Westport in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Quick Article Index . . .
Advisory to Motorists – Upcoming Road
Races In Westport.
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Meeting approves $37 million
budget, but votes down three petition articles including contentious special
act for recall elections, kills $200,000 request for a town facilities fiber
optics network, and no pot in town for now. EverythingWestport.com Wednesday, May 3, 2017 Photos |
EverythingWestport.com
Special Correspondent to
EverythingWestport.com Just under 300 voters turned out on
May 2 to act on a 36-article annual town meeting warrant, approving more than
$40 million in spending for Fiscal Year 2018, starting July 1, with little or
no debate in many cases. The biggest financial matter on the warrant, a $37.1
million municipal operating budget, passed on a voice vote with only minor
adjustments proposed by a handful of departments. The biggest share of the general fund
budget for FY2018 will be $19.5 million for local
schools and regional school assessments. Another $5.5 million is budgeted for
public safety; $2.2 million for general government; $1.4 million for public
works and facilities; and $6.2 million for pension and insurance costs. The spending plan for the coming
fiscal year is nearly $1.4 million more than was budgeted for the current
year, representing roughly a 3.8 percent increase in funding, Finance
Committee Chair Hugh Morton reported at the beginning of the meeting. Outside
of the “general fund” municipal budget package, the meeting also approved
several million dollars more in revolving fund and enterprise fund
expenditures for FY 2018. The town is facing “difficult
financial circumstances” in FY 2018 due to decreasing state aid and
increasing unfunded mandates, but was able to balance the budget against
anticipated revenues with the use of $1.34 million in “free cash” left over
from the previous fiscal year and tapping $228,000 in overlay reserves held
for potential property tax abatements, Morton indicated. Other big ticket spending requests
passed during the three-hour meeting included about $1.5 million in
recommended Community Preservation Act (CPA) expenditures, and an additional
$1,849,000 million in funding for a new police station. There was no
discussion of the recommended CPA list of funding requests, and the extra
money for the police station being proposed for a site off Hix Bridge Road was also passed without any debate. The request for supplementary funding
for the $8 million debt exclusion bond approved for the police station last
year was necessitated by higher-than-expected bids for the construction of
the new facility off Hix Bridge Road, town
officials said. The $1.85 million extra needed for the project will be funded
by borrowing nearly $1.35 million and using $500,000 in free cash. The biggest requests for CPA funding
were the Westport Youth Athletic Association’s bid for $600,000 in open space
and recreation funds for their planned complex of athletic fields off
American Legion Highway. Other proposed open space funding approved included
$140,000 for the purchase of an agricultural preservation restriction on the
Russell property on Horseneck Road, and $350,000 to buy a conservation restriction
for a portion of the former St. Vincent de Paul camp off Adamsville Road. The Westport Affordable Housing Trust
was successful in seeking $292,500 in community housing CPA funds to support
three different housing programs over the next two years. The funds are being
sought to underwrite the trust’s Housing Opportunity Purchase Program (HOPP), the CRE-HAB home
rehabilitation program, and the SEED initiative to encourage private
developers to build small scale affordable housing projects. Six requests for CPA historic
preservation funds were also on the list. The Acoaxet Chapel will get $23,100
for the second phase of their accessibility project, and the Westport
Historical Society was successful in obtaining $11,500 for sill and
foundation repairs to the Bell Schoolhouse, and another $44,345 for repairs
to the schoolhouse bell tower. Also approved were $100,000 for a new
roof for the Town Hall Annex; $2,380 allocated for signage at historic burial
grounds around town; and $1,500 for the development of a Paul Cuffe Heritage Trail stretching from Westport to New
Bedford. In contrast to those quick and easy
approvals, the meeting spent lots of time discussing the $1.82 million
capital needs package being recommended by the Capital Improvement Planning
Committee. At the end of the debate, voters endorsed only $1.47 million of
the recommended spending. The police department was seeking
$138,705 for three new cruisers, but the Finance Committee trimmed that request
down to $92,740 for only two vehicles; a $160,000 request for a roll-off
truck for the transfer station was cut by $12,650 and also approved by voters
at the lower amount. The financial advisory committee also recommended
eliminating $86,794 for new payroll software for the school department, and
that was also supported by voters. A recommended $200,000 expenditure for a fiber optic line to
connect the municipal intranet to the new police station, also needing a
two-thirds majority for approval, was defeated on a 165-105 vote. Other big ticket items on the capital
needs list included $450,000 for a new fire truck; $240,000 for the
lease-purchase agreement for a new ambulance; and $157,000 for a new dump
truck for the Highway Department. Approved school department requests
included $57,133 for a new intercom and master clock system for the high
school; $51,594 for replacement of the gym floor at Westport Elementary
School; $65,469 for new kitchen equipment at WES; $15,000 for replacement of
the main entrance door at WES; and $45,000 for fire-rated doors at WES.
