Representative Town Meeting - Regular Meeting

Well that was that was pretty easy. Good show. Good evening. This meeting Westport's representative town meeting is now called to order my name is jeff weiser and I' the rtm moderator we welcome those who are joining us tonight in the Town Hall Auditorium as well as those watching us streaming live on westportct.gov and those watching on optimum government access channel 79 and if you are on the phone please mute. There is really a reverberation not an echo reverberation.

On my right tonight is the rtm deputy moderator lauren carf a note regarding public participation in tonight' meeting members of the westward 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 rtm dlwestportct dot gov for to and those will be sent to all rtm members and they will not but they will not be read aloud during the meeting. Tonight's invocation will be delivered by someone who needs no introduction our new first selectman kevin christie we welcome you.

Good evening, I'm Kevin Christie. I'm your first selectman. And as we begin tonight's meeting, I invite us to take a quiet moment to reflect on why we're here. And I don't mean the standard daily question on the campaign trail that many of us got that usually preceded why are you running, and that question was, are you sure you wanna do this? After my first two weeks on the job, my answer is a resounding yes, I do wanna do this.

We have an incredible staff at town hall and an incredible community. And to answer why we're here, the community is why we're here. We come together as neighbors who care deeply about Westport and as volunteers who give our time to strengthen our already amazing town. The work before us matters. It affects our residents, our schools, our local businesses, and the future well-being of our town.

In that spirit, may we approach our work with clarity, with patience, and with respect for one another. And over the Thanksgiving weekend, found myself thinking about gratitude and about how today and every day is a gift. And I'm grateful for that and grateful for the opportunity to serve and the chance to work together in this room with all of you, our neighbors. So let us move forward with humility, with steadiness, and with a shared commitment to serving Westport. Thank you.

Thank you. And would you lead us in the pledge?

And if you are able, please stand 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, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, mister First Lechman. As I tell all our invocation speakers, you're welcome to spend the night and they never do, but I have a feeling you just might. Great. So thank you. Thank you. Would the deputy moderator call the roll, please?

Oh, it's a new first name.

Yeah. Really?

And if for the new members, if I mispronounce your name, please let me know. Miss Kuykendall? Here. Mister Mandel is absent.

Might be on the phone.

I'm here on phone. Good.

Miss Purcell? Here. Mister Tate?

He'll be late. Late.

Mister Keenan? Here. Miss Levy? Here. Mister Mull? Here. Miss Peacock? Here. Mister Burkhart? Here. Mister Drake? Here. Mister Izzo? Here. Miss Kopak? Here. Mister Kolabella? Here. Mister Lucas? Here. Miss Wiley? Here. Mister Gold? Here. Miss Kramer? Here. Mister Lowenstein? Here. Miss Shang? Here. Miss Banks? Here. Mister Braunstein?

Here. Mister Bob?

Miss Sorrelli? Here. Miss Briggs? Here. Mister Carson? Here. Miss Lautenberg? Here. Mister Kling?

Mister Kling is on the phone?

Here. Here.

Yes.

Okay.

Miss Bateau.

Miss Thought

I saw Wendy. No?

Yeah.

No? Okay. Miss Cohn?

On the phone.

On the phone.

Miss Grayson? Here. Mister Newman?

Here.

Miss Johnson?

Here.

Miss Kale? Here. Mister Moore? Here. Miss Schneeman? Here. And mister Weiser?

Here. So we have

35 with one late.

Eight coming late and Wendy.

Oh, wait. Wendy.

So thirty four right now.

Right. Thirty four.

I thought I saw Wendy now. Okay.

I hope she's coming.

I know.

So there are 34 members present and two should be here late. We send December birthday greetings tonight to Jennifer Johnson, to Seth Bronstein, Melissa Levy, and our new members Gail Quakendall and Charles Lucas. Congratulations everybody. Happy birthday. And with new members, if I miss anybody, Tatiana, our deputy town clerk, is very good about getting us all the all the birth dates if somehow we miss let me know and miss Bateau is here so we're up to '36.

'35.

'35. See that? That's good. That's that's you're good at math. So You're good at math.

34 plus one. And speaking of new members tonight we welcome nine new RTM members. I think you've all found your seats for the time being and congratulations on that that might be your toughest assignment for your first couple meetings. And if the nine new members would stand up so we can welcome you. So I know that all of west board appreciates the effort of running and serving and this would not be the wonderful town it is if we did not have that level of commitment from all of you.

I again this month thank everyone who ran the RTM and I hope to see everybody who moved on from the RTM last month in this last election. I hope to see them all around town and all of you around town and all the people who ran and I hope all of you will stay engaged in town affairs. I will start then we''ll now move on to announcements. I'' going to start off the announcements to discuss the plan for tonight. As is usual in all our December meetings we''ll elect a moderator and a deputy moderator.

I have asked the nominators and seconders for Lauren and me to be rather brief in their introductions as we've had the last couple years. You all know us pretty well and there's no need to go into deep biographies and take up a lot of time. If there are other nominations, I encourage a more robust introduction, however, so I would hope those would be more inclusive. Following those two elections we'll have one only one appropriation to deal with I'll get to that in a second. Following taking care of the business I'll ask that the committee chairs from the last last terms committees to stay with the new members for an orientation session and to learn about the committee's work.

All members are welcome to stay. It's an interesting comforting fact that all of the chairs of all the committees from last term were reelected. So you're all here and there might be some moving around but there's a lot of knowledge to pass on in this in this rtm and it will be interesting. Probably in January we will have a separate FOIA in orientation to include all of the new RTM members as well as the new elected members for the other town bodies. So tonight won't cover too much of FOIA though I think Jeff Dunkerton our town clerk is here and once you get him in a room it's hard to not have him talk something about FOIA so there you go.

Then I don' want to suggest anything but if we all ended up both those who stayed for the orientation and those who left early if we all ended up at the Spotted Horse that would be a real orientation session. I' leave that up to all of you. Are there any other announcements from committee members We'll start with mister Gold, mister Lowenstein, miss Gale.

