Westport
in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Friday,
January 18, 2013
photos/EverythingWestport.com
Quick
Article Index . . .
Selectmen approve 4.3 million bond sales.
“Test drive”
the da Vinci robot at St. Luke's.
Westport Selectmen elect to appoint future Highway
Surveyors.
Westport awarded Student Awareness
of Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) Grant.
Lackluster response to date
for upcoming annual April 9th election.
|
Selectmen approve 4.3 million bond sales. $3.2 million needed to pay the PCB remediation costs at
the town’s Middle School EverythingWestport.com Tuesday,
January 15, 2013 Photos/EverythingWestport.com
In a move rarely seen at Selectmen’s meetings, Selectman Craig Dutra
was temporary elected by the board to Clerk as R. Michael Sullivan, Clerk, was not in
attendance. Left: Select Board Chairman
Richard Spirlet signs the documents. Town Treasurer George Foster is in the
foreground. Only the Clerk can read the record the vote into the official record. “Moody recently upgraded the town’s financial standing to AA-, a step
up from A rating the town has held for years,” Town Treasurer George Foster
said. The average interest the town will pay for the bonds is 2.22%. “The town’s rating made the public financing very attractive to
investment houses, and seven bidders responded,” Foster said. “It resulted in
competitive interest rates.” $3.2 million was needed to pay for the PCB remediation effort at the
town’s Middle School after voters at last year’s ballot box rejected an override
to cover the costs. The bonds were
also needed to fund the "green" school window/roof improvement
project approved by the town early in 2011. Most of that money went in to
replacing the Westport High School’s roof. In a historically
low turnout at the March 1, 2011 Special Town Meeting, only 619 town voters,
just 5.3 percent of the town's electorate, said yes and passed the
proposition 2 1/2 override for up to $2.5 million in "green" school
repairs. The state eventually
reimbursed almost 47% of those costs, leaving Westport taxpayers to ante up
the remaining $1.1 million of the money actually spent to complete the
projects. The $3.2 million
payback period will be over 19 years, and the $1.1 million over nine years. According to
Selectman Tony Vieira, the town’s rating upgrade was due to the
implementation of a financial management plan, a debt management plan, tightening
up procurement procedures, and not spending certified free cash in the year
it was certified.
Above: From the left –
Town Treasurer George Foster, Tony Vieira, Steve Ouellette, Richard Spirlet,
and Craig Dutra sign the documents. “Test
drive” the da Vinci robot at St. Luke's. The
da Vinci Si Surgical System will allow highly skilled surgeons to perform
robotic-assisted, minimally invasive procedures with great precision and
expertise. EverythingWestport.com Tuesday, January
15, 2013 Southcoast Health System has announced
that it will open its second robotic surgical program this winter at St.
Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford.
The public is
welcome to see the da Vinci close up and actually sit at the controls and
“test drive” the technology.
The da Vinci Si
Surgical System will allow highly skilled surgeons to perform robotic-assisted,
minimally invasive procedures with great precision and expertise. The
addition of the da Vinci elevates the surgical program at St. Luke’s to one
of the most advanced in the region and increases the scope of surgical
services available to patients of Greater New Bedford and Wareham. Southcoast is the only provider in the
region to offer da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery with availability at both
Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River and now at St. Luke’s Hospital. The da Vinci at
St. Luke’s is an alternative to open surgery and laparoscopic surgery and can
result in quicker recoveries for patients. Common procedures that will be
performed using the da Vinci system include complex urological surgeries,
such as radical prostatectomies, and gynecological procedures, such as
hysterectomies. Southcoast has plans to expand the
service to include general surgical procedures, such as single-site
gallbladder removal and colorectal surgeries. EverythingWestport.com Wednesday,
January 16, 2013 Photo/EverythingWewstport.com Reminiscent of
the active crop of smokestacks that once populated the Spindle City, the twin cooling towers of the Brayton Point Power Station
appear to be spewing a cloud of industrial pollution. In reality, the 512
foot high towers that are responsible for lowering the temperature of the sea
water used in cooling the boilers of the 1,536-megawatt, coal-fired plant, are
only emitting water vapor.