Another $45,000 for expansion of the parking lot at the senior center, and
$50,000 for new pumps at the municipal fueling station also passed muster
with the voters. While the assembly generally followed
the recommendations of the Finance Committee and other town officials on most
financial matters, voters soundly rejected petition articles seeking a new
recall election policy, a return to an elected highway surveyor position, and
the purchase of a new bucket truck for tree-trimming work throughout town. Town meeting turns back recall petition. Considerable time was spent on the
petition article seeking the filing of special legislation proposing a change
in the town’s current recall bylaw for elected officials. The current bylaw
allows a recall effort to be initiated by a petition of 100 voters only if
the official to be recalled has been convicted of a felony offense; 25
percent of eligible voters have to endorse the petition for the matter to go
to a special election. The original article called for a
recall process to be initiated by only 10 registered voters, but that was
amended on the floor to 50 voters; the process would continue if the recall
petition was endorsed by 500 voters, but that number was later amended to
require endorsement by 10 percent of the eligible voters in town. After an
opponent noted there was no specified timetable for return of such petitions,
another amendment from the floor added the return of the petition within 45
days to force a special election. Newly-elected Selectman Brian
Valcourt was one of several members of the board who raised objections to the
article, calling it “completely flawed.” He suggested that the small number
of voters needed to start a recall effort was too low, and noted the lack of
a timetable for petitions to be returned to the Town Clerk for action. “Selectmen do support a recall
article, but not this one,” Valcourt said. “It promotes revenge,
sore-loser elections.” He indicated
he would like to meet with petitioners to work out a better procedure, and
get the proposed bylaw reviewed by town counsel
before bringing it back to a future town meeting. Selectman R. Michael Sullivan voiced
a similar opinion, saying the majority of the board felt “we need to be a
little more thoughtful” about changes in the existing recall procedures and
did not endorse the article as submitted. Although all three amendments to the
original article were passed on voice votes, the amended bylaw proposal failed
when Moderator Steven Fors called for a show of
hands at the end of the debate. The article was strongly supported by a local
animal advocacy group that has been critical of the Board of Health’s
handling of a recent animal abuse case at a Westport tenant farm, and had
called for the resignation of several board members. Selectmen also came out in opposition
to Article 32, calling for the rescinding of a 2013 special town meeting vote
that made the elected town Highway Surveyor’s post an appointed position.
Petition supporter Jim Walsh said many town employees and residents objected
to the switch, and hoped to make the position “the voters’ choice again” by
negating the earlier vote. Fors was among those speaking against the article,
saying the current meeting did not have the legal authority to reverse an
earlier town meeting vote. The article was “legally meaningless” and would
not be binding for selectmen, the current appointing authority, he explained. Resident Constance Gee also spoke against
the article, calling it “a step backward” for the town, which she felt needs
to “professionalize” appointments of key municipal employees. At the end of debate, the measure was
defeated by a wide majority, and a companion article calling for the position
to be elected by voters in the 2018 annual town election was passed over
without discussion. Another petition article seeking an
appropriation of $150,000 for a bucket truck and wood chipper for tree work
also failed to pass by a wide majority, after town officials indicated the
requested use of free cash for the purchase was not available for spending.