Peter Gold, RTM district five. I just wanted to let people know that the Westport Center for Senior Activities will be holding a craft sale on December 12 from 01:30 to 04:30 at the senior center. Gift dropping will be available and in the shameless plug I will be exhibiting my and selling my woodturning and there are three pieces on the on the stage for you to take a look at.

Thank you mister Gold and without advertising too much I'm a satisfied customer but there we go. Mister Lowenstein.

Dick Lowenstein, District 5. I'm here to make my semiannual announcement. The coming Friday, the Westport Library will have its semiannual book sale. The sale will start at noon on Friday. And, to refresh my memory, I'm looking here, it will run from noon on Friday to five to to to let me get back to where I was.

These these phones are not the best thing to use for reading. Anyways, noon on Friday, full price. On Saturday from, twelve, from nine to five, full price. Sunday is half price, and then Monday is free. And, for those of you who are book lovers, there will be a opening at noon, 08:30 or 09:00 on Friday. For a $35 admission, you will be able to get first dibs on any of the books. So this coming Friday it starts at noon for a general free admission. I welcome you all. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Lawinson. Ms. Kale?

Nancy Kale, RTM district nine. So this is about an idea that I've had. Today's an auspicious day. It's our first full meeting of the rtm twenty fivetwenty seven session, but it also happens to be giving Tuesday. By being here, we're already honoring the spirit of giving Tuesday through our service, but in addition to our presence tonight, we can make another powerful contribution.

We can make a gift of any amount, no gift is too small, to the town of Westport Human Services Fund. It's actually a bunch of different funds. What a doubly powerful statement about our commitment to this community, and what a meaningful way to start our term with a 100% RTM participation in our town's efforts to help others in need in Westport. I was gonna do something funny like modifying lyrics to a song or a crafty poem but I ran out of time. I did make a contribution before I came here tonight and I hope that you will join me by making yours. Thanks.

Thank you miss Gail. Any other announcements? Yes miss Briggs.

Hi. The annual Westport Young Women's League craft Westport which I know many of you have been to it's been going on for years and years, is this weekend. It used to be in November but this is coming up this weekend Saturday and Sunday, Saturday ten to five and Sunday ten to four at Staples High School.

Thank you Ms. Briggs. Any other announcements? Any other announcements? Okay. Seeing none.

Jeff. Yes. RTMP and Z and IT will be meeting on the sixteenth, time to be determined.

Say that everybody hear that. Say that again, Matt.

The RTMP and Z committee along with the transit committee will be meeting on December 16, time to be determined.

That's for the c m d a discussion. Yes. Thank you for that. And there's miss Purcell in the back. Thank you. Yeah. That's great. So that's December 16 and we'll get details on that. It's gonna be an interesting conversation. The RTM needs to authorize our entry into that so that might be a good one for all the RTM if you're free to listen in on.

And that also continues mister Mandel's record perfect streak of making an announcement so even though he's on the phone he's with us. So thank you Matt. And he's on a forty five second delay so he can't even respond. So our next regular meeting is scheduled for 01/06/2026 And if there are no other further announcements we'll move on to the business of the agenda. And before we turn to the call traditionally the senior member of the rtm conducts the portion of the meeting pertaining to the election of a moderator.

Mr. Kling is well he is at home He is having tests tomorrow, so he's preparing for those tests and he can't be with us tonight. And he has been he's taken over this portion of the meeting for the last many years as he begins his twenty ninth year as RTM member, twenty ninth consecutive years, so newcomers, you have that to look forward to try to beat his record. In his stead tonight, mister Lowenstein, has been on the RTM with a little bit of a break for twenty three years, will be the senior member conducting the RTM election. So I'm happy to turn over the gavel to mister Lowenstein. Come on up.

Jeff. Should I go down or sit up?

What?

Do I go down or stay up here?

Can I just stay

here? Oh.

Yeah. For this part.

I can't predict the outcome, but this is a temporary laying down of this sign. Can you all hear me? Yes. This is, as Jeff indicated, is our organizational meeting to elect a moderator and a deputy moderator. And, the way it'll work is I will run the election for moderator.

And, once the newly elected moderator is in position, I will return to the to my seat and then the new moderator will take over for the remainder of the meeting. Now, the way this is done is that there and I'm reading a script if you don't mind. There is not a resolution so there's a nomination It may be seconded, but does not need to be. And we're acting under section a one sixty two dash one of the RTM rules procedure, which says voting for the election of the moderator or deputy shall be signed shall be by signed ballot. However, if only one candidate is nominated, they will choose to have the election by raising of hands.

And if you are gonna raise your hand, raise it on the right side and well in view. Miss Karp will confirm how many members are all in attendance in the auditorium on the phone. How many are there?

35.

And that is how many are in person?

That's a good question. We have three on the phone.

Three on the phone. Okay. So, the first item of your agenda to take such action as the meeting may determine to elect a moderator of the representative time of meeting. At this time, the floor is open for nominations for the position of moderator, and I recognize Wendy Bateau.

Hi Wendy Bateau, District 8. Sorry to have been late. My dog, in saying goodbye, managed to get her very big paw to collide with my eye. And so I'm hoping I'm able to read this. Jeff asked me to be very brief, but I want to say some things not only about him but about the moderator. So I'm standing to nominate Jeff Weiser to be the moderator of the RTM. Where have we heard that before? In this room several times. Why? A recap.

Sorry, Jeff. Jeff joined the RTM in 2007. He had a successful thirty year career as a leader in international finance, so it wasn't too surprising that he soon chaired the RTM the RTM Finance Committee for several terms. What was perhaps a little surprising were his other roles. He served as the longtime executive director of Homes with Hope and Gillespie Center.

He was one of four RTM reps with vision and determination who spearheaded the first single use plastic bag ban. The first one not only in Westport but also East Of The Mississippi. He's been a volunteer and leader for the Y Rotary Earthplace Positive Directions, Staples Tuition Grants, and Builders Beyond Borders. Taken together his work speaks to his respect and caring for the whole West Port community with our residents different lived lives and needs. Jeff's respect for the ways people put facts together and express ideas is key to our getting the best solutions for our community.

