By Thane Grauel
WESTPORT — A decision on whether to renovate Long Lots Elementary School, expand it, or construct a whole new building will likely come by the end of the month.
That’s what Jay Keenan, chairman of the Long Lots School Building Committee, said Tuesday night at an overflow meeting at Town Hall.
Room 309, not much more than a conference room adjacent to the First Selectwoman’s Office, was out of seats long before the 6 p.m. meeting was to begin.
When it began, the Westport Journal counted 37 members of the public and 11 people sitting at the committee’s table. And there were many others standing outside the doors, even after chairs were scrounged from the hallway, clogging aisles and doorways.
The crowd included officials from various town bodies, neighbors of the Hyde Lane school, and members of the Westport Community Gardens, who have been outspoken about likely impact of the project on their adjacent gardening plots.
Toni Simonetti, a member of the steering committee of the Westport Community Gardens, hand-delivered a request for public information regarding documents about the project she could not find on town websites, including a draft feasibility study.
“I did submit a Freedom of Information Act request, to the town and to the subcommittee, for a list of nine documents,” she said.
“We don’t handle that, it’s the town attorney,” Keenan said.
Lee Goldstein, chairwoman of the Board of Education, thanked the committee for its work, saying what they’re doing is exactly what they were asked to do.
“It’s hard …,” she said, “and I think sometimes we get calcified, like pushed into positions, so I really appreciate that you’re looking at so many options that you’re considering.”
People, neighbors and gardeners cautioned against building on where the gardens are because of water issues in brooks and below ground.
Nick Mancini said he lived nearby the site 50 years ago and there was a river running underneath.
“If you guys are thinking of building a school under the garden, you better think 20 times,” he said.
Thane Grauel grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond for 35 years. Reach him at editor@westportjournal.com. Learn more about us here.
TL;DR Westport town government has a “Transparency” issue and FOIA requests are not the answer; publishing all data should be the default setting for all town information. Radical sharing of all town information and data on the web is needed in order for citizens to have the same information as elected and appointed officials and employees. Without it, there will always be asymetrical access to information, and the result will be a continued lack of trust in our town government and appropriate calls for More Transparency.
This is written as a general statement and not as a criticism of this committee which is working diligently on an important issue. It is a structrual problem that has been with us for quite a long time that the RTM must address.
Transparency is the quality or state of being transparent
Transparent:
a : free from pretense or deceit : FRANK
b: easily detected or seen through : OBVIOUS
c: readily understood
d: characterized by visibility or accessibility of information especially concerning business practices
By the above definition “d” whenever there is a lack of access to information to one party in a meeting setting, a situation where there is asymmetrical access to information, then transparency is not present.
Most government bodies in general do a terrible job of sharing with the general public all the information that is available to elected and appointed officials. Why? Usually it is not because of any malicious intent, but rather because it is difficult. And sometimes the officials derive power from this lopsided access to information.
I believe Westport does a better job than most towns of publicly sharing information with the public. But it can do a much better job.
I would like Westport to be a leader in promoting the radical public sharing on the internet of all raw data, analysis, reports and information that is available to elected and appointed officials as well as all town departments. Of course, there is personal information that should remain private. But I believe the town’s default setting should be to share everything unless there is a privacy or safety issue with the information.
RTM members, any thoughts on this? You folks set the rules that our elected and appointed officials must follow. Any thoughts?
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2023, 11:36:11 PM EDT
Subject: Request Regarding Work In Progress On The Long Lots Elementary School Building Project
Dear First Selectwoman Tooker, Members of the Board of Education and Members of the Long Lots School Building Committee:
We are writing to you today to request that you direct the town’s consultants to develop options for plans that include building a new Long Lots Elementary School while preserving, in their current state, the 20-year-old Westport Community Gardens and newly planted Long Lots Preserve.
Currently, it appears that LLSBC is leaning towards the option of building as new for Long Lots School. As was shared at a recent LLSBC meeting, the three options being considered for a new build include:
1. building the school on the Gardens and Preserve;
2. building the new school on the upper ball fields and locating ballfields on the existing Garden and Preserve; and
3. building the new school on the lower field and locating ball fields on the existing Garden and Preserve.
We would like the LLSBC to come up with three other options that build a magnificent new school for our town while keeping, in their current state, the Westport Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve.
We have been told repeatedly that the LLSBC is still early in the process. As we understand it, the LLSBC will be making a recommendation sometime in August.
There are dozens of reasons not to destroy or “relocate” the Gardens and Preserve. Some of the important reasons include:
1. We believe that the voters in the Town of Westport support building a new school while keeping the Community Gardens and Long Lots Preserve intact. We have gathered, and continue to gather, an increasing number of businesses, organizations and individuals who support this goal including Gilbertie’s, Izzo’s, AJ Penna and Son, Wakeman Town Farm, Westport Garden Club, Food Rescue US – Fairfield County, Earthplace, Aspetuck Land Trust, Connecticut Audubon, Chef Michel Nischan and his Wholesome Wave Foundation, Stop and Shop, Sustainable Westport and the Southwest Conservation District. An online petition supporting this goal has grown to over 1,500 signatures.
