By John Schwing

WESTPORT — While the school district’s new bus vendor continues a quest for a permanent lot to park its fleet — as required under a $35.5 million contract — town officials are moving to formalize an interim arrangement that effectively fines the firm for its failure.

The Board of Selectwomen on Wednesday approved a lease agreement with the Board of Education that will allow the bus company, First Student, to park 31 buses at the Greens Farms Railroad Station, as well as allot 40 spaces for some of the firm’s drivers.

The stop-gap parking arrangement, which has been in effect since last October, is also on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting of the school board, set for 7 p.m. at Staples High School.

Last May, the school board awarded a five-year contract to First Student, replacing its longtime bus vendor, DATTCO. Under the pact, which took effect July 1, First Student agreed to provide permanent parking facilities for its fleet of buses — as DATTCO had done at a Post Road East lot.

When the contract took effect, First Student had yet to secure parking facilities, so school officials obtained Planning and Zoning Department approval for what was called “temporary” parking from July 1 through Oct. 31 at five of the town’s schools.

But by Oct. 31, the bus company still had not found a place to park its Westport fleet, forcing school officials to seek approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission for site plan/special permits to continue parking buses at Long Lots Elementary School, Coleytown Elementary and Middle schools, and Bedford Middle School.

That permission, however, was granted only after the P&Z added a list of conditions designed to address neighborhood and environmental concerns.

The rest of the buses were relocated from Staples High School to park in an expanded area of the Greens Farms Railroad Station parking lot, which Police Chief Foot Koskinas told the selectwomen has remained largely unused until now.

Financial penalties kick in

Since First Student has yet to meet the requirement to provide its own parking for school buses and drivers, school officials will implement a contract clause that allots a $288,000 credit each calendar year — or $24,000 a month — as long as the buses continue parking on town property, Elio Longo, the school district’s chief financial officer, told the selectwomen.

Using that revenue, under the proposed lease, the school district will pay the Police Department — which manages parking at the town’s railroad stations — a total annual fee of about $100,000 for the 31 bus and 40 driver parking spaces, Longo said.

The remaining $188,000 of the contract credit, he added, will be a savings for the school district. 

Asked by First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker how the arrangement has been working so far, Longo said, “It’s really been working a lot better than I initially thought it would.” He said First Student has added extra supervision to ensure the decentralized transportation operation works smoothly.

The bus vendor continues to look for bus parking facilities both in Westport and outside of town, Longo said, acknowledging the zoning permission granted last year expires June 30, 2025.

Daily parking lot use vetted, neighbors consulted

Koskinas told the selectwomen that setting aside spots for school buses and their drivers should have no impact on parking availability for commuters using the Greens Farms depot.

Before agreeing to the arrangement, the chief said, daily use of the lot by permit and daily parkers was monitored several months, and it was determined “there is more than adequate space to do this … we’re not putting out our commuters.”

Koskinas said neighbors, including the Greens Farms Association and Greens Farms Academy, were consulted before moving forward with the plan.

A new stop sign installed at the New Creek and Greens Farms roads’ intersection to help deal with extra traffic to and from the station has been particularly well received, he added, since neighbors have been lobbying for a sign at that location for some time.

No free ride for bus parking

Selectwoman Candice Savin and Jennifer Johnson, a Representative Town Meeting member from District 9 and a former Westport Transit District director, both suggested the parking fees should be waived for the school district.

Koskinas, however,  responded that is not possible since the railroad station lot is owned by the state Department of Transportation, and leased to the town under an agreement to generate revenue through parking fees.

Johnson also said since the school bus parking lease, although temporary, involves one of the town’s railroad stations, it should be considered in a more comprehensive context of local transportation issues.

“I am concerned we are not moving forward on the broader picture that we need to in this town,” she said. Noting the town last year approved $560,000 — 80 percent funded by a federal grant — “to look at our overall mobility … [and] the railroad station is an incredibly important part of this.” That study should include how fees generated by railroad parking can be integrated into the town’s overall transportation planning, she said.

Peter Gold, an RTM member from District 5 and a Westport Transit District director, called parking school buses at the Greens Farms Railroad Station “a great idea.” He suggested, if needed, more buses be parked there since, “It’s not affecting the neighborhood at all.”

He, like several others at the meeting, observed that since the Post Road East lot where DATTCO parked its fleet is not currently in use, a chronic trouble spot on the heavily traveled corridor has been eliminated.

John Schwing, the Westport Journal consulting editor, has held senior editorial and writing posts at southwestern Connecticut media outlets for four decades. Learn more about us here.