His ability to multifocus is good for us since the work of the moderator is more complex than is immediately obvious. Every representative and constituent brings their own perspectives understandings and prioritizations of the facts on every issues. In sharing and debating these we engage in sometimes long and vigorous discussions that can veer into areas not germane to the matters at hand. The moderator must keep us on track while still enabling everyone to share facts ideas debate, and work for consensus that leads to progress. Here are a few other requirements for the job.

The commitment, one, the commitment we've seen Jeff show to civility and nonpartisanship. Two, importantly, knowledge developed over years of the maze of sometimes inconsistent statutes, regulations, rules, proclamations, orders, case law, precedents, and now state and federal preemptions that define the rtm scope and routes to actions. It'92s not as easy as just reading the charter.\ Next, the willingness to consult with a variety of others about those and defer if necessary. Next, mentoring new and longtime reps alike. What would be for me probably the most difficult requires the willpower to keep silent during meeting discussions of issues.

Jeff has filled the moderators roles admirably even during some very challenging times. And so I hope you'll join me in electing him moderator for this new session.

Thank you, miss Matto. Is there a second? Second. Mister Calobello.

Good evening andrew colabella for district four I'm proud to second wendy's nomination of jeff weiser to serve another term as moderator of the rtm jeff was first selected to the rtm in 2007 and became moderator in 2021 after serving four years as deputy moderator. There are no political parties on the r t m and Jeff often speaks about how much he values the nonpartisan spirit. At a time when our country, our state, and even our town often feel deeply divided, the RTM continues to operate without partisanship and that is due in no small part to Jeff's leadership. He leads in a way that makes political labels irrelevant and many of us truly do not know each other's affiliations. That is exactly how the RTM should function.

Anyone who has watched an RTM meeting or served with Jeff knows that he is not only a strong and highly effective leader, he is quite simply a gentleman in every sense of the word. Jeff's demeanor and management style are what this body needs. He is fair, steady, respectful, unflappable, and patient. Most importantly, he listens. He ensures every member is heard, and he fosters an environment where thoughtful civil discourse is the norm.

Every term on the RTM brings both challenges we can anticipate and those we cannot. This term will be no different, and we need a moderator with Jeff's experience, temperament, and integrity to help guide us through it. Jeff makes every member of the RTM better. He has certainly made me a better member, and I'm proud to call him both a mentor and a friend. I strongly encourage all of my colleagues to cast a unanimous vote for Jeff Weiser as moderator. Thank you.

Are there any other nominations from the RTM for moderator? Miss Johnson.

Hi, good evening. Jennifer Johnson, RTM District nine. Question, is this the opportunity to make a comment related to these proceedings?

No, not until after the nominations are closed.

Okay, before the vote?

Before the vote.

Okay, great. Thank you.

Are there any other nominations from an RTM member for moderator? I'll say it one more time. Are there any more nominations? That's my third time and that's enough. Okay. Now we go to public comment. Generally, there hasn't been any, but anybody from the public is allowed to comment including an RTM member. If you are a member of the public, also please identify yourself by your name and your address. Anybody from the public who would like to comment?

Thank you. Tony Simonetti, Evergreen Parkway. I want to first congratulate all the nine new and the many old faces in the house tonight. It's especially invigorating for me to see young people, not that I'm young, but to see young people on the RTM. In fact the youngest is now my district nine representative Addison Morris so congratulations for that great win.

I know that and the oldest, not my representative but a good library chum. I know that many of you who received my email yesterday maybe shrugged about the organizational activities of tonight and in your choosing who will lead this body for the next two years. The choice of, moderator and deputy moderator is routine and without controversy. Right? Well, I I don't think it needs to be controversial, but I do think some thought and discussion need to occur.

I think Mr. Weiser is a good man, he's good for Westport and his service is well documented. I have no problems with his nomination tonight and I I, support that. I think he's done good job as moderator of this body. But I would like to hear some discussion and debrief about the the last two years behind us.

There are certain things I hope do not happen again. One citizens who go to the trouble of gathering signatures to bring a discussion before this body I was one of them and he did honor my request to come before the body but there are others who were denied. They should be given that opportunity. It doesn't have to be without guardrails and limits but for gosh sakes you need to take the time to listen to what is important to your constituents. I know you are all volunteers and don't like late nights, but citizens are volunteers too, volunteers in the wheels of government.

So we do play a role. So please pay attention to the citizens and throw them a bone once in a while. I am always disappointed by the lack of citizenry in this room and so I think it' important to not discourage conversations. Second, I believe the RTM needs some better protocols, on itself and I would like to see the moderator step up to this task. For example, sitting RTM members should not serve on appointed boards starting now, especially those boards that bring appropriation requests before you as the final funding approvers.

The potential for conflicts is high. If those appointed rtm members do serve on a board that brings a funding request here they should not get a vote. You can avoid this by not allowing rtm to sit on appointed boards. I just happened to be before one of our appointed boards tonight the blight board and I actually wanted to thank lumal for the blight ordinance because we did get a blight decision on a property in our neighborhood. The appointed boards are very important but when it comes to appropriations I think you need to draw a line there.

And third, I do believe that justice is not always meted out fairly among the RTM and your constituents. This is not a big thing but it's a little thing but it's important. I brought matters to the moderator in confidence and I would appreciate some acknowledgement that action was taken to address the situation and the aggrieved. I mean at the same time I am aware of admonishments that I would call inappropriate of RTM members for simply speaking out and going against the grain. This is not a social club.

You are the last stop on the tax dollar train. You should seek out and encourage diverse opinions and debate, not quash it. So those are my thoughts on how to improve the role of the moderator and I hope you all take these ideas in the spirit in which they are given, the pursuit of good and fair governance. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other members of the public who wanna speak? Members of the public, we're now yes, sir. You're familiar, but you might as reintroduce yourself.

