By John Schwing

WESTPORT — With major spending plans afoot, Board of Finance members plan to take steps to get a better perspective on what those projects will involve.

Hence, a Jan. 24 field trip.

The finance members, led by Public Works Director Pete Ratkiewich, first will visit the Compo marina, where piers and electrical switchgear need to be replaced.

Next, they will check out the old parks maintenance shed at Longshore Club Park and the proposed site where officials want to relocate the facility in the park — the first concrete element of the estimated $40 million Longshore Capital Improvement Plan.

The field trip is for informational purposes only, and no decisions will be made, since the gathering is expected to be attended by a quorum of the board, members of the public can tag along as well.

The group will convene at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 24, at the Compo marina. Then, they’ll move on to the existing Longshore maintenance shed at about 12:15 p.m., before viewing the site proposed for a new maintenance facility, also in the park, at 1 p.m.

Impetus for the field trip arose at the Board of Finance’s Jan. 8 meeting, when questions arose over the Tooker administration’s request for $222,000 to design the new Longshore maintenance building. Plans for that building include offices, locker room and showers, as well as storage space for Parks and Recreation Department equipment and supplies, which the capital plan’s consultant estimated could cost as much as $7 million.

Questions focused on why design money was being sought before a new site proposed for the building had been approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission, as well as the $7 million price tag, which finance member Danielle Dobin called “absurd.”

Ratkiewich and First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, however, emphasized that the $7 million cost estimate was just that, an “estimate,” and had been listed in the overall capital project as a placeholder only.

Both took pains to assure the finance board that after the new building is designed, the actual appropriation to build the facility would be much less than $7 million — and would not be analogous to the “Ferrari” building several board members compared it to after hearing the initial cost estimate.

The cost of the marina pier project is also considerable, with the proposed appropriation clocking in at $1.5 million.

Those joining the trek, however, are advised the marina site “may be wet, and/or have uneven surfaces, so appropriate clothing and footwear is recommended,” according to the meeting notice.