“The state of the Westport Public Schools is strong and getting stronger,” she said citing state and national laurels for its STEM program, new, elementary level math and science curricula and the schools’ increased focus on students’ social and emotional health.
“But, we should never rest on our laurels,” she added.
The biggest challenges for the schools—and by extension the town —is the scheduled reopening of the $32 million renovated Coleytown Middle School (CMS) in late August and its effect on the annual budget cycle.
“The budgeting processes are intense this year,” Savin said, adding that “unfortunately we have no such circumstances this year” to have a similarly lean, 1.79% budget increase as last year.
When asked about the town’s biggest budget challenge, Marpe said that while there will be tradeoffs in the capital forecast, “I’m actually pleased with our operating budget.” He added that municipal department heads have done their due diligence to keep department budgets down.
One audience question presented by Jeffrey Wieser, deputy moderator of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), asked Savin what the strategy would be if CMS were not operational by the fall.
“There are a few scenarios,” she said, saying that “if something crazy happens” the schools would continue next year as this year, with CMS students attending Bedford Middle School.
Among some of the challenges for the town, Marpe said, are traffic “because of our location and the presence of two, major limited access highways and Route 1,” making Westport a pass-through community.
“I will be scheduling specific RTM district public meetings to try to identify practical, realistic solution to the local traffic problem,” he said.
Marpe also said that affordable housing “continues to be a challenge for Westport because of the limited amount of undeveloped space in our community.”
He lauded the four-year moratorium the town has to address the problem in the wake of the state’s affordable housing statute, 8-30g, which allows a developer to override local zoning laws if a municipality does not have 10% of its housing stock deemed affordable, which Westport at 4%, does not.
“During that time we have the opportunity to guide the development of affordable housing that respects our neighborhoods while addressing the realities of our affordable housing obligations,” he said.
On other topics, Marpe was asked about a controversy involving the Westport Museum for History and Culture, formerly known as the Westport Historical Society (WHS). The museum recently removed the Sheffer family name from its gallery following a gift from the estate of a Weston man, Daniel E. Offutt III.
Marpe said the museum was not unlike other nonprofits in town and the town did not involve itself in the internal affairs of such institutions. “That’s not really for us to do,” he said.
The first selectman acknowledged until several years ago that the town paid the WHS for storage of records but that was no longer the case.
He said the town had contributed to the museum’s New Year’s Eve effort known as First Light, which replaced the First Night but was not happy to learn that some of the town funds went to paying museum salaries. “We will make every effort to recover” those funds, he said.
Marpe capped his remarks about the controversy by saying he was not happy with some comments about the situation made on local blogs.
“The tone is not what Westport should be about,” he said, and adding that some of the comments were akin to cyberbullying.
As part of Westport’s efforts to improve the environment, Marpe said he would soon be announcing a “2020 Zero Food Waste Challenge” in which residents would be asked to reduce the amount of wasted food thrown away.
On the subject of finding a replacement for Joey’s by the Shore at Compo Beach and the concessions at Longshore, Marpe said the town was reviewing bids submitted by a new operator and hoped to have at lease a limited food concession business in operation by the beginning of the summer beach season.
“The state of the Westport Public Schools is strong and getting stronger,” she said citing state and national laurels for its STEM program, new, elementary level math and science curricula and the schools’ increased focus on students’ social and emotional health.
“But, we should never rest on our laurels,” she added.
The biggest challenges for the schools—and by extension the town —is the scheduled reopening of the $32 million renovated Coleytown Middle School (CMS) in late August and its effect on the annual budget cycle.
“The budgeting processes are intense this year,” Savin said, adding that “unfortunately we have no such circumstances this year” to have a similarly lean, 1.79% budget increase as last year.
When asked about the town’s biggest budget challenge, Marpe said that while there will be tradeoffs in the capital forecast, “I’m actually pleased with our operating budget.” He added that municipal department heads have done their due diligence to keep department budgets down.
One audience question presented by Jeffrey Wieser, deputy moderator of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), asked Savin what the strategy would be if CMS were not operational by the fall.
“There are a few scenarios,” she said, saying that “if something crazy happens” the schools would continue next year as this year, with CMS students attending Bedford Middle School.
Among some of the challenges for the town, Marpe said, are traffic “because of our location and the presence of two, major limited access highways and Route 1,” making Westport a pass-through community.
“I will be scheduling specific RTM district public meetings to try to identify practical, realistic solution to the local traffic problem,” he said.
Marpe also said that affordable housing “continues to be a challenge for Westport because of the limited amount of undeveloped space in our community.”
He lauded the four-year moratorium the town has to address the problem in the wake of the state’s affordable housing statute, 8-30g, which allows a developer to override local zoning laws if a municipality does not have 10% of its housing stock deemed affordable, which Westport at 4%, does not.
“During that time we have the opportunity to guide the development of affordable housing that respects our neighborhoods while addressing the realities of our affordable housing obligations,” he said.
On other topics, Marpe was asked about a controversy involving the Westport Museum for History and Culture, formerly known as the Westport Historical Society (WHS). The museum recently removed the Sheffer family name from its gallery following a gift from the estate of a Weston man, Daniel E. Offutt III.
Marpe said the museum was not unlike other nonprofits in town and the town did not involve itself in the internal affairs of such institutions. “That’s not really for us to do,” he said.
The first selectman acknowledged until several years ago that the town paid the WHS for storage of records but that was no longer the case.
He said the town had contributed to the museum’s New Year’s Eve effort known as First Light, which replaced the First Night but was not happy to learn that some of the town funds went to paying museum salaries. “We will make every effort to recover” those funds, he said.
Marpe capped his remarks about the controversy by saying he was not happy with some comments about the situation made on local blogs.
“The tone is not what Westport should be about,” he said, and adding that some of the comments were akin to cyberbullying.
As part of Westport’s efforts to improve the environment, Marpe said he would soon be announcing a “2020 Zero Food Waste Challenge” in which residents would be asked to reduce the amount of wasted food thrown away.
On the subject of finding a replacement for Joey’s by the Shore at Compo Beach and the concessions at Longshore, Marpe said the town was reviewing bids submitted by a new operator and hoped to have at lease a limited food concession business in operation by the beginning of the summer beach season.
