By Gretchen Webster
WESTPORT–Wednesday’s Board of Selectwomen’s meeting was historic in many ways. It was the last meeting of Westport’s current, and first-ever, Board of Selectwomen, comprised of three women: First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker and selectwomen Andrea Moore and Candice Savin. The new Board of Selectmen, First Selectman Kevin Christie, Selectwoman Amy Wistreich, and Selectman Don O’Day, will be sworn in at the town-wide inauguration ceremony on Monday at 7:30 at Town Hall.
The Selectwomen’s meeting was also historic in other ways, announcing plans for a large “Westport 250” celebration in 2026 commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. and Westport’s role in the country’s history. The selectwomen also approved a grant to upgrade the town’s Historic Resources Inventory cataloguing the historical value of hundreds of homes and buildings in town.
Municipalities across the state have been making plans for the 250-year celebration, and Westport’s year-long celebration will focus on Memorial Day and July 4th, Operations Director Tom Kiely told the selectwomen. A “Westport 250” website will be launched soon, he said, where events will be listed and merchandise with the event’s logo, designed by Westport artist Miggs Burroughs, will be sold.
“These celebrations are going on all over the country and Connecticut has its own Connecticut 250” plan, Selectwoman Andrea Moore said after the meeting.
Moore, Kiely and Donna Douglass, coordinator of the town’s Historic District Commission, have been working together on the plans for the celebration, Moore said. “This is specific to Westport and Westport history. We’re going to have participation with many Westport organizations, and an event every month going into 2026,” she said.
At the meeting, the selectwomen approved a Terms of Service agreement with Printful Inc., a North Carolina company that will be producing items with the Westport 250 logo. The items will be offered directly on the company’s website, and the town will not be spending money to acquire and then sell the merchandise, Kiely said.
More town historic information to come
The selectwomen also approved a consulting agreement with consultant Daryn Reyman-Lock to revise and update the Town’s Historic Resources Inventory, which describes the historic value of over 1,000 buildings in Westport. The inventory includes the date a house or commercial building was built if known, the style of the house such as Colonial Revival or Federal, and in some cases, the historic name of the building such as the Bradley Wheeler House on Avery Place.
The original inventory was done over 20 years ago, Douglass said, and over the years some of the buildings have been remodeled or changed. The town will pay for the update with a $20,000 grant from the Historic Preservation office of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. The town applied for a $30,000 grant and was awarded $20,000, Douglass said.
I have an idea for our Westport 250 celebration: install our beautiful, blue bicentennial marker on Veterans Green. The huge, distinctive plaque was originally erected at town hall as part of a state-wide bicentennial program (every municipality received one). Westport, in a spasm of poor judgement during the Marpe administration, tore it down and crammed it into a closet somewhere. Time to take pride and reassert leadership.
I agree with Morley. The original marker, though incomplete, was never offensive and the “updated” marker at the rear entrance to Town Hall is an inadequate substitute. I’ve been asking the outgoing administration for over four years to install the bicentennial marker on Veteran’s Green. With change coming on Monday, I’ll start asking again. Back in 2021, the Public Works Dept wrote that the original marker “is safe and secure in Public Works storage.”
I think many in town are celebrating this board of selectwomen”s “last meeting”..