By James Lomuscio
About two acres of the town-owned, 32-acre Baron’s South property topped the list of 10 town, state and private properties that the school board has examined to park its school buses to cut its annual $250,000 parking rental bill. 
Buses lined up at the DATTCO school bus depot on Westport’s Post Road East. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
Despite some zoning hurdles for fueling and servicing buses plus the need for state Department of Transportation (DOT) traffic approval, Baron’s South was cited as “potentially viable” in a school board bus parking subcommittee report presented to the full board Monday.
The reasons included the fact that it is already town owned, has easy access to the Post Road and “traffic management appears feasible,” the report states.
“There are a lot of things that make it attractive,” said Mark Mathias, Board of Education member serving on the subcommittee with Elaine Whitney. “But all of the locations have issues, and everything will require work to make it happen.”
Mathias and Whitney have been conferring with Board of Finance member Michel Rea, Representative Town Meeting member Allen Bomes, and First Selectman Gordon Joseloff to find a suitable site.
Other properties cited in the report included: Longshore Club Park, noted as being too far from the Post Road and presenting traffic problems; the Staples High School parking lot, which the committee said would pose logistical problems, and DOT land at the intersection of Post Road East, land the state wants to keep for its own needs.
Also considered were the land at the town transfer station, which the subcommittee said was not a viable option; the town-owned Imperial Avenue parking lot, its distance said to increase bus run times, and Sherwood island State Park, a location the state dismissed due to environmental concerns.
The committee also considered purchasing property in the General Business District or the Highway Service District, an option considered too costly, and parking at the DATTCO lot in Bridegeport, considered too far away.
Mathias stressed that even Baron’s South, the best location, would not mean a total savings of $250,000 because of grading and infrastructure investment needed.
“I doubt we would save $250,000, but let’s say we save into the six figures on an annual recurring basis,” Mathias said. “That’s worth pursuing. Since we have a $250,000 nut every year, any money we can recapture on an annual basis is worth pursuing.”
Whitney agreed saying any savings could be used to directly benefit students.
“Our goal collectively is to get as much of a financial benefit as we can, either reducing the burden in terms of taxes or being able to reallocate those funds within the schools to areas that more directly benefit students,” she said.
“We are trying to maximize the savings, and whatever we don’t have to spend will benefit us,” Whitney added
It seems to me there’s a boatload of space adjacent to the parking lot on the Sherwood Island connector which would likely be cheaper to set up for parking than Baron’s South. The Town should be using Baron’s South for amenities which are accretive to the Town’s attractiveness, not parking facilities.
We are always looking for places that are good candidates. If I understand the space you’ve suggested, I believe it’s owned by the State (as are many open areas) and for many reasons, the State has been unwilling to allow us to use the land for any municipal purposes. Other areas that we have examined have some or all of them that are wetlands or have other restrictions. Most people would be amazed to see the number of places that have been suggested and examined so far. Finding available space is a challenge, but we welcome all suggestions.