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Thursday, December 31,
2020
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Obituary - Capt. Richard M. Spirlet (retired N.B.P.D.),
Westport
Letter to the Editor –
Coastal Healing’s planned marijuana facility is a flawed plan
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Obituary
- Capt. Richard M. Spirlet (retired N.B.P.D.), Westport His visitation will be held on
Sunday, January 3rd from 3-7 p.m. at the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals,
495 Park St., New Bedford. EverythingWestport.com Thursday, December
31, 2020
He was born in Acushnet, Mass.
and, in his younger years, attended St. Anthony’s Elementary School and
later graduated from Coyle Cassidy High School. In 1964, he joined the Coast
Guard and remained in the United States Coast Guard Reserves until 1994. In
1971, he joined the New Bedford Police Department, retiring after 36 years
of service at the level of Captain. Once in the department, his goal was to
serve as a professional role model to other officers, as well as the
community. He encouraged education, graduating from Salve Regina University
with a Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree from Anna Maria College in
Criminal Justice. Over the years, he received
multiple awards and played a major role in initiating various programs
within the department. He continued after his retirement to promote
education at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School,
teaching Legal and Protective Services and at Fisher College teaching
Criminal Justice. He served as a Westport Selectman for six years and was a
member of the Westport American Legion James Morris Post #145. In addition,
he was a talk show host for WBSM for five years. After patrolling the North End
for five years he became the City's first K-9 officer, paving the way for
the program's existence today. Officer Spirlet and his K-9 partner earned
numerous awards for their work with the city's narcotics unit. In 1993, then
Sergeant Spirlet established and implemented the Community Policing Unit,
and in 1995, the unit earned the first Robert J. Trojanowicz
Memorial Award from the New England Community-Police Partnership. From 1996-2000, Lt. Spirlet was
the Commander of the north end station supervising 20 officers and three
sergeants. In 2000, Lieutenant Spirlet became the department's Public
Information Officer, for years representing the department. To promote a
better understanding of the inner workings of the Police Department, Lt.
Spirlet created and hosted "Behind the Badge", an award-winning
monthly television program that appeared on the local cable access. To reduce bank robberies and
improve communication with police, Lt. Spirlet initiated the Bankers'
Security Network for all area financial institutions, a resource for crime
prevention training and information sharing. From 2000 until his retirement,
he had been the director of the Citizens Police Academy. He served as the
Police Department's liaison for Housing Court, as well as, serving as the
department's representative at community meetings, civic and neighborhood
events and governmental bodies. In May 2007, he received the honor of Grand
Marshall of the Aquidneck Island Police Parade held in Newport, RI. In addition to his wife, he
leaves his daughter, Susan Spirlet of Westport; his son, Troy Spirlet
(Donna) of Westport; and his daughter, Tara Spirlet Johnson (Steven) of
Centerville, Mass.; six grandchildren, Stone, Shea, Scout, Cooper, Sladen and Drew; his sister Anne Spirlet of Westport;
and many cousins. In lieu of flowers, please
consider giving to Neurosurgery Research at Boston Children’s Hospital in
memory of Richard M. Spirlet. Contributions can be made to
bostonchildrens.org/givenow or mail checks payable
to Boston Children Hospital Trust, 401 Park Drive Suite 602, Boston, MA.
02215-5301. Please include the name on the memo. Or please consider giving
to the Massachusetts Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation in memory of
Richard M. Spirlet. Contributions/checks can be made to MLEMF, 69 Maple
Street Suite 1, East Longmeadow, MA 01028. Attn: Doug Mellis,
Ex Director. His visitation will be held on Sunday,
Jan. 3, from 3-7 p.m. at the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St.,
New Bedford. Due to capacity limits, his Funeral Mass and burial will be
private. For online condolence book, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com. Please be advised that due to
the Covid-19 pandemic, there are strict guidelines that must be adhered to
for the safety of everyone. You must wear a mask to be allowed entry to the
services. Please practice social distancing and avoid any close contact.
