Correction: in the original version of this story, the E.R. Strait Marina was mis-named.
By Gretchen Webster
WESTPORT–The Board of Selectmen approved a rental agreement for top-of-the-line golf carts with directional and speed controls; contracts to repair a seawall and bulkhead at the town’s marinas; and accepted a million dollar grant to replace a bridge over Dead Man’s Brook at the selectmen’s busy last meeting before the holidays.
New carts
The town will be renting 52 golf carts for the 2026 season, complete with new technology that will not only help prevent accidents, it may also help golfers improve their game, Parks and Recreation Director Erik Barbieri told the selectmen. Renewal of a five-year lease with Club Car LLC, for $75,688 will include maintenance costs, GPS directional technology and speed control on the carts, Barbieri said.
The speed control will make the golf course safer for golfers and pedestrians, and can be used to slow or stop carts getting into a hilly area or near pedestrian walkways, he said. The GPS feature may help a golfer determine “the distance to the pin,” he said, and the topography of the course as they approach different areas.
First Selectman Kevin Christie asked if the golf carts will be safely stored either outside or inside at Longshore Park. Barbieri said although the rental agreement does not require the town to keep the carts under cover, he is concerned about keeping them inside in the current storage facility where the floor is giving way and ceiling tiles are falling down. “We have to turn [the carts] back in good shape,” he said.
The new carts will help speed play at Longshore, he added. “They’re a huge advantage to the golfer.” The selectmen approved the rental agreement unanimously.
Cross Street Bridge to be replaced over Dead Man’s Brook
Another large figure – $1 million dollars – was also discussed at Wednesday’s meeting, but the town will be on the receiving end, with a grant to help replace the Cross Highway bridge over Dead Man Brook. The state STEAP grant through the Small Town Economic Assistance Program will partially fund the bridge replacement project, said Town Engineer Keith Wilbur. The total cost of the project will be $2,750,000, with the reminder paid by the town and through some other grants, he said. The bridge between North Avenue and Wakeman Town Farm is scheduled to be replaced in July and August 2026.
The project is scheduled in “an accelerated time frame,” Wilbur said because the bridge is on a busy road and near a school. To help shorten the construction time, the bridge is using pre-cast concrete pieces “much like large Lego pieces,” he said. “We hope to take the old bridge out, put the new bridge in and have it done before school opens,” he said. The selectmen voted to authorize Christie to accept the grant and to execute the contracts and documents associated with the grant.
Contracts awarded for two waterfront projects
Two waterfront repair projects also got the go-ahead Wednesday when the selectmen approved contracts for replacing the bulkhead at the E.R. Strait Marina and a sea wall at the Ned Dimes Marina. A $90,800 contract was awarded to Race Coastal Engineering for the design and construction of the bulkhead “which is failing,” Barbieri told the board. “We don’t want to take any safety risks” with the wall that is now 35-years-old, he said. The firm’s bid was the lowest, and has worked with the town before, Barbieri added.
A contract to rebuild a seawall at the Ned Dimes Marina was presented by Public Works Director Peter Ratkiewich, who said that the bidding process yielded a surprising variety of costs to replace the collapsed seawall. He chose a bid of $282,000 which was the lowest. When he was questioned about the bids varying so much, he said that many factors including the size of the company, whether the company was a union shop with higher wages and other reasons could impact the bids made by individual companies.
The winning bidder, Martello Enterprises LLC of Southbury is a small company which uses equipment more than some other companies who employ more workers, Ratkiewich said, which could keep the costs down. The town is also protected with a contingency fund, he said, and the work will be inspected by the town, as any project would be. The Selectmen approve both marina projects unanimously.
Other business
In other business, a walking path on the western corner of Winslow Park will be closed during January to allow a tree service to bring in equipment for tree work on two properties on Evergreen Lane. There will be signs warning park users of the closure during those times. The company’s use of the town property was necessary since it was the only way to get the equipment to the location of the trees, Parks Superintendent Nicholas Quatrano told the selectmen. The selectmen approved a temporary construction easement agreement with the J. Carlson Tree Care Company in Redding for the work.
To bad they won’t be able to fix fairway divots and ball marks on the greens, so let’s see if you leased a brand new car would you keep it in a garage that’s 100 years old and falling apart? Hmmm
A special thank you to our Historic District Commission. Owing to your steadfast leadership, the historic stone bridge on Cross Highway (one in a series that are unique to Westport and are specifically called out in our current Plan of Conservation and Development as worthy of preservation) is going to be replaced with generic, precast glop. You could have at least weighed in to make sure the replacement span was consistent with the feeling and nature of its sisters. But nope, you let it all go. Keep up the good work, you’re doing a great job.