By Linda Conner Lambeck
WESTPORT – The Representative Town Meeting Thursday evening unanimously agreed to spend nearly $103.2 million to build a new Long Lots Elementary School. Some called it the most important vote they have ever taken on the legislative body.
“Tonight is about educating generations to come in a state of the art, clean and safe environment,” said Louis Mall, a District 2 RTM member.
Others called it a long time coming.
“My son was in kindergarten when we started these discussions,” said RTM Deputy Moderator Lauren Karpf. He is now about to enter high school. “It’s been a long, deliberate, thoughtful process. I am excited.”
Jennifer Johnson, a District 9 RTM Member, called the excitement in the Town Hall auditorium palpable but urged the body to make sure to bring the full community into the excitement to ward off a challenge.
“It is a lot of money, and we want to make sure the public asked to pay for it feels comfortable,” Johnson said.
Until the meeting, Johnson said many of the numbers and details behind the costs were not fully explained. Cost details should have been made available sooner, she added. A challenge of what is considered the most expensive school building project in the town’s history has been promised.
Minutes after the vote was cast, Toni Simonetti, a town resident opponent of the project cost, said by phone she would go to the Town Clerk’s office on Friday to request petition sheets to wage a referendum.
Simonetti said she must find 1860 registered Westport voters, 10 percent of the town’s electorate, to sign the petition between June 14 and 27 to wage a referendum.
“I think people are very happy for the school, as I am,” Simonetti said. “However, I still think $109 million is too much for the taxpayers.”
The $109 million factors in $6 million spent on the project to date.
THE PROJECT
The RTM vote to approve funding for the new school, an attached Stepping Stones Preschool, athletic fields, and associated site work comes three years after the school board voted to seek a new or renovated Long Lots. The need to replace the aging school, however, go back even further.
“We have waited a long time,” Long Lots Principal Kim Ambrosio told the RTM.
As excited and hopeful her school community is for a new school, Ambrosio said there is also a real sense of urgency. Beyond age, the school has three classrooms closed permanently because of environmental concerns. There are leaks and constant maintenance issues.
“Things are breaking down. We are running out of time,” she said.
Many factors led to the long planning process, as well as a race to the finish in the past few weeks. Once the building committee was formed by the RTM two and a half years ago, it first had to determine whether to renovate or build a new school on the Hyde Lane property. It eventually decided to build new, meaning students in the existing school will be in the middle of a construction zone for 18 to 20 months.
District 6 RTM member Seth Braunstein and chair of the RTM Finance Committee, said the property had unique characteristics that contributed to both the long planning time frame and the cost.
There is a steep slope to the property. The land sits in the middle of a residential neighborhood, which added $200,000 to the tree budget. The site is prone to flooding so the drainage planned is expected to help in that regard. Geothermal wells are being installed to aid the school’s heating and cooling systems. A last-minute change to the roof material from shingles to metal roof, added $1.7 million to the price tag.
“It is important for the public to understand why it costs so much,” said District 8 RTM member Ari Benmosche.
Braunstein said an unprecedented level of detail has been provided on the project, much more than on past projects.
Karpf said the RTM education committee, which she chairs, was very comfortable with the details and financials.
When major repairs were made to Coleytown Middle School, the project never went through the level of scrutiny that Long Lots has, Karpf added.
“We’ve not had more than one email against this appropriation,” Karpf said. “No public comment against”
Any more delays, she said, will not only extend the timeline but raise costs even more.
RUSH TO THE FINISH
The RTM vote comes a day after the Board of Finance unanimously approved funding for the project. Over the past two weeks, the project has also won the support of the Conservation Commission and the Flood and Erosion Board and a new “8-24” municipal use report from the Planning and Zoning Commission.
The flood of meetings has taken place so that the town can meet a June 30 deadline for grant funding for the 2026-’27 state budget. The town charter calls for a two-week break following an RTM vote for any expenditure over $500,000 to allow for the opportunity for the public to file a referendum.
THE POTENTIAL CHALLENGE
Simonetti is a community garden supporter but says her planned challenge of the project has nothing to do with the gardens, which were located on town property adjacent to Long Lots until earlier this year. Plans for the new school replace the gardens with athletic fields.
Instead. Simonetti said it is about the public’s right to know.
“This is a huge tax hit for Westporters and all deliberations on the details are held behind closed doors,” she said, and in her opinion inappropriately.
