Westport in Brief!

EverythingWestport.com

Sunday, December 13, 2015

photos/EverythingWestport.com except as noted

 

Quick Article Index . . .

 

Former Selectman Gary Mauk takes issue with Con Edison Community Electricity Plan.

 

Westport Cultural Council is pleased to announce its 2015-2016 Grant Awards for individuals and organizations.

 

 

Former selectman takes issue with Con Edison Solutions’ Community Electricity Aggregation Program.

Confusion on simple by-law amendment ties up town meeting.

EverythingWestport.com

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

 

Ignore this letter at your peril, says former Selectman Gary Mauk.

 

If you recently received the envelope shown below in the mail, it is in your best interest to have opened it; ignoring it automatically enrolled you into a discount electric rate program that many residents are now questioning, and was the focus of a former Westport Selectman who said the Select Board may have overstepped its bounds.

 

The innocuous, plain-looking letter looks like junk email.

 

 

Selectmen voted unilaterally and unanimously several weeks ago to accept a proposal from Con Edison Solutions, a leading energy services company that provides competitive power supply, renewable energy, sustainability services, and cost-effective energy solutions for commercial, industrial, residential, and government customers, according to its website.

 

All Westport residential and commercial customers would be automatically enrolled in the price savings program for a period of two years. You do, however,  have the option to opt out of the program, but you are responsible for

 

They say no good deed goes unpunished.

 

Former Selectman Gary Mauk is concerned that many residents would not be aware of the program they were automatically enrolled in without their permission, or might not be aware they could opt out of a program they were unaware of in the first place.

 

Further, Mauk was concerned that, when the program expired in two years, costs could rise substantially and unwary customers could take big hits on their electric bill.

 

The two-year deal would provide electricity (supply only, does not include distribution costs) at $0.09490/kWh as compared to Eversource at $0.10804/kWh for residential customers.

 

     

Letter – Page 1                               Letter – Page 2                             Opt-Out Reply Card

 

Click on the above images to read the letter and Opt-Out Reply Card.

 

Former Selectman Gary Mauk is further concerned that many residents would not be aware of the program they were automatically enrolled in without their permission, or might not be aware they could opt out of a program they were unaware of in the first place.

 

Further, Mauk was troubled that when the program expired in two years, costs could rise substantially and unwary customers could take big hits on their electric bill.

 

With declining oil prices now below $30 a barrel, utilities will be pressured to focus on competitively pricing residential electricity offerings.

 

 

 

Westport Cultural Council is pleased to announce its 2015-2016 Grant Awards for individuals and organizations.

EverythingWestport.com

Sunday, December 13, 2015

 

After reviewing many deserving applications for the fall grant cycle, the Westport Cultural Council is pleased to announce its 2015-2016 Grant Awards for individuals and organizations.

 

The WCC received over $12,000 in Local Cultural Council grant requests with just over $5,000 in funds to distribute.  This year WCC received new applications for school programs and field trips offering interesting and fun learning experiences, as well as annual events enjoyed by residents of Westport and surrounding communities. 

 

Congratulations to all 2015-16 WCC Grant Awardees:  Madeline Brager for The Art Drive; Westport River Watershed Alliance for Buoyhttp://files.hgsitebuilder.com/hostgator531336/image/buoythewinterbluesddsg.png the Winter Blues; Dharma Voyage for Spirit of Westport; South Coast Artists, Inc. for their 2016 Open Studio Tours; The Arc of Greater Fall River; Westport Free Public Library; New Bedford Art Museum / Artworks! Teen Artists Internships; Diane Pereira for a school trip to the Zeiterion theater; Jane Dufault for a field trip to the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra Young People’s Concert; New Bedford Festival Theater, Inc.; Westport Land Conservation Trust; and Westport Historical Society.    

 

Please visit their website for a detailed list of the grant awards.

 

Throughout this year, the WCC accomplished a great deal.  In June, a community gathering at an historic Westport farm celebrated recent and past recipients of WCC cultural grants.  It was a wonderful opportunity for representatives of town government, non-profit organizations, and individual artists to mingle and discuss their work.

   

Also in June, Westport Cultural Council members designed and staffed a booth at River Day, the Westport River Watershed Association’s annual family-oriented event held on the banks of the Westport River.  We were delighted to meet so many of our neighbors who have participated in the wide variety of WCC funded events offered throughout the year in the community.

 

August brought the WCC’s fourth annual Film Series, presenting three documentary films each about a world-renowned architect.  Our thanks go to Westport’s Dedee Shattuck Gallery for again providing a beautiful venue for this always well-attended late summer event.

   

During fall meetings WCC members fine-tuned its grant award criteria to best promote access and support for the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences in our community.  The updated information is on our website.

 

The Westport Cultural Council is one in a statewide network of local councils funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, appropriated by the Legislature in its annual state budget.  We sincerely appreciate the support of our legislators, who this year helped avoid a reduction in arts funding.

  

The Westport Cultural Council applauds the work of all the cultural groups and artists in our town.  We invite potential grant applicants to visit our Facebook page and learn more at www.westportculturalcouncil.org

 

 

 

 

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