2. The Gardens and Preserve property has a history of town approvals and support, including unanimous board, commission and selectmen support for the Gardens in 2001, unanimous board, commission and selectmen support for expanding the Gardens in 2009 and most recently, unanimous commission and selectwomen support for the establishment of the Long Lots Preserve, a model of suburban open-space environmental rehabilitation.
3. The environmental stewardship of this property has been exceptional, at very little cost to the town. The Gardens and Preserve significantly support the Pollinator Pathway and the Aspetuck Land Trust’s Green Corridor initiative. The biodiversity present in the Gardens and Preserve is exceptional. We are eliminating the harmful Spotted Lanternfly and its favored host, the invasive Tree of Heaven. We are eliminating a wide variety of invasive, non-native plants decimating the property.
4. The potential educational benefits of the Gardens and Preserve to the students of Long Lots, and the rest of the school district, are unlimited. The Gardens and Preserve offer ample opportunity for the Westport School District to lead in an area upon which other school districts have already capitalized; using gardens and green open space to increase student engagement, improve student performance and improve test scores.
5. We collaborate with several town organizations including The Westport Garden Club (providing growing space), Grow A Row (donating fresh food to the food insecure), Wakeman Town Farm (promoting their events), the Westport Board of Education (we maintain trees on its property), Eagle Scouts (there are three Eagle Scout projects on the property and opportunities for many more), Girls Scouts (planting trees), Staples High School Service League of Boys (community service) and the Westport Artists Collective (Art in the Garden event).
6. We have supported hands-on growing opportunities to families with small children for 20 years.
7. We foster meaningful intergenerational activity. The Gardens bring together our older residents and our younger residents, both of whom benefit from a healthy, peaceful, screen-free environment. We serve a population ranging in age from 5 to 95 years old. Older Garden members teach our younger members, and our younger members assist our older members. The Gardens and Preserve provide an activity that many of our older gardeners depend on.
8. The Gardens and Preserve provide growing space and a clean, healthy respite for town residents. As we continue to see a rise in multi-family units being built in this neighborhood, added to the Harvest Commons, Regent’s Park and Lansdowne condominium complexes, the need for the Gardens and Preserve is greater than ever.
9. The Gardens and Preserve are excellent neighbors to the residents in this densely developed suburban area. The Gardens and Preserve practice, quiet, passive recreation and the members maintain the property at no cost to the town. We maintain property values for the neighborhood as homes increase in value when located next to green, open spaces.
10. We have built relationships for 20 years, strengthening the fabric of our community. We help each other. We watch out for each other. We work together. We have built long-lasting friendships.
11. We have been built by our community. We have deep roots here. Helping to build the Gardens and Preserve include Gault, Kowalsky Brothers, Belta’s Farm, Daybreak Nursery, Gilbertie’s, Wholesome Wave Foundation, Anthropologie, Westport Public Works, Westport Parks and Recreation, AJ Penna and Son, SIR Development, Bartlett Tree Experts, Earthplace, Aspetuck Land Trust, Connecticut Audubon, Sustainable Connecticut, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Staples SLOBS, New England Grassroots Environmental Fund, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and the Southwest Conservation District.
12. Any plan that includes “relocating” the Gardens means destroying them and starting over in a new location. After 20 years of building soil, structures and relationships, relocation essentially ends the Westport Community Gardens. Destroying the hundreds of trees, shrubs and wildflowers which are now part of the natural environment would be an ecological disaster in an area that has little to no similar resources.
13. This part of town has seen a drastic increase in the cutting of trees due to accelerated development. The Gardens and Preserve are getting hundreds of trees and shrubs in the ground.
Thank you for considering our request.