Hi everyone. Ari Ben Moshe, 38 Arlen Road. Just real quick, I'd like to say since I'll be the second member of the public speaking and on a high note, I I now understand just a little bit what it takes to be moderate in these discussions and I feel that Mr. Weiser has done just that. If I were sitting in your seats I would be for him staying on as our moderator. Thank you.

Thank you. Any other members of the public? We turn now to the RTM. Any members of the RTM wish to speak now? Miss Johnson.

Hi. Again, Jennifer Johnson. First, I wanna use this opportunity to welcome the new RTMers. It is truly incredibly exciting to have so many new faces. Whether it's your first meeting or your three hundredth meeting, I think if you do the math based on how long some of the RTM members have been here and contributed to this community, it's it's pretty impressive. But it's important to understand that we are all here with different experiences, perspectives, and knowledge and insights. Tonight, we will cast our first vote of this new term. It'll be either yes, no, or abstain because you're not sure for the new moderator. I will not be voting for mister Weiser tonight. It's a tough job.

I get it. And he and I totally respect his service. But I do believe it's time for a new beginning on the RTM. I have a couple things to say on this. First, I believe that it's fundamentally important that the code of conduct be equally applied to all rtm members.

We are elected representatives here to represent the interests of our district And along the way, we have divergent views. That's okay as long as we debate respectfully. Some RTM representatives were called out for making statements that arguably were protected under First Amendment. Others who made, in my view, more objectionable statements in both context and tone were given a pass. This should never be tolerated or ignored.

Second, I take issue with the manner in which mister Weiser has continued to appoint the same chairs to the committees. I believe that committees themselves should make the decision. There is nothing in our town charter that mentions that the chairs are just makes makes that decision or the moderator makes that decision. Third, I do not believe the moderator has effectively protected the public's right to transparency and access to meetings and documents as required under CT's FOIA laws, freedom of information, if you guys don't know what that is. As many of you know, I'm challenging mister Weiser on his decision to convert a previously noticed open meeting on the $109,000,000 appropriation for long lots into a closed door executive session where the public was locked out.

That matter is now before the state FOIA commission to decide. Fourth, I take issue with the way in which mister Weiser has handled the issues regarding the public right to petition as set forth in the charter. In April 2024, we had a robust two hour discussion about this issue in the rules committee. This is obviously a big issue for many people in the community, and we recognize that by having several meetings in 2024. Mister Weiser, as chair of that committee, pledged he would continue the discussion and work towards developing a new process once that budget cycle year was over.

It's now December 2025. I have no doubt that mister Weiser will be selected tonight or reelected tonight for another one year term. My hope that is over the course of this coming year, many of my RTM colleagues will decide to run at our at our next organizational meeting, which according to the town charter is held next December. For now, don't be shy. Listen. Seek insight from colleagues, but don't ever be discouraged from taking position or asking a question. No matter how it comes out, how as long as it's done respectfully with your constituents in mind, you can't go wrong. And likely, someone else may have the same thought or question too. Thank you.

Are there any other members of the auteur who wish to speak? Seeing none, we have one yes. Mister Moore.

Lewis Mall District 2 I'm very disturbed that we're having this discussion tonight That a member of the RTM would be seeking civil penalties against a fellow member and chair of a committee and our moderator. All members of the r t m were invited to attend the executive session miss Johnson refers to. She chose not to attend. She was elected to represent this constituent she claims to have been harmed and who will face increased tax burden due to the largest appropriation of $103,000,000 approved unanimously by all boards and commissions of the town of Westport. Miss Johnson attended and spoke to the RTM meeting where this final approval was voted on.

She chose to leave the meeting before the vote. The RTM approved 35 to nothing.

Yes, sir. Mister Weiser.

I I don't think it's really appropriate to get I don't think it's really appropriate to get into all this for the election of the moderator. I I

will ask

the moderator that

I be allowed to speak the same as the members of public and the other member of the RTU.

I'll grant you that right, but please, you know, this is a place for

I was hoping that we would be cordial and unanimous tonight to elect the only person that's nominated to run for moderator. There there are no other nominations. So the divisiveness continues. And I'm just pointing out some of the things so I I was very upset when I read in in today's Westport Journal that my colleagues are going to be facing potential civil penalties. Can we as elected officials now expect that when we speak or vote on something that miss John Johnson dislikes that she and miss Simonelli will file harassing FOIA complaints all in the name of transparency?

I will finish right here. If we're to be transparent, why does miss Johnson not disclose who her attorney is? And if her attorney is concerned about transparency, why doesn't Evan Barr disclose that he is her husband? Again hypocrisy is reeking. I would like to set aside all of this nonsense and unanimously vote for jeff weiser for his moderator thank you.

For the RTM is that it can be by a show of hands if the vote is going to be unanimous. My understanding is it is not going to be unanimous. There will be one abstention or one negative. I'm not really sure which it is based on what miss Johnson said. However, we can suspend the rules if we want. And I'm gonna make a if somebody wants to make a recommend what?

They're saying it's a little loud.

Oh, Good. Now, thank you. Yeah. I gotta get used to it.

I know. I don't wanna read you.

My suggestion is that if somebody wants to make a motion to suspend the rules on voting that we will vote in since there is only one candidate and there apparently is only one objection that by a two thirds vote of the entire body, we can suspend the rules and go as if it were a unanimous vote by a show of hands even though there may be one or more people who will not be voting for the nominee. So, if somebody wants to make that motion with a second, I'll entertain it. Anybody wanna make a motion to suspend the rules? Come to come to the lectern, please.

I'd like to say that we take a vote for the moderator now by a show of hands and see what happens. Is that okay?

The motion would be to suspend the rules so that we can have a show of hands even if the vote is not unanimous.

What he said.

Is there a second to that motion? Miss Kay, I'll second it. Okay. We will now proceed on the basis that this is a show of hands vote with Okay. Okay. You. Thank you. You. Thank you. All in favor of the motion, please raise your hands.

I think we should do

a quick roll call vote.

Okay. Two thirds vote would be approximately okay.

