You have a set budget. No matter what it is you use it for, It was approved. You can then, you know, use it in another way that you need it. And they felt like that was, you know, crossing the line. And, it just showed the integrity that both of them have and how seriously they take, you know, every single dollar that they have or don't have to spend. So I just wanted to share that.

Thank you, miss Levy. Well, we now Ms. Bateau, Ms. Nayman first time, Ms. Johnson.

Wendy Beto District 8. Guys this is an up or down vote. We're voting on whether to elect or whether to approve Peter Gold as the transit director. We're not voting on how the transit district should be constructed, what its rules should be. We're not voting on anything else. Melissa has already said, and I take her at her word, that her committee will be considering all these different kinds of issues. So let's just vote, yes or no. That's that's what the issue is here. Thank you.

Thank you. Miss Neiman, do you all still wanna speak?

Kristen Schneeman, district nine. I just wanted to make it clear that I can only speak for myself. When we have voted in the past on the transit district's budget after the board of finance has voted to cut it. We didn't I didn't cast a vote in favor of restoring it because I know like Peter or because I know and like Karina. I voted in favor of it because Westport residents and people in my district value the service, and we hear a lot we hear from them that they value the service.

I think we also value the independence that we have and that Peter and Karina have to be flexible about changing the service up and expanding it and doing different things with it that we probably wouldn't have if we merged with the Norwalk Norwalk transit district. So I I do agree, and I know we don't wanna relitigate how the transit district is structured. It has always struck me as kinda cracked that this enterprise is run by two volunteers regardless of where they're from or where where else they sit. But I just wanna make it clear that this is you know, we look at these budgets. We take them seriously, and we're I, at least, am trying to be responsive to things that are important to our constituents. So Thanks.

Thank you, miss Nayman. Miss Johnson and then mister Gold.

Sorry,

Jack. Okay. Just we're all talking past each other. This has been a discussion that I've been involved in frontline, front row since 2012, and this room was filled with a 100 200 people about this. Okay? This is the same conversation we have every year. And every year, we're gonna say, this Peter's great. The volunteers are great. We're not we're Andrew, we're not criticizing Peter. We're talk I'm not trying to talk past.

Two important things we need to understand, and I didn't even understand this clearly, and I've been involved in this until last night when I looked again at the legislation. The transit district is designed to be a quasi independent agency. There is not supposed to be any connection between the legislative body. We are supposed to fund them, and we're supposed to appoint board members, which we're gonna do tonight, but we're not supposed to have any role. So it's broken.

And what we've been trying to do for so many years is just it doesn't work. Okay? So that's the issue, is that the transit district is not supposed to overlap with the legislative arm, and that's what we've always been doing. We're gonna continue to do that tonight. But the other issue is while people like the service and we like Peter and we like whatever, transportation is a critical issue in our town. Critical. Okay? Beach, schools, resiliency, stuck in a traffic jam. It's time that Westport make this professional and hire professional. That's not saying that Peter isn't great, that Carina isn't amazing.

Okay? But this is complicated, and there's millions and millions of dollars at stake. Since Peter's been transit director, we've had about a million dollars every year for this service for Wheels2U separate from paratransit. It's $10,000,000, and we're getting 17,000 rides. This is not not for one year, but this is and I'm sorry, Peter, but it is a million dollars for the Wheels2U service, the total amount that we get. I've been looking at the financials. My point is is that it's too and we're leaving money on the table. Norwalk gets so much more money. Other towns get so much more money. So all I'm saying is not that Peter isn't great, that we haven't tried hard, but this isn't this is too important for our constituents to keep allowing the RTM to say, we like Peter.

Let's keep this as a volunteer thing. We haven't done that. Bye.

Thank you, miss Johnson. Mister Gold, oh, and then mister Lowenstein.

Peter Gold, Authame District 5 at least for the next couple hours transit director. First of all, we had 31,000 rides this year, not 17. But if anybody's got questions about the transit district and how we operate or suggestions for what we should do, give me a call. Happy to have coffee, talk to you about it, explain it to you, give you all the background that you need, and be happy to listen to your ideas. And if we can incorporate them and do them, happy to do that as well. Thank you.

I I will confirm that mister Gold is always happy to talk about transit at any time and for any length of time. Mister Lowenstein.

Dick Lowenstein District 5. This is unbelievable. I got my first bite at this apple back in 1997 when I was elected to the RTM and Gordon Joyceloff, our moderator, said Dick, you're a new chance committee chair. And I said what? You're kidding.

And so I' never been able to escape that at all. But look whatever happens tonight there will be a second bite at the apple and that will come next month in May when the r t m transit committee the RTM finance committee, and the RTM votes on the budget. And the budget is at this point to have a discussion on some of the subjects that have come up tonight, not talking about who the next transit director is. I would kindly suggest to the administration that they get more involved in the whole subject of transit because it's very, very important and there can be compromises between us and Norwalk, deals made between the two towns, between the two transit district, but this is not the place to discuss that. Tonight is the time and place to vote on a new director.

Next month, the budget comes up. That's a good opportunity to discuss many of the very same subjects we're talking about tonight. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Lowenstein. Anyone else like to comment on this? Anyone? Seeing none. I see none. We are voting on the following. Resolved that upon the recommendation of the RTM Transit Committee, Peter Gold is hereby reappointed to serve as director of the Westwood Transit District for a term beginning 05/01/2026 and ending 04/30/2030. All those in favor? Any opposed? Ms. Johnson and Mr. Carson are opposed. How about on the phone? Ms. Cohen?

Yes.

Miss Wiley?

Yes.

Mr. Moore? Yes. You very much. It is 32 to two. Congratulations Peter Gold. Why

'34 instead of '35?

Did Peter Peter did you vote?

Oh, he recused himself. So '32 to '33

30 to one.

32 to two and one refusal. So 32 to two. Because he's thirty fifth. He did not vote. Right? So one recuse. So we were only dealing with 34.

Yep. 32 to one.