Signed,
Will Hamilton
Heather Hamilton
Peter Swift
Leslie Ann Gransberry
Terrie Langer
Al Langer
Sam Levenson
Chris Haggerty
Deirdre Price
Zuzu Daure
Yun Mai
Amy Luett
Tyler Jarvis
Don Switter
Jacquie Masumian
Glenn Hodes
Karen La Costa
James Mather
Sarah Guyaz
Kevin Pierce
Gerald Held
Valerie Held
Alison Held
Lorraine Shelley
Cameron Shelley
Theresa Roth
Orly Angerthal
William Humphrey
Steven Chin
Elisabeth Rose
Rachel Schwartz
Franco Fellah
Lisa Fellah
Alex Jinishian
Nora Jinishian
John Jinishian
Josh Schwartz
Michelle Reiner
Amy Unikewicz
Thomas Sladek
Scarlett Sladek
Toni Simonetti
Joe Wilkinson
Tom Cook
Margaret Freeman
Laura Riguzzi
Mary Sue Waterman
George Waterman
Douglas Robinson
Dana Rutson Robinson
Joe Mackiewicz
Kim Mackiewicz
Allan Mackiewicz
Candace Mackiewicz
Louis Weverbergh
Andrew Gentile
Nancy Gentile
Alison Freeland
Erin Loranger
Megan Will
Katie Wilkinson
Auggie Wilkinson
Idalia Rodríguez
Irmgard Gwilliam
Al Gwillam
Louis Weinberg
Marjorie Donalds
Andrew Coleman
Relly Coleman
Miriam Roth
Danny Nissim
Phil Schemel
Nan Sinclair
Martha Corneck
Cris Singer
Frank Rosen
Kathleen Kiley
Bonnie Moon
Richard Moon
Michael Moon
Jeff Neville
Robyn Carreras
Leslie Meredith
Jody Brown
Michael Brown
Zoe Brown
Amelia Brown
Maura Keenan
Kataryna Parciak
Valdek Wlademar
Phyllis Freeman
Herman Freeman
Joyce Barnhart
Daryle Kowalsky
Susan Kowalsky
Barrett Kowalsky
Harley Kowalsky
Ben Arber
Amy Arber
Jeff Schorer
Pam Barkentin
Robert Brown
Phyllis Nova
Greg Rosen
Marc Fischer
Pippa Bell Ader
David Ader
Liz Kamar
Gary Castellanos
Kathy Brown
Judy Michaelis
Jean-Pierre Montillier
Sara Montillier
Marc Montillier
Becky Newman
Lori Hammer
Matt Hammer
Steven Hammer
Carolyn Browning
Ron Osterberg
Susan Lewis
Sam Hammer
Emily Lundstroth
Paddy Duecy
Pat Duecy
Pippa Ellis
Josh Prince
Emily Prince
Christopher Clanton
Ester Clanton
Nathan Hartshorne
Sue Lunde
Kristen Ripka
Susan Tenaglia Poretta
Jerome Hines
Lori Hines
Lou Rolla
Dorothy Rolla
Gladys Martone
Dave Manning
George Kocadag
Laura Schwartz
Josh Schwartz
Leah Sloan
Kayla Sloan
Holly Sloan
Holly Sloan
Jef Spielberg
Jessi Kavanaugh Spielberg
Andrew Sloan
Benjamin Schwartz
Bruce Gaylord
Gail Cohen
Jaqueline Berman
Lewis Bellardo
Juliette Lewis Bellardo
Maryann Alley
Pamela Davis
Jeff Gershowitz
Steven Loranger
Erin Loranger
James Brown
Mike Beebe
Alec Head
Joe Wiles
Michelle Wiles
Cynthia Mindell-Wong
Diane Bosch
Lauren Singer
Hayes Clark
Daphne Cook
Ursula Malizia
Ed Saenz
Julie O’Grady
Martin O’Grady
Liam O’Grady
Robert Israely
Andy Giangrave
Piera Panozzo
Monique Nebelung
Sally Kleinman
Larry Kleinman
Joanne Heller
A picture is worth a thousand words…To fully understand the magnitude of the Westport Community Gardens and the Long Lots Preserve please look at our Shutterfly book. (Desktop only; doesn’t work on phones)
https://www.shutterfly.com/share-product/?shareid=dc76af0e-2fa6-4c64-b3ea-e6a9c189a7a7&cid=SHARPRDWEBMPRLNK
The Westport Community Gardens is a carefully tended, green space and pollinator passway which has taken 20 years and innumerable hours of dedicated gardeners to create. It simply cannot be relocated. Please let the Long Lots Building Committee, the Selectwomen, and all RTM members hear your voices in favor of leaving the WCG intact. Thank you.
The Long Lots Preserve is filled with generously donated native plants that benefit Westport residents with their beauty, and help pollinators in a time where native species are dwindling. Many of these donated plants are large native trees which have been putting down roots since the preserve was created. Clearly a nature preserve isn’t a type of structure that can be relocated, it’s an established ecosystem, an attempt to move it would destroy it. I’m hopeful that destroying the preserve under the guise of temporary relocation isn’t among these scenarios under consideration.
The community gardens are in a similar situation, with well established native trees that have had 20 years to grow in the current location. Those 20 years have given gardeners the time and the space to build fertile soil, large framed garden beds, a very secure deer and rabbit fence along the entire perimeter, and community spaces built to last another 20 years and then some. This is an environment that cannot be relocated, any plan that asks the gardeners to start over on a different patch of land equates to eliminating the gardens entirely.
I’m looking forward to hearing more about these plans as they develop and hope the community can get involved and have their voices heard and taken into consideration.