By John H. Palmer

WESTPORT — Funding for ongoing town public works projects, including a new generator at the sewage treatment plant and a culvert over Deadman Brook, where a new bridge is slated to be built this summer, won Representative Town Meeting approval this week.

Sewage treatment generator

The RTM voted unanimously to approve $218,000 from the town’s Sewer Reserve Fund to replace a 500-kilowatt backup generator at the town’s water pollution control facility. 

The unit, which is a failsafe in case of power failure, was installed in 2004 when the facility was constructed, and has been in operation for more than 21 years. The second generator is due to be replaced in 2027.

“It is prudent to replace and upgrade them [generators] to the newest technology after a 20-year service life,” wrote Public Works Director Peter Ratkiewich in a Dec. 16 memo to First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker requesting the funds. 

“The two generators are the final line of power backup for the plant during a power outage and are critical to the operation of our treatment plant during an emergency.”

Both the RTM Finance and Public Works committees voted unanimously to recommend the appropriation at their joint meeting Feb. 27. Once the new generator is installed, the old one will be placed for sale at auction and any proceeds will be returned to the sewer fund. 

“We absolutely have to have a very, very, very reliable backup because the sewage treatment plant is one of two things in this town that cannot stop, at all, ever, or we will have some form of a disaster,” Ratkiewich said. 

Sidewalk improvements

Continuing a bi-annual project that has been ongoing since 2002, the RTM unanimously (with one abstention from District 8 RTM member Ari D. Benmoshe) approved $400,000 for maintenance and replacement of Westport’s 25 miles of public sidewalks. 

According to Ratkiewich, the town’s sidewalks have improved dramatically since 2018, earning in the last seven years a “Sidewalk Condition Index,” or SCI, of 71 out of a scale of 100. In 2018, the SCI was at 48. 

“The ultimate goal is to maintain our existing sidewalks at a level of approximately 80,” he said. 

The money pays town staff, along with help from contractors who assit with specialty work such as installing handicapped-accessible features. 

With the approval of the funds, about two miles of sidewalk will be replaced along Compo Road, Bayberry Lane and Easton Road this May and June, and then again in October/November of 2026. 

New dump truck/spreader

The RTM also approved almost $200,000 from the Capital and Non-Recurring Fund to cover the cost of a new Ford F550 highway service truck to replace the town’s current 2016 model.

Truck No. 67, as it is known, shows sign of wear and fatigue, according to Ratkiewich, and rather than continue ongoing necessary repairs, the town opted to take advantage of recent sales as well as the current vehicle’s potential sales price at auction to replace the truck a year early, as it is scheduled to be replaces in fiscal year 2026.

“This is a front-line piece of equipment assigned to the highway division,” he wrote in a memo to Tooker. 

The truck is generally used for routine highway maintenance tasks such as steam cleaning, excavation support, as well as winter maintenance chores such as clearing and managing snow removal during snowstorms. 

The entire $218,000 appropriation includes upfit of the can and chassis with a dump body, a spreader and accessories such as a radio and electronics.

Deadman Brook culvert

Lastly, $2.75 million was unanimously approved to replace the Cross Highway culvert at Deadman Brook, part of the town’s plan to replace the aging two-lane bridge over that accident-prone road.

The culvert was built in 1930, and has been repaired many times, Ratkiewich said, and has been the victim of several automobile strikes and undermining from water flow during large storms. The new culvert will be designed to last at least 75 years, say town officials. 

“There is no practical way to repair or reinforce it without rebuilding,” he said. “In addition, the structure is functionally obsolete for current transportation needs that include a pedestrian pathway over the bridge.”

Cross Highway has been the site of more than 20 vehicle accidents between North Avenue and Bayberry Lane in the last three years, according to town officials. In addition, the existing span, which is only 25 feet wide, does not allow for construction of sidewalks on the busy two-lane highway, and requires pedestrians to use the edge of travel lanes to cross. 

In addition, the bridge itself has been rated as “substandard” by the state’s Department of Transportation, and has a remaining life span of only 15 years. The project will take place this summer on a semi-accelerated schedule that will allow it to be reopened before the academic year starts, as the bridge is located close to four schools and athletic fields.

John Palmer, a Norwalk native, is a freelance writer who has covered community news in Fairfield County and Massachusetts for over 30 years.