By Gretchen Webster
WESTPORT — The chairman of the town’s Public Site and Building Commission is advocating for a more open approach to informing the public about major municipal building and remodeling projects.
Joseph Strickland, the public site commission’s chairman, made the suggestion for broader input at last week’s meeting of the panel as pending renovations of the Inn at Longshore were discussed.
Strickland, addressing the inn renovations, said he would like to gather representatives from all boards, commissions and departments that have a say in the project before the official review process begins.
“I’m trying to establish a group to review the project made up of every board and commission that will be reviewing and approving … so we can work through the project efficiently … so that any people who have any say can learn about the process,” he said at the commission’s meeting last Thursday.
“It saves so much time when everyone hears the same story,” Strickland continued.
“All of the town bodies that would have some approval in the process or some concerns, get to hear the story and can point out areas of concern and areas that we have to be mindful of as the design process moves forward” before final review of plans takes place, he said.
Hoping to avoid “transparency” criticisms
The discussion took place as town officials have drawn fire for what critics call a lack of transparency regarding several important initiatives over the last year, including a new Long Lots Elementary School, Parker Harding Plaza’s redesigned parking lot and a site for new pickleball courts at Longshore Club Park.
Plans for a new Long Lots Elementary School and redesigned Parker Harding parking lot, in particular, have been at the center of controversy for months. After Planning and Zoning Commission members raised critical questions about both projects during their initial reviews, they were withdrawn for re-tooling by First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker.
Applications for those projects were developed, respectively, by the Long Lots School Building Committee and the Downtown Plan Implementation Committee. The Public Site and Building Commission has had no formal role in either undertaking.
Strickland said that when it comes to the Inn at Longshore plan, he is trying to avoid the kinds of controversies that delayed the other projects.
“I’m trying to be as expeditious as possible,” he said.
Commission member Kevin Huelster questioned why the group has not been involved in reviewing the Long Lots Elementary School project. Strickland said he contacted Tooker regarding the school plans, but was told by her the commission’s input was not needed.
Inn, restaurant to close for renovations
Work on Inn at Longshore renovations is expected to begin in 2025 and be finished later that year, Michael Ryan, who called himself “the innkeeper,” told the commission.
Ryan is the managing partner of Longshore Hospitality Group, the group leasing the inn from the town. The group’s Greenwich Hospitality affiliate is building a Delamar hotel on the former Westport Inn property on Post Road East.
During the remodeling project, the inn will be closed, including La Plage restaurant, Ryan said. Both will remain open during 2024, however, since weddings and other large events have been scheduled throughout the year.
The project also must pass through the town’s required review and approval process this year, he said, for construction to start a year from now.
Renovation plans call for the inn’s kitchen to be completely remodeled, and a dormer added to the building — built in 1890 — to allow installation of an elevator, Ryan said. The dormer will also provide space for three more guest rooms, bringing the inn’s total capacity to 15 rooms.
The inn’s infrastructure also will be repaired, remodeled and strengthened, he said. “The building needs it badly.”
The plans provide for what Ryan called “opening the outdoors to the indoors more, while being very cautious because of noise.”
Because the building will be closed during construction, the project schedule is being worked out now, he said, since long-term plans, such as weddings, are a major part of the inn’s business.
A 30-year, $8 million lease between the town and Longshore Hospitality won final approval by the Board of Selectwomen last March. The lease, which in addition to upgrading the building, calls for a rent increase based on a percentage of the inn’s revenue. The lease also was approved by the Board of Finance and the Planning and Zoning Commission earlier last year.
Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman and has taught journalism at New York and Southern Connecticut State universities.
Joe Strickland, you are a breath of fresh air in a town that is gasping for air. THANK YOU!
“Commission member Kevin Huelster questioned why the group has not been involved in reviewing the Long Lots Elementary School project. Strickland said he contacted Tooker regarding the school plans, but was told by her the commission’s input was not needed.”
Joe,
Thank you for offering your experienced opinion regarding the proper approach to assembling committees for major construction projects. Your example of LLES project goes to the very core of the problem. LLSC was assembled over a year ago and after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on various studies they produced a plan that had to be withdrawn for non-compliance with P&Z’s stated positions. These positions were openly shared by Eileen Lavigne Flug, Assistant Town Attorney in her memo dated April 26, 2022. And it read –
On February 11, 2010 (modified June 10, 2010), the P&Z issued a Special Permit/Site Plan at the request of the Parks and Recreation Department for the expansion of the community gardens, stating that, “The Commission finds that the use of this site for the Community Garden, instead of the previously proposed use for athletic fields, remains in keeping with the 2007 POCD.”