Brayton Point Power Station, January 15, 2013. The 512 foot high twin towers that are responsible for lowering the
temperature of the sea water used in cooling the boilers of the coal-fired plant, are only emitting water vapor. The rising fog
from the towers is superheated water vapor, and the high outside humidity and
low air temperatures keep the mist from quickly dissipating once it enters the
atmosphere. That aside, local activists have called upon on Gov. Deval Patrick to push for the closure of the plant’s
coal-burning operation. Brayton Point Station, the largest power station in New England, was
purchased in 2005 by Dominion, a national company that produces gas, nuclear,
LNG and coal power along the eastern seaboard. The EPA deemed in 2010 that the power station was the largest polluter
in New England and responsible for nearly half of all mercury emissions in
the state. Dominion has invested $1.2 billion in environmental improvements and,
according to Brayton Point Power spokeswoman Lisa Lundy, now meets all
federal environmental regulations. Green energy tidbit: it
would take 800 2-megawatt wind turbines, or 10,240,000 150-watt solar panels to
replace Brayton Point, provided the wind blew constantly or the sun shone for
24 hours a day, something green energy enthusiasts should keep in mind.
Westport Selectmen elect to appoint future Highway
Surveyors. Special
Town Meeting is scheduled for February 7th. EverythingWestport.com Thursday, January
17, 2013 Selectmen voted unanimously
last week to enable them to move forward and remove its embattled Highway
Surveyor.
If approved by a
super majority (2/3 vote) at Town Meeting, the measure will then go before
the electorate in the upcoming April town election. The measure must then
pass muster at the ballot box; if successful the current Highway Surveyor
will finish out his term; Selectmen will then appoint his successor. Selectmen also voted to change the name of the position held by Sisson
to “Highway Surveyor/Town Engineer” if the ballot question passes. “We decided to move forward quickly to change the Highway Surveyor to an
appointed position this year as we wanted to avoid passing the measure at the
2014 annual spring election at the same time the Highway Surveyor would be up
for re-election, according to Board of Selectmen Chairman Richard Spirlet. Highway Surveyor Harold “Jack” Sisson, free on his own recognizance, awaits
trial on charges of receiving stolen property, larceny and conspiracy. Sisson
has entered a not guilty plea, and is free on personal recognizance, Sisson has been charged by Westport police, along with town mechanic,
John Kennedy, with attempting to transfer ownership of a Cub Cadet riding
lawn mower, valued at $2,000, to Kennedy for $100.
Inset: Harold “Jack” Sisson at last year’s annual
Town Meeting. In December, selectmen began discussing the possibility of making the
highway surveyor position into an appointed one. During the last two
selectmen’s meetings, there has been talk about changing the job’s
description and changing the qualifications, including requiring a background
in civil engineering. Appointing the
Highway Surveyor was one of the recommendations previously made by the now
disbanded Ad Hoc Committee on Town Government. At a December, 2012 Selectmen’s meeting, Selectman Craig Dutra
suggested drafting a bylaw change to present at the annual spring Town
Meeting that would recommend the appointment process. Town Administrator Jack Healey (pictured above with Selectmen) said he
was already working on it If approved, the Highway Surveyor would be hired by the Town
Administrator with the Selectmen’s approval. Sisson’s lawyer, Emile E. Morad Jr., entered
pleas of not guilty to the charges of receiving stolen goods, larceny and
conspiracy to commit those crimes. Morad said that
he intends to file motions to dismiss the case by February 5th, when Sisson
is due back in court. Special
Westport voter registration is Monday, January 28th. The Westport
Board of Registrars announces the following registration session for town residents
not yet registered to vote so that they may qualify to vote in the Special
Town meeting to be held February 28th. That registration
session will be Monday, January 28th from 4 to 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 816 Main
Road. Please use the front entrance. Residents may
also register daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Town Hall or by mail-in. Westport
awarded Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E.) Grant. EverythingWestport.com Friday, January