Simonetti also said she thinks the price tag is too high, and would like to see it cut by as much as $20 million.
If the town “blows the wad” on Long Lots, Simonetti said there might not be anything left for other major projects coming down the pike, including a renovated Coleytown Elementary School.
Linda Conner Lambeck
Linda Conner Lambeck covers education for Westport Journal. She was a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications. She has covered education throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties. She is a proud member of the Education Writers Association.
This was a very long journey! Congratulations to everyone on this exciting news. The new Long Lots elementary school will not only serve better the children and staff with a healthy building and educational space, but also benefit all town residents with the Stepping Stones that will be relocated here.
On the topic of the petition, this is a fool’s errand. If the petition succeeds in getting the required number of signatures, it will end up costing the town over $1M in addition to the project cost (close to 1% of the project cost). It will also put the state reimbursement estimates at risk because the state application will be pushed by one year, and the program could change and reduce funding in that timeframe. (Why $1M? the town will need to fund the debt for an additional year which comes up to $800K in financing costs, and the referendum could costs up to $200K if it needs to be repeated 5 times like in the past).
Westport is a fiscally prudent town. The mill rate has been the same for many years. Unfortunately the town hasn’t been investing enough in its school facilities. Fiscally prudent does not mean not spending. In fact, not spending and not investing in what matters will cause our tax rates to increase.
The impact on tax from this project will be offset by expiring debts, real growth in grand list, as well as substantial savings in operating costs of he existing Long Lots school. Therefore the net tax increase will not be as high.
Contrary to Mrs Johnson and Mrs Simonetti’s claims, the town can afford to invest in important things, and there will be room to invest in other projects.
This single project will raise the taxes of, for instance, the owner of a $700,000-assessed home approximately $400 annually, according to the town’s Finance Director. Obviously, that is whether or not they have children in Long Lots.
The advocates for the ball field and school project have had every opportunity to address other concerns in the community, but they did not. They planned amongst themselves. The public wasn’t presented a detailed budget. And the committee’s latest oops was that the cost is already going up $10 million.
I get that you want what you want, but how about we let the democratic process work out? If the people paying for the project support it, it will pass. If they think it is too much to spend on a project that benefits only a small segment of the community, it will fail.
The town Finance Directory also mentioned that the net effect on tax increase will be lower when factoring things such as debt expiration, grand list real growth, non-included reimbursement, etc…
There were 3 boards that unanimously approved this project, including yesterday’s RTM. I did not hear a single taxpayer object to this project in that meeting.
Did you come and attend this meeting? If not, why are you seeking a referendum on this project?
If a referendum happens, the town will miss the state deadline for the project reimbursement this year which will cost an added $800K in financing cost. The referendum itself will cost about $40K each time, and last time this happened, it was repeated 5 times for a total cost of $200K.
If this project does not go through, it will cost a lot more to deal with a school that is beyond it is lifetime. And that does not account for the quality of the educational instruction that is not at par with other schools.
My kids will not be at Long Lots by the time this building is completed.
But Joe, this has never been about the school to you, it’s about the ball field. When the gardener’s suggested a new site for the gardens, you ran your mouth against it because of ball field concerns, not because of the school.
I can’t speak for every taxpayer in Town, but I think people knew that BOE was going to vote yes no matter what outside concerns. BOF is led by a sports daddy who had previously opined on the importance of the ball fields. LLSBC has served at the whim of the FSW and has never listened to public input and refused to meet with all of the stakeholders. FOIA is your friend.
The taxpayers kept their powder dry because they were being ignored.
I mean, Joe, how many comments did I make to you saying that this would ultimately be petitioned? Lots, right? Did you think that I was making that up?
And I get that people like you who are effectively getting a free $20,000 education for their children take it for granted. But when everyone in Town is going to see their taxes go up substantially for a school serving 600 students… you can’t pretend that is insignificant.
Chris,
I will only focus on one part of your response. I believe that is the main concern for you. Spending money on school. I get it that you don’t benefit from that, at least not directly. I do think your reasoning is very narrow. If the town spends $100M for a school, your tax will increase. But have you considered these factors as well?
1) Your property value has increased because buyers want to move to Westport and are willing to pay more. How much will your property value appreciation offset the tax increases?
2) Your real estate taxes are deductible in the federal income tax. So your net cost is lesser.