Had the committee included a P&Z commissioner as a member, this design effort and especially precious time wouldn’t have been wasted. It is not too late for our elected officials to reverse their position on your involvement, and I hope that they would listen.
I want to thank Mr. Strickland for articulating observations I made last year regarding a deleterious consequence inherent in a fractured approval process.
To be sure, a thorough evaluation by the parochial expertise of the members of each silo (conservation, BoF, P&Z, etc.) is essential for any impactful project and expenditure to be appropriately vetted.
However, because of the manner in which Westport’s approval process is fashioned, too often important trains end up riding tracks that are primarily engineered to run downhill through individual silos rather than being fundamentally interested in efficiently and effectively generating maximal outcomes developed by collaboration and partnership. As Mr. Strickland correctly points out, this is not only a recipe for avoidable inefficiency and contention, but also for suboptimal or even undesirable outcomes.
Roundtable meetings of department heads are so essential for success that they are generally routine business practice. Problem solving, error rectification and project development always benefit from the diverse perspectives and guidance from all of the impacted and knowledgable stakeholders. Common sense.
To be sure, this requires a determination to acknowledge, identify, schedule and invite – which can make things more complex and cumbersome; and it requires willingness and patience to deliberate and consider which can become more complicated. However, having collaborative guidance built upon the diverse expertise and consensus derived from ALL affected and knowledgable stakeholders (including those who will ultimately sit in approval judgement) at the OUTSET of any significant project development is worthy of any inconvenience or complexity as it ultimately pays dividends during the subsequent silo approval process, and towards obtaining the most desirable final product.
It would be enlightening to know the reason why Ms. Tooker was, and remains, so adamant that the expertise of Westport’s Public Site and Building Commission is “not needed” when clearly the opposite seems to have been, and continues to be the case.
Absolutely! This town is filled with engaged citizens with talent and know how. The fabric of our town changed dramatically this year with these large projects that developed not in the public purview. Not only would we have built successful projects but we could’ve avoided wasting time, money and energy.
Lead the way Joe! We are behind that ideal. Let’s make that happen!
Excellent suggestion Joe!
As for the First Selectwoman’s dismissive response to you about your Commissions role on the LLES project, I sorely wished you had reminded her that it is, in fact, a requirement not a suggestion that your Commission be actively involved and provide vital overview and input and politely, yet firmly, informed her as to the date it would be scheduled to be heard by your Commission.
As the unfolding events at Long Lots have unfortunately revealed, there are important and sound reasons why the Public Site and Building Commission was established in the first place.
John F. Suggs
I have had the pleasure of serving on the PSBC for eight years. The commission is filled with professional architects, engineers and builders. We have been involved with numerous projects over the years including the Library renovation, several school projects, the Senior Center to mention just a few. We are currently involved with the impending renovation of the Gillespie Center, the Staples High School roof replacement project and the Inn at Longshore.
Why the First Selectwomen formerly denied our request for involvement with the Long Lots School project remains a mystery.
Raising a glass to Joe Strickland ,the voice of reason in a growingly unreasonable town, spearheaded by Jen Tooker who thinks she was elected queen rather than an elected mayor who serves at the pleasure of the constituency. There is no transparency in Westport whether it’s regarding issues raised in this article or in the educational debacle regarding antisemitism in CMS. In that case, Mr. Goldberg was offered hush money by Thomas Scarice in the form of free tuition for his son to attend Hebrew Academy. One can only wonder how many others are attending private schools tuition free when Westport parents raise objections?
On a non related subject, it’s amusing the local papers published concerns regardng Westport’s being under water three times within a week. Yet the debacle at 122 Wilton ,a monument to stupidity and a slap in the face to the environment , has yet to open it’s doors. One can only imagine the damage to be done to the Saugatuck when the anemic septic system is unable to keep pace with the demand.
On a related note regarding the Saugatuck, does any one else object to the missing persons fliers hanging along the bridge? This unsighly display reminds me of bygone days walking the beautiful quad through YLS and seeing the torn remnants of ads papered over each other on the outdoor bulletin boards.
So cheers again to Joe Strickland and all those to rally to save Westport. As one who had her wedding reception at Longshore and spent a first night together as a married couple in room 9 at the Inn, it would be devastating to see it replaced by a Days Inn.