I'm getting

Thank you. Will you read the roll, please?

Excuse me. Don't you need to go to comment stores?

I can't I can't hear you, Peter. Don't you

need to go to comment stores? Anybody want to comment on the motion?

I guess so. Who would like to comment on this one?

I think No.

I think the points have been made. My my suggestion is that points have all been made and, you know, the people who vote the way they want, it but it'll be by a show of hands rather than going anybody wanna comment? Comment? Comment? No comments? Okay. We now proceed to the vote. Please count.

Okay. Mister Daley? I but I think we should do a quick roll call vote. I'm sorry. I'll go fast. But let's keep it clean and stick to the script. Yes.

Go. Can just take a brief step back? What was the procedure that we're now looking to

Roll call verse vote by hands.

To suspend the rules. Should just be a

roll call.

Let's just do a roll call vote. Okay. Sorry.

Yes. Who somebody's talking on the phone. Who's this?

It's Jack Quinn.

Yes. Yes, Jack. Hold on, please.

I vote for Jeff Leeser. You vote.

That's what I'm saying. No. Let's stick to the rules and vote correctly. Okay. Motion is withdrawn.

Okay.

Sorry. I don't mean to I'm trying to fight my tongue. But

I was trying to speed things up, and apparently, I put a delay in the whole thing. I'm sorry of that. Don't worry.

So we can vote by hands or Yes. By

A point of order for Thank you.

Christian Schneeman, District 9. I'm not the parliamentarian in the room, but I believe at the beginning, Dick, you said that the rules for vote voting on the moderator are that if the vote is not unanimous, it needs to be by secret ballot. Am I correct? Unless the rules are suspended. Is

that correct?

Only if it's contested. Only if it's contested. Okay.

That was what I was We only have one nomination.

The motion to suspend the rules has been withdrawn, which means we can do a roll call vote for the moderator candidate. Okay. Thank you.

Thank you

nod from our town clerk. Alright. Can I go ahead and appreciate the time? Thank you. Miss Coitkendahl? Yes. Your vote is yes. Mister Mandel?

Matt. Mister Mandel.

He before said I I'm in favor of Jeff Weiser. Maybe that's because he was hanging up. Okay. But we'll leave him for now. Miss Pursell? Yes. Mister Tate is still not here. Mister Keenan? Yes. Miss Levy? Yes. Mister Mull?

Yes.

Miss Peacock? Yes. Miss Brook mister Brickhart?

Yes.

Mister Drake? Yes. Mister Izzo?

Yes.

Miss Kopak? Yes. Mister Kolobella? Yes. Mister Lucas? Yes. Miss Wiley? Yes. Mister Gold? Yes. Mister miss Kramer? Sorry.

Yes.

Mister Lowenstein? Yes. Miss Shum? Yes. Miss Banks? Yes. Mister Braunstein? Yes. I am a yes. Miss Sorrelli? Yes. Miss Briggs? Yes. Mister Carson? Yes. Miss Lautenberg? Yes. Mister Kling is on the phone.

Who's on the phone? Hello? Hello?

Alright. We'll come back to Jack. Miss Fatou? Miss Cone?

Miss Cone.

Who is that?

That's Rachel.

Rachel is Jack. Yes?

Yes. Hi, Dick. It's Jack Quinn.

Yes, Jack. I

vote for Weezer.

Okay. We've got Jacks. What about Rachel Cohen?

Rachel Cohen there. Rachel?

Yes.

Yes.

Okay. Moving on. Miss Breezen? Yep. Mister Newman? Yes. Miss Johnson? No. Miss Kale? Yes. Mister Moore? Yes. Miss Schneman? Yes. Okay. So mister Wieser does not vote. So it is 34 to one. Sorry. 33 to one. Congratulations.

Thank you. Well done. More controversial than we ever expected. Interesting. Interesting. Exactly. Exactly. Well, thank you everyone. Thank you. Thank you everyone.

Thank you Wendy. Thank you Andrew. I I feel like I can go home now and feel good about the nice things everyone said and the policy things that some people said I've heard them all before and we we agree to disagree and that is what makes this body so wonderful. And we might get there on some of those. I suspect we might not get there on some of those, but that's just the way it is, and I'd love to talk more about some of those things as we go along, but we try, we try.

So that was really a good thing, and thank you for your support. I must say it keeps me going, so because I hear what I wanna hear, and so that's that's a good thing. So thank you. I will be short and just thank everybody for that very nice view, that nice order of business. And our next order of business is the election of the deputy moderator. So if our deputy moderator, before she runs again, would read item two of the call

To take such action as the meeting may determine to elect a deputy moderator of the representative town meeting.

And per the town charter, we will use the same procedures for election of deputy moderator. As for moderator, this is not resolution and nomination may not may be seconded but does not need to be under section a one six two dash 11 of the RTM rules as procedure voting for the election deputy moderator shall be by signed ballot however if only one candidate is nominated then the vote for The Us this office may be by a show of hands at the discretion of the moderator at this time nominations are open for the deputy moderator of the representative town meeting and the town recognizes miss Shom. Oh, and mister Tate is here. Tate

is lit.

Alright. Glasses. Sit down, Chris. Okay. Good evening, everyone, and a special welcome to those of you who are new to the RTM.

Can't wait to get to know all of you and work with you. I'm Claudia Schomm, RTM district five, and it's my pleasure and my honor tonight to nominate Lauren Karp for deputy moderator for upcoming RTM session. Lauren has been a West Porter since 2012. Before moving here with her family, she built a strong corporate career in strategic planning and business development, then became a lawyer, first in private practice and then as an attorney at the Department of Education in New York City. In Westport, Lauren has given generously of her time as a volunteer, serving as a president of the preschool board, the wise executive board, and as a Girl Scout troop leader.

Lauren joined the RTM in 2014. She chaired the ordinance committee and later the education committee, a role that given her background, she was born to play. She's been our deputy moderator since 2021. The moderator and deputy moderator are special positions in my mind because, as you just saw, the RTM elects them collectively to lead us, to do the extra work, to help the rest of us stay on track. We look around this room and we ask ourselves, who can we turn to, who can we count on to keep us on task so we can do our best work on behalf of the people who elected us?