3) Homes that are for sale in Westport are selling for $2-5M. These are new homes that increase the town’s grand list. They are replacing houses that had a much smaller contribution. Hence, your tax share will decrease.
4) Next year’s property assessment re-evaluation will most likely increase the share of the high end homes versus the lower priced homes. If you have an older house with market value less than the median, your relative tax share will go down. That’s because in the past 5 years, and because of COVID, there has been a strong demand for the higher end houses, and their prices have gone up a lot. So your share of the budget will be relatively smaller after the re-eval.
5) The petition has a low chance of getting the necessary signatures. But let’s assume they do, I doubt the referendum will reject this project. And the referendum will end up costing at least $1M to taxpayers. I would rather spend that money on projects that matter rather than waste it.
We can keep arguing about the cost and its fairness all day long. This does not change the fact that the existing school is operating past its lifetime, and a new school is needed. The town has collectively chosen to approve this project and for very good reasons. This is taxation through representation.
So think about what the implications are if we don’t replace this school. What impact will it have on this town? Do you still think it will simply keep your taxes the same? Certainly not.
This comment has been removed at the request of the author.
If you don’t want the people who don’t have children to have a say in how Town is managed, you shouldn’t have your hand in their pockets.
Nobody should get the blank check that you seem to want. That doesn’t mean anyone doesn’t like you kids.
Let it go, Toni! We want this! Find a different mission now.
Mr. Nadar
I understand your perspectives and the arguments you assert to support them. That’s to be anticipated from an advocate for a desired outcome.
Unfortunately you repeatedly and intentionally discount the salient points made by Mr. Grimm and others… and then continue to disparage and insult those with valid, well intentioned concerns.
Our Town Charter intentionally provides resident petition rights for good reason. Characterizing those who wish to exercise that right and obligation as being “fools” is abhorrent. But your disparaging mischaracterization is consistent, and illustrative of how everyone who dares to voice an objection has been mistreated, threatened or maligned.
If anything, you (and our Town officials) should
embrace a petition on this important issue. This proposal is the largest taxpayer funded expenditure in Westport’s history. There may be alternatives that taxpayers prefer. Maybe not. Too bad alternatives have been squashed at every juncture.
Ms. Frankel et. al. shout “We want this!” We??? Imagine THAT being sufficient! Geez.
Continuing the straw man arguments that anyone with opposing viewpoints doesn’t care about children, should sell their homes and move to another town, that if this proposal is rejected Long Lots will forever remain decrepit, or that a less costly alternative will stem the desire to live in Westport, is insulting on face.
There’s no denial that the LLSBC has done enormous work. No doubt the LL school requires attention and probably a complete reconstruction.
But as has been elucidated at nauseum, this process has been flawed from the outset and seems engineered towards a specific set of conclusions.
It didn’t need to be this way. But that part of the process is done.
It’s true that Town boards have given approval. You use that to prove “taxation with representation”.
Unfortunately, our approval bodies often fail to actually represent what their constituents desire. Often they don’t even know – or care to know.
A petition would resolve that.
A petition for a referendum has ZERO taxpayer cost to our residents. If it fails to obtain the requisite support, that’s information to know.
However if it does succeed, and a referendum is scheduled, what better display of democracy at work? It would be a proud day for Westport.
Rather than being “A fools errand”, a petition requesting a referendum (at a cost less than $10/resident) to permit Westport’s residents to exercise self determination on this critical proposal, would be a bargain.
The much needed school appropriation has passed unanimously in several town boards. I was at many of these meetings, and I did not hear any public objections to this important investment in our town. Since there weren’t any objections during the appropriation process, I don’t see how a referendum is even justifiable.
A referendum will cause delays to this project. We need to replace the school and we have already spent over 3 years to get here.
A referendum will cause the town to miss the state grant application deadline, and will waste about $1M or more.
I cannot stop the petition, but I will do my best to spread the word on why signing this petition is a very bad idea, and will incur costs, have significant consequences, and is detrimental to the collective good of this town.
Amazed with the overlap between those who resisted moving a garden club in order to build a school and those that have an issue with the costs to build a new school.
When the time comes to use public funds to build new community gardens, I wonder if the impact to property taxes will be considered? If the school is delayed, I bet I can find 1859 other pissed off parents that might be willing to fight you.
Move on already!