To the editor:
A PRC meeting (a continuation of a previous meeting) was scheduled on the Westport town website for Oct. 18, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall Room 201. This is about two weeks from now.
The meeting was hastily rescheduled for tomorrow (Oct. 5, 2023), probably a surprise and an inconvenience for many people.
Besides the short notice, the status level of the meeting was also downgraded from an open public meeting in Town Hall to a “Zoom” meeting, which is technologically very inconvenient for many people, especially older citizens.
In terms of Longshore planning, this meeting is a very CRITICAL POINT. Without responding to the request by permanent Longshore residents to relocate the pickleball courts out of the residential zone (Aug. 14, 2023, meeting at the administration building in Longshore), the PRC was CHARGING AHEAD.
The PRC presented their plan at the Sept. 6, 2023, BOF meeting in the presence of First Selectwoman Jen Tooker. The critical “PUSH-BACK” question was asked by the BOF chair and UNTRUTHFULLY answered by the chair of the PRC.
At this aggressive plan advancement, the residents of Longshore are still waiting to have the pickleball fields relocated to another location in this 170-acre Longshore Park or another location in town.
We feel that at this critical Longshore planning stage, the meeting should NOT be “watered down” into a “Zoom” meeting, but it should be held in a PUBLIC FORUM in Town Hall: IN PERSON, face-to-face, with “We the People” and the officials.
The meeting should be postponed and appropriately held in Town Hall.
Irmi Streidt
Westport
Has anyone noticed how appalling the wifi is at la plage/longshore. Almost non existent. I imagine this to be a challenge for residents/stakeholders living in the area to attend a”zoom “ meeting.
🤔
David Floyd, Chair, Parks & Recreation Commission:
First: October 18th is the date of the PRC’s regularly scheduled monthly meeting. That meeting is still on the schedule. The meeting for tomorrow night, October 5th, is a Special Meeting to finish our September meeting which had to be unexpectedly adjourned.
Second: I don’t agree that a Zoom meeting is a “downgrade” from an in-person. The discussion is the same, all participants are respected, etc. When we schedule in-person meetings, I get complaints about citizens having to trek to Town Hall. When we schedule Zoom meetings, I get complaints about that. As a result, I try to have a mix of both. Our September meeting was in-person and, since we covered all the Public Comment section in that meeting, it was logical to make this a Zoom meeting. It should be noted that the Public Comment portion of our September meeting was 1.5 hours long and citizen comments were not artificially limited by time limits.
Third, Longshore. We are NOT “CHARGING AHEAD.” I have said and written numerous times that we are taking any and all neighbor and citizen complaints, concerns, and views very seriously. The Update Agenda item (which was the SAME at our September meeting) is DISCUSSION ONLY (which indicates the PRC will NOT VOTE ON THE ITEM–thus, not moving the Agenda item forward) going to cover (1) what we’ve done over the past 18 months, (2) our reaction to the above referenced meeting with neighbors which is to ask Stantec to consider other locations within Longshore for pickleball, AND (3) describe the path forward including all the steps and approvals which will still be required prior to putting the first shovel in the ground. Instead of being at a CRITICAL POINT at Longshore, we are very early in a long process which will take place over YEARS and, in all likelihood, the finished product will look different from the CONCEPTUAL PLAN the PRC ratified in May.
Last, it is well known that the PRC (as well as numerous other Town bodies) accept written comments and/or questions from citizens, neighbors, and businesses which are READ ALOUD for all to hear when such citizen/neighbor/business cannot attend. I understand this is not the same as actually attending the meeting, but it permits an opinion or thought to still be heard.
To be clear, the PRC IS NOT: (1) having secret meetings outside the public eye, (2) secretly advancing any aspect of the Longshore Plan over the objections of neighbors/citizens, nor (3) trying to quell public input by using a technology system which is permitted for our meeting and is used by many, many other Town commissions.
As Stantec is employed by PRC, I think instead of asking them to consider other appropriate locations for the pickleball courts, they should just be instructed to come up with another location.
One such location I heard suggested recently was the grass area in front of the la plage patio.
What a fabulous view the courts would have.
That area is also close to parking, does not disturb the golf course, and is close to a commercial business as opposed to residences.
It does tick a lot of boxes.
It might be a popular choice for that reason.
I think zoom while it is better than nothing should never take the place of in person meetings which are far more effective.
Surely it would be far better to offer a combination.
So residents who cannot make it in person may use zoom.
But those who like in person meetings may meet face to face.
That also ticks all the boxes.