Of course, the deputy moderator must manage process, the call, the votes, the resolutions, Robert's rules, but the overall goal of the position is to foster and support the uniquely collaborative and nonpartisan environment that allows the RTM to best serve the interests of Westport residents. Over the past four years, I've had the great privilege of watching Lauren fulfill that role with dedication and integrity. She works hard. She listens intently. She communicates clearly and transparently, and she always aims to do what's right no matter how much work it requires.

I'm proud to call her a friend and a colleague, and she is unquestionably my choice for this position. Please join me in reelecting Lauren Karp as RTM deputy moderator.

Thank you, miss Shum. Is there a second? Chair recognizes miss Lautenberg.

Ellen Lautenberg, RTM district seven. I am honored to second the nomination of Lauren Karp for deputy moderator. I first met Lauren when we were both running for District 7 RTM. That was ten years ago. She was new to the local political scene and had gotten appointed to the RTM midway through the prior term. We both ran that November 2015. The district was contested that year with five of us running, and we were the two newcomers. I believe we met for the first time standing at the polls. I lived in Westport for twenty years, and my kids were in high school and college. Lauren had not been in Westport long, had young kids, and had been very involved with her preschool.

We started talking. She seemed to have been on the quiet side and was sure she was going to lose. It turned out we both won, and we were very excited to represent the district together along with Brandi and Jack who are still here. Since then, Lauren has added various kinds of experience to her resume, but mainly my observation has been seeing her growth as an RTM member. We served together on education and ordinance committees.

Lauren then became chair of ordinance and then, and currently chair of education and then deputy moderator. This is not a job that just anyone can do the right way. Lauren has the right temperament, objectivity, ability to listen, and to discuss things with an open mind. She educates herself on the issues, understands the rules and the processes. She has shown that she's the right type of person and leader that belongs in that position.

I second her nomination for deputy moderator. I welcome all the new people, and I will just quickly, since I'm up here, just say that tonight is is a bit of an aberration. And so a lot of the new people are probably wondering what we actually do here in our meetings. And I will just say that, you know, normally, we are quite a serious body, and we do a lot of deliberating. We do a lot of meeting. We do a lot of discussing. We do a lot of research. All those things are what goes into this job. Tonight was somewhat unusual. We also laugh together sometimes, and we also have fun.

So I just wanted to throw that in there. Welcome to your first meeting, and I look forward to working with you all the next two

Thank you, miss Lautenberg. We now go to public comment. Again, traditionally, although not always, there's been little or no public comment during these elections. However, our town charter does allow for anyone from Westport to speak. Are there any members of elect who would like to speak about oh, sorry. Are are there any other hands? Are there any other nominations? I'm sorry. I forgot the most important part. Any other nominations for deputy moderator? Now. Okay. Phew. Now, is there any public comment or RTM comment? Seeing none, we can go to a vote.

And, I think we can do a show of hands. All those in favor of Lauren Carr, deputy moderator. Any opposed? On the phone we have

Matthew is a yes.

Matthew is a yes.

I wanna make sure also that a yes was recorded for your vote as well, Mr. Leeson.

Thank you, Matt. I'm pretty sure it was, but we'll check on that. Who else? Rachel?

Yes.

Yes. It's a yes. And

Is it a yes? Yes.

Yeah. And mister Kling is a yes.

Mister Kling is proud to have his whiteboard for his car.

Thank you, Mr. Kling. I believe that is unanimous 36 now, 35. Thank you. Right.

Have mister Tate now. So thirty five one. Thank you. Now that Chris is back, do we have 36?

I didn't vote on that. So Oh,

of course.

36. But

Of course. Great. Congratulations.

Thank you, Chris.

To say anything?

I just thank you. We'll continue to lead with integrity, transparency. I think it has been a really strong few years together and look forward to working with Jeff and continuing the good work. So thank you.

Thank you. As it turns out, the fourth item tonight regarding the HOOKED contract down at the beach has been tabled for the time being, or it's been withdrawn from tonight. So we're only doing the next item before the orientation. So would the deputy moderator please read item number three 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 $500,000 along with bond sorry. I thought I was reading the wrong one. Okay. Following with bond and note authorization to the municipal improvement fund account for the replacement of the Campo Marina North Seawall with slopestone revetment.

Thank you, miss Carve. Presenting for the administration is someone that the new members of the RTM will see regularly up here. Much to his consternation, Pete Rackowitz is director of public works. Welcome. Good

evening and welcome all new RTM members. I'm Pete Rakowitz, director of public works. When I looked at the agenda, I thought this was gonna be a really short meeting. As as is usual, I'm still last. In any case, this request for appropriation is for $500,000, modified from the original request of $1,580,000 for replacement of an 800 foot long retaining wall that's on the north side of the Campo Marina and a retaining wall that has collapsed and has been collapsed for a couple of years now.

This wall has been visited by the board of finance, many RTM members, and for orientation purposes. There was a lot of debate at the board of finance meeting about methodology that we chose to replace this wall with. The reason that the number came down from 1,580,000 to 500,000 is because we went to bid in the middle of the double bounce that board of finance put us through. And they they do a double bounce for those that don't understand, what that means. They'll open the item and then they go and visit the site and then they come back to debate some more at the next meeting.

We received eight bids on sorry, nine bids on this and they ranged from 282,000 on the low end to 1,824,000.000 on the high end. The reason that we're asking for 500,000 is there's an opportunity now to build a sidewalk and a nice fence along the top of this, which was not included in the original appropriation request. So the revised appropriation request includes those. It's an opportunity to, extend the Campo Beach Road sidewalk along Campo Marina and sort of tie it together a loop that a lot of people use. So I think, that's a twofold, that that's one of twofold reasons for this.

