By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday endorsed a new five-year lease for the Westport Astronomical Society.

The WAS uses town facilities at 182 Bayberry Lane, behind the headquarters of the Aspetuck Health District.

The town owns the property, which necessitated an 8-24 request from the first selectwoman. The state’s 8-24 statute governs a significant reuse of a municipal property.

The Astronomical Society has occupied a portion of the property, a former Army Nike missile installation, for about a half-century.

Assistant Town Attorney Eileen Lavigne Flug said the new lease would be five years, just like the one that recently expired.

“The Westport Astronomical Society has been operating on an observatory there, Rolnick Observatory, on the site since 1974,” she said. “The formal leases started in 1993. This is a longtime use, hopefully you’ve all had the chance to go, do some stargazing.”

She said the lease is $100 a year.

Planning and Zoning Director Mary Young gave highlights of a staff comments report, and said the lease also would need the approval of the Board of Finance (it’s on the Aug. 7 agenda) and the Board of Selectwomen (Aug. 14).

The proposal for the popular community organization was a slam dunk.

“I think that this is a wonderful asset to the town,” said member Amy Wistreich. “It’s an excellent use of town-owned property.”

She asked who takes care of maintenance of the building, which she thought was showing some wear and tear.

“The lease says that all the maintenance is on the Westport Astronomical Society and that’s what we do,” said WAS board member Franco Fellah. “We do pretty much everything — maintenance of the grounds, maintenance of the buildings, safety, everything.”

“So, there is no cost to the town,” he said.

 Fellah said the buildings were recently inspected for safety by the town and everything checked out.

“Cosmetically, we do improvements over time,” he said. “We painted the main tower maybe two, three years ago. Mostly we look to the function of the buildings, to make sure they’re sound, they’re safe and they serve the purpose.”

“Same exact rationale with the Wakeman Town Farm,” member John Bolton said of another town-owned facility that recently was before the P&Z for an 8-24 report. “Asset to the community, part of the fabric of our town, our character, it’s great.”

“I would just ask that if an asteroid or a black hole is taking dead aim at Westport that they would let us know first,” Bolton said.

“All black holes will report to the Planning and Zoning Commission,” Chairman Paul Lebowitz commanded.

The vote was unanimous.

The society, every Wednesday after 8 p.m. but at the mercy of the clouds, holds public viewing nights for the public.

Thane Grauel grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond for 36 years. Reach him at editor@westportjournal.com. Learn more about us here.