18, 2013
This will be the
18th year of the S.A.F.E. Program, which has proven effective in reducing the
dangers and damages associated with fires and tobacco products. Child fire
deaths have dropped 70% since the inception of the S.A.F.E. Program, as
children have been taught the proper actions to take to remain safe in case
of a fire. There have been a total of 259 documented Young Heroes since
the start of the S.A.F.E. Program, including one from Westport. These heroes
are children who have put into practice the fire and life safety lessons they
learned in the classroom during a real emergency to save themselves and
others. In regard to the
Westport grant, Senator Michael Rodrigues said, “I am pleased that Westport
has received funding to implement the S.A.F.E. Program. The program is truly
a lifesaver, and I’m appreciative to our educators and fire departments for
their continued efforts in keeping our children and us safe and educated
about best practices.” Westport Fire
Chief Brian Legendre said of the program, “I am extremely proud of
what the department’s S.A.F.E. educators have been able to accomplish
not only in Westport but statewide. For example, Lt. Brian
Beaulieu transformed our S.A.F.E. Program into an interactive
collaboration with school staff, students, parents and firefighters, and as a
result this past year he was nominated for
the Commonwealth's Public Fire & Life Safety Educators
Award.” For more
information about the S.A.F.E. Program, feel free to contact Tara Conklin’s
office at 617.722.1114 or the S.A.F.E. staff at 978.567.3388. Lackluster response to date for upcoming annual April 9th
election. To date, few
incumbents have pulled papers, with only one new candidate announcing they
would run. EverythingWestport.com Friday, January
18, 2013 Town Clerk Marlene
Samson had announced that starting January 3,
2013 nomination papers were available for the three year positions of: One
Selectman, one Moderator, one Assessor, one Board of Health, two School
Committee, one Fish Commissioner, two Trustees of Free Public Library, one
Landing Commissioner, and one Commissioner of Trust Funds. For Five Years:
One Housing Authority and one Planning Board. There is also a three year unexpired term
for Planning Board made vacant by the recent resignation of Planning Board Chairman John Montano. To date, only a handful
of incumbents have pulled papers, with only one new candidate announcing they
would run. “Yup, I’m running again,” incumbent Select Board
Chairman Richard Spirlet said when asked at a recent Select Board meeting.
“As a board we have worked well together. I hope to continue that forward
momentum in a second term.” Incumbent Selectman Richard
Spirlet will run for re-election. As Chairman, Spirlet has been seen as a
fair and balanced leader of a board that has seen its share of testy
disagreements. School Committee
Chairwoman Michelle Duarte was first out of the blocks, picking up her
nomination papers Friday morning, January 4th. If re-elected, Duarte
faces compelling challenges with budget constraints and the over-shadowing
issue of PCBs at the Middle School that will test the mettle of the School
Committee. New candidate Nancy Rioux of 17 President Street has pulled papers for one of
the two open School committee positions. Other incumbents who
have pulled papers as of January 18th are: Assessor: Steven Medeiros Board of Health: Sean Leach Trustees of Library: Robert Gormley Land Commissioner: Manuel F. Turner The Planning Board has
a lot on its plate, with the recent resignation of Town Planner Sarah Raposa, and the daunting job of establishing a revised
Solar Bylaw for commercial projects, and attempting to establish bylaws
controlling the growth of Central Village. Voters could also face
a ballot question that would revise a town bylaw, changing the elected
position of Highway Surveyor to a Select Board appointed post. Potential candidates can still obtain
nomination papers up to 4 p.m., Thursday,
February 14, 2013; the deadline for filing nomination papers with the
Board of Registrars is 5 p.m., Tuesday,
February 19, 2013. And as if that isn’t
enough, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry will probably be picked by President
Barack Obama to serve as Secretary of State, prompting an election that would
have to be held within 160 days of Kerry’s resignation, who if picked is
expected to resign in January. © 2013 Community Events of Westport. All rights
reserved. EverythingWestport.com |