Guests will be permitted to pay their respects and depart to allow the next
guests to enter. Capacity at the funeral home
will be limited so there could be wait times outside the funeral home. Thank
you in advance for your cooperation.
Letter to the Editor – Coastal Healing’s planned
marijuana facility is a flawed plan EverythingWestport.com December 30, 2020 To the editor: Coastal Healing has every right to pursue and potentially obtain
a site permit from the Planning Board to operate a recreational marijuana
outlet on Route 6 in Westport. That being said, they do not have the
right to put forth an insufficient plan, ignore state law, take regulatory
shortcuts and then expect an expeditiously served-up blanket approval.
I have informed the Planning
Board, Selectmen Board, Building Department and Conservation Commission of a
number of issues related to this project which need further attention including
the following; 1. For some reason the applicant and the
town have overlooked state and federal rules that require a specific site
permit be obtained prior to the start of construction. This is called
a NPDES permit (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System). Given the nature of this
"growing" facility, there is every likelihood that this permit
would not only be required for construction but also for ongoing
operations. Construction is nearly complete and it is unclear if or
when the NPDES permit has been obtained. 2. For some reason the applicant and the town
have overlooked a state regulation that requires commercial
buildings of this size to utilize what is called "controlled construction.”
This means that the architect or engineer for the project applies for and
takes out the building permit, not the contractor. The idea here is
that the town may not have the expertise to properly oversee a complicated
project and this rule puts the onus and liability for proper construction
and completeness on the architect and his engineering credentials, not the
town. “It is not clear to me why the
town would take on unnecessary liability and allow the applicant to be in
conflict with state regulation. The applicant has claimed that the project
is in fact being run as "controlled construction" but this cannot
officially be the case unless the building permit and associated inspection
and testing responsibilities are transferred to the architect. And
this has not occurred.” 3. For some reason, the applicant and the
town have overlooked the requirement to adhere to the erosion control plan
on the site prior to commencing work. In this case, I have no idea if
the controls put in place are sufficient because they represent only about
30 percent of that which is called for by the applicant's own plan.
They need to execute the plan or gain approval on a modified plan. 4. For some reason the applicant and the town
have so far not seen fit to adhere to site requirements that have been
routinely imposed on other businesses. Namely, why has no sidewalk
been required when two recent projects at either end of this strip of Route
6 have installed sidewalks? This business is next to and across the
highway from two bus stops that will no doubt bring pedestrian traffic and
cause those people to compete with vehicles entering and exiting this
business from a high speed roadway. 5. Most importantly, there is only one
request that the Select Board has put forth to the Planning Board regarding
approval of this project; that being to require a parking and traffic plan
that will be capable of handling the anticipated flow of vehicles. The
applicant's plan is unchanged from that which was submitted to obtain the
by-appointment medical permit issued by the Planning Board
earlier this year. Our own Police Department has confirmed that this
plan is completely unacceptable for the new use of recreational retail
sales. “You need look no further than
the few similar businesses in the area with several times the parking
capacity, and which exist on roads with much lower speed limits, to know
that we would be creating a dangerous situation here on Route 6.”
The first four issues listed
above can be easily addressed by the applicant if the appropriate town
authorities would simply require them to adhere to the rules. The
parking and traffic plan is more difficult. The fact is that this site
is too small for the intended use. Let’s face it, the applicant is
trying to fit 10 pounds of potatoes into a 5-pound sack. They
need more land. Some have erroneously stated
that the applicant is deserving of a favorable ruling simply for suffering
through a lengthy approval process. I would argue this is less a sign
of the applicant’s patience, than it is an indication that the proposed
location and use are troublesome. This site plan, in its current
form, will introduce unnecessary danger to clients, employees and travelers
on Route 6. I urge the town to heal its approval process and get
this right before avoidable harm is done. R. Michael Sullivan Westport Mr. Sullivan is a former
Westport Board of Selectmen member and chairman, and has served on many town
committees. - - - - - End - - - - - © 2021 Community Events of
Westport All rights reserved. EverythingWestport.com |