Selectmen noted that the expenditure was being recommended for inclusion in
next year’s capital spending plan. In other matters, the meeting approved
the transfer of four small parcels of town-owned land to the Westport
Affordable Housing Trust Fund for investigation of their suitability for
single low and moderate income houses for residents. The vacant parcels are
located on Tickle Road, School Street, Sanford Road and Briggs Road. Voters also approved a new bylaw
dealing with illicit discharges into municipal storm drains; and a new
definition of allowed commercial, entertainment and tourism activities (agri-tourisms and agri-entertainment)
on agricultural properties of five acres or more. The meeting also passed a temporary
moratorium on the licensing of recreational marijuana production facilities
and retail sales outlets in order to give the Planning Board time to develop
suitable zoning regulations for such businesses. State guidelines for such
licenses are still being developed, it was noted; the moratorium will remain
in effect until June 2018, town officials indicated. Click here
to review the annotated Town Meeting Warrant
with voting results. PDF Annual Town Meeting 2017 is in the can. After months of work and
negotiations, Town Moderator Steve Fors deftly navigated
the jargon and juxtapositions of town meeting With The first six articles But then Moderator Fors kicked the meeting
into overdrive and the remaining 30 Articles were completed in just 65
minutes. As predicted Article 15 creating a Public Works Department was passed
over with little discussion, and six articles by petition were shelved. In the waning moments of the evening six articles by petition were
either passed over or defeated. Of particular note, Article 35 calling for a “special act for recall
election procedures in the town of Westport” was amended twice with serious
discussion Advisory
To Motorists – Upcoming Road Races In Westport. Road Races and Bike Runs to look out for this summer! EverythingWestport.com Thursday, May 4, 2017 Sunday – September 10, 2017 – Narragansett Bay Wheelmen 46th Flattest
Century in the East Ride. Ride will be entering and passing through Westport using Adamsville
Road, Narrow Avenue; the riders will be using Old County Road, Drift Road, Charlotte
White Road and Hix Bridge Road. Saturday – September 16, 2017 – Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Bicycle Ride
– 9:00 a.m. Ride begins and ends at the Westport Rivers Vineyard & Winery.
Roads to be used: Hixbridge, White Oak Road, Fisher Road, Old County Road, Drift Road, Horseneck Road – cross
over on Route 88; East Beach Road, John Reed Road, Hotel Hill, Main Road, Cornell Road, Adamsville Road
and Route 179. Sunday – September 17, 2017 – Buzzards Bay Triathlon – 9:00 a.m. Ride begins at Horseneck Beach, left out of beach towards Rte. 88,
right on Drift Road, right on Hixbridge Road, right onto Horseneck Road, right onto East Beach Road, right
onto John Reed Road and left back into Horseneck Beach. Saturday – September 23, 2017 – Westport Half Marathon – 8:00 a.m. Race begins at 98 Horseneck Road (Buzzards Bay Brewery) south, then
west on East Beach road, west on John Reed Road, north on Route 88, north on Drift Road, east on Hixbridge
Road and then south on Horseneck Road ending back at the Brewery. Saturday – September 23, 2017 – Acoaxet Chapel 5K
Run/Walk Race begins at the Acoaxet Chapel and travels down to Atlantic Avenue,
turns left and then down to Elephant Rock Beach Club. Sunday – October 1, 2017 – Coalition for Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride –
8:30 to 10:00 a.m. Ride will be passing through Westport with approximately 200 cyclists
and using Mullin Hill Road, River Road, Cornell Road, Main Road, Hotel Hill, Drift Road, the Fontaine Bridge (Rte.88), John Reed Road, East Beach Road and turning onto Horseneck Road. Sunday – October 8, 2017 – 2nd Annual Westport Jr/Sr
High School 5K Run/Walk – 11:00 a.m. Race begins at Westport Jr/Sr High School
parking lot (right side of the school) and exits onto Main Road and travels south down to Charlotte White Road, where the route will then
reverse itself back to the Westport Jr/Sr High School. - - - - - End - - - - - ©
2017 Community Events of Westport
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