With a range of prices this this wide, first thing we did was we questioned the contractor, extensively. This is a contractor that we have used before, and a very similar thing happened the last time he worked for us right after storm Sandy on, Hendricks Point, which if you're not familiar with that geographic name, it's really the driving range that's off of the lower parking lot at Longshore. That's a point that goes out. It's elevated above the river. The reason it's elevated above the river is it's a landfill.

After storm Sandy, the waves took out a lot of what was cover on that landfill and we needed someone to come in, regrade it, follow permit requirements, and rebuild that, so that we could cover the landfill again. So Martello Enterprise, which was at that time DeCello Enterprise, bid everybody, bid out everybody, and came in, did exactly what was on the plans, did exactly what was in the permit, didn't go over budget, probably came in a little bit under budget, and got out just at this you know, on time, under budget. He did everything he needed to do. So after interviewing this contractor and looking at his record, I really have no reason not to take this bid, to try to waive this low bid. But in the back of my mind, I like to have belt and suspenders.

The second bidder was Nardi Masonry at a price of 458,000 or 459,000. By requesting 500,000, if by some chance something happens to the first bidder that he cannot complete this project, I still will have enough money to complete the project with the second bidder. So it's I just wanted to explain my reasoning for, the the $500,000 request. Hopefully, we'll only spend half of it. But in addition, we'll also be able to build a sidewalk and a nice wire fence, which is very similar to the retaining, revetment structure on the south side of the marina.

We talked extensively about this project in committee and the reasons that we chose what we chose. There were, just briefly, the design engineer, Race Coastal Engineers, charged with giving us three alternative designs. They came up with four. And when we chose the one that we initially chose and brought it to the DEP, DEP said that's nice except it's gonna take you two years to get a permit for that, and we're not even sure if we're gonna give you a permit for that. And that was replacing the vertical stone wall that is there today with a vertical stone wall supported on sheet piling and being a gravity wall.

The reason they didn't wanna do that was we encroached too far into the tidal wetlands with that solution, and we would have had to have a structures dredging fill and tidal wetlands permit, which is like the longest permit that you can get. So we went back to them and said, well, what if we do what we did on the other side and do a slope revetment at one and a half to one on slope and we don't go any further than four inches from the face of the wall, they said, well, we can give you a certificate of permission for that and you can have it in ninety days, which is exactly what we did over the summer. So we now have permits from army corps, permit from DEP, a bid a contractor that we're confident can do the work, and can get the work started in January. So that's the reasoning behind the choice that we had. There was a lot of debate about living shorelines as a replacement or an alternative to this type of structure.

What I pointed out to committee and board of finance was that a living shoreline is always on a much shallower slope than this. This is a high high energy area where this retaining wall is getting hit with waves when the boats aren't there in the middle of winter, when there are big storms. So a living shoreline is not exactly appropriate. One of the board of finance members asked me, is there any place in Westport that we could do a living shoreline? And I said to them, well, I didn't think so at the time, but since then, we've actually looked at some areas.

There is an area right around Hendricks Point that could be done if, in fact, we wanted to spend the money to do that, to reduce some of the wave energy that hits that that structure. In any case, that's a little bit of the background. This wall has been here since 1930. We've been repairing it roughly every ten to fifteen years, and it's a diminishing return because every time we repair this vertical wall and the waves come in and hit it again, the energy that hits the wall goes down and digs out more mud, and that mud never comes back. So you can continue to repair it, but eventually you're trying to stuff rocks under a rock wall and it's not a very effective means for repair.

This slope revetment, on the other hand, reduces wave energy and doesn't allow that digging or erosive action of the waves. With that, I've probably spoken too long, so I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Great. Thank you. We now turn to the committee report. Mister Keenan from the public works and finance.

Jay Keenan, public works committee. Once again, Pete, I thought you were gonna cut off early and leave me with something to actually talk about, but you didn't. So the there was a joint committee meeting held last Tuesday, November 25 to discuss the appropriation for the new stone revetment at the north wall of the Campo Ned Dimes Marina. The as Pete explained, we discussed the the difference in the appropriation going from $1,500,000 down to $500,000. 800 foot wall.

The last time it was any major repairs, I think, was the seventies on this wall. And he explained how DEP would not allow us to go more than four inches into the tidal wetlands, is how we came up with this solution. The other thing you did actually you did leave me something. The existing revetment on the South Side has been there since 2014, and no repairs have been required on that since that time. So while this requires continuous repairs, that has required none.

So this appears to be a good solution. Let's see. The committee asked a bunch of questions regarding I think Pete covered most of these. One of the local flooding, the concrete side work on the top, filter fabric, things like that. The other thing that's part of this is there's also a payment and performance bonds on this, which is sort of above and beyond just in case that doesn't work out with the low bidder.

I think that's it. All both committees voted unanimously to recommend to the full r t m. Thank you.

Thank you, mister Keenan. And we did have a couple field trips. People got out to see it, so they might have some interesting observations if necessary or useful. We now turn to the Westport Electorate. Does anyone from the Westport Electorate have a comment or a question on this item? Mister Ben Moshe.

Hi everyone, Ari Ben Moshe, 38 Arlen Road. Mr. Rakowicz, thank you for your presentation. I was surprised to hear that this scope of work was changed ad hoc in the middle I think there was talk of a walkway that was added in other costs I would say if we got favorable pricing for the scope of work and we were able to as mister Keenan said value engineer it with a different type of structure due to the kind of permitting that we were able to get. If there is a walkway that was added on top of it, I would try to remove that scope and see what how low we can get it.

Especially coming from COLI country where we can't get sidewalks. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Ben Moshe. Any other members of the public? Seeing no other members of the public, do we have a resolution?

Yes. Resolved that upon the recommendation of the Board of Finance and request by the Director of Public Works, the sum of $500,000 along with bond and note authorization to the municipal improvement fund account for the replacement of the Campo Marina North Seawall with Slopestone Rio Municipality appropriated. Second.

Thank you, miss Kirk, mister Colette Bell. Any member of the RTM like to comment on this? Can I see your resolution?

Yes. Dick is raising his hand. Come

come up. Yeah. Because the microphone has to pick you up, mister Carson. Sorry. Well, not sorry. We we wanna hear from you. And if it's procedural in this meeting, that's okay. If it's has to do with the item, that's okay. But whatever is of interest is of interest.

Hi. Joe Carson from district seven. I'm a new member. I'm just curious. Is this part of the budget? Is it part of the discretionary part of the budget? How does this work? That's all I'm trying to ask.

Great. Mister Eckrich, come on come on up.

That was the one that I had left for Jeff. Mean for

Jay.

This is part of the ten year capital forecast. The one thing that neither of us mentioned was it was on the capital forecast for several years for about $1,100,000, and it's been on the capital forecast at different levels of funding for probably ten years or so. But that capital forecast is a living document. It changes every year. So as prices change with the economy, we have to adjust the prices on there, but it's a good road map as to a lot of the things that I'm gonna be bringing up here in the next twelve months.

But I believe the actual dollars are not in this year's budget because it's going to bond and note authorization and the anticipated interest is expected to build in over the next many years of budget, and that will be in the future budgets.

That's Yep.

We're Information Right. We're beyond the public, but if you don't mind. Alright. Yeah.

What if the ten year capital plan has been approved? A new RTM member cannot assume that any of that money has been approved.

Yeah. So that's a good point. The the ten year capital plan is not approved.

It's not big yet. It's

just a

fictitious Okay. Yep. The the capital the ten year plan is not approved money. It is just in the plan that shows that we're thinking about that and planning to spend that money that will go to bond and authorization which will build up as interest expense going forward. Thank you. You'll learn a whole lot more about that from the finance committee meetings as they appear Ms. Schneeman.

Christian Schneeman, District 9. I did actually just wanna say that for especially for the new members, I I went to the meeting, the committee meeting virtually, and just wanted to say that was a great committee meeting. Sounds kind of crazy to say it, but I just thought it was like it was a great presentation by Pete. You didn't use the visual aids tonight that you used at the at that meeting. It was a really gave a just a really great analysis, you know, of the situation and of the funding, etcetera. There were great questions, really good discussion, great discussion about the living shoreline idea and and among many other things. I just so I really just wanna advocate, especially for the new members, that going to those committee meetings can be really especially educational, and you have just feel a lot more free to ask questions and not take up time like I'm doing right now. So just wanted to put it in place. Thanks.

Thank you, Damon. Mister Lonsigne, And then mister Moore.

Dick Lonsigne, district of fire. Pete, just a question. Will the in the walkway, will there be benches provided?

Yes.

The answer is yes. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Maul.

Lewis Maul, district two. This is one expenditure that I think that we're getting a bang for the buck. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that it would include a sidewalk. And at that price, we're getting two projects out of the way. Would like to, since the first selectman is here, to say that I hope that you will continue the selectman's office pedestrian and traffic safety task force because this is a prime example of having plans and incorporating some of the things that that task force has been doing.

It will get pedestrians off that roadway and into the park, and it's that much safer for everybody involved. So I hope that task force is kept intact and and working. Thank you.

Great. Thanks mister Mall. Any other members of the rtm? Ah, yes. Miss Grayson.

So I'm a new member. I know nothing about this except I know all the places we're talking about.

And you say Joe Grayson.

Oh, Joe Grayson. Sorry. District 8. Is this normal in that we're asked to vote on something financially that we've never been part of before?

Yes. Do

you understand the question?

Yes. To the extent that our packet should include some information that is a little bit of background that we read up on and we go to field trips, which this was a funny thing in between terms, but we had a field trip down to the beach and committee meetings. And then the committee reports, really a lot of the appropriations are made through committee reports. And so we might not get the full in-depth information that we get at committee. We kind of rely on the different committees to investigate fully, give their report, and if there are controversies, they usually bring them up. But we can delve as deeply as we want or often take meeting.

That the past RTM did not vote on this, and so we're being asked to vote on this?

Well, this is just the monthly business. The board of finance voted on this in November, so we're getting it thirty days up within thirty days later. They usually meet the Wednesday after our Tuesday meeting, and that brings up a whole bunch of new appropriations which we vote on the following month typically. So they saw this in November right after our last maybe not, maybe that was also funny because of the vote election day. But typically this one event Happens. This one appropriation happens.

Sort of every year?

Okay. Right. But thank you. Good question. Mr.

Bronson?

Seth Francine, RTM district six. I just wanted to be responsive to missus Grayson's question. No one should be under the obligation to vote. Abstention, if you don't feel that you're properly informed or able to to render an opinion, abstention would be an absolutely valid option for you to exercise this evening.

Great. Thanks, Seth. And miss Bateau?

Wendy Bateau, District 8. So since we're speaking somewhat generally, I would just like to say that since we passed our net zero resolution several years ago, we're mandated not just to look at the financial consequences of our decisions. We are also mandated to consider social and environmental consequences of our decisions and I was really happy to learn that Pete had considered Before I asked at the committee meeting about the Living Shore and it turned out that Allison had asked on the board of finance about the living shoreline solution. I was really happy to understand that Pete had already checked into it. He knew the answers.

He knew why it wasn't appropriate but was prepared to apply ecologically friendly solutions after. Excuse me. So that's it. So when you make your choices, don't just consider finances, although that is one of our major roles.

Thank you, miss Veto. Great point. Thank you. Any other members of the RTM? Seeing no other members of the RTM, we're voting on the following resolution, resolved that upon the recommendation of the Board of Finance and a request by director of public works the sum of $500,000 along with bond and note authorization to the municipal improvement fund account for the replacement of the Campo Marina North Seawall with sloped stone revetment is hereby appropriated all those in favor Any opposed? And any abstentions? One abstention. Ms. Grayson. And on the phone, Mr.

Matt Mandel is a yes. Mr. Kling and Ms. Cohn? Mr. Kling votes yes. You.

Rachel Cohen is yes.

Thank you. And I think that's it. That's 30 $5.01. Great. Well, with that, the meeting is concluded, and so we'll move on to the orientation. Thank you, Pete.