Westport in Brief!
EverythingWestport.com
Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Quick Article Index . . .
October is Fire Prevention
Month
Voters restore earlier ban on
non-medical cannabis businesses
Westport Cultural Council
Currently Accepting LCC Grant Applications
|
October is Fire Prevention Month EerythingWestport.com Wednesday, October 21, 2020 Ann Marie Peckham, CARES Coordinator Email: ffpeckham@westport-ma.gov Phone:
508.636.1110, ext 2118 Fire Safety Month The Westport
Fire Department reminds everyone that October is Fire Safety Month and we
encourage all residents to test and change the batteries in your smoke
alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Throughout October, the Westport Fire
Department will be focusing on our Community
Assistance Referral Educational Service program, otherwise known as
“Westport Cares”.
Westport CARES is an outreach
program specifically designed to assist the at-risk population in our
community. In collaboration with the Westport Council on Aging, Westport
Police Department, Westport Town Nurse, and the American Red Cross, we work
closely with our community partners to connect our residents with the
resources they need. Some examples of the resources provided include home
safety assessments, education on trip and fall prevention, as well as fire
and life safety tips. Our home assessment visits
include a needs assessment evaluation, prevention options, and education,
including smoke and CO detector checks and installation, along with other
safety-related topics. The program allows our team, with whom the older population
may already know and is comfortable with, to meet in the safety and privacy
of their own homes to discuss options to make their living at home safer. Throughout October, we will be
conducting these safety visits with COVID precautions in place. Visits will
be conducted on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. To
schedule a visit or for more information on our program, please contact Ann
Marie Peckham at 774.264.514, email wfdcares@gmail.com
or call the Westport Fire Department business line at 508.636.1110 and ask
for extension 2118. October is Fire Prevention Month 2020. In
1922, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) named the
second week of October Fire Prevention Week in commemoration of the
Great Chicago Fire in 1871. Voters restore earlier ban on
non-medical cannabis businesses EverythingWestport.com Sunday, September 16, 2020 Photos | EverythingWestport.com
Special to EverythingWestport.com The see-saw status of cannabis
regulations in Westport took another big swing on Saturday, Oct. 3, with
special town meeting voters meeting outdoors re-establishing a ban on
recreational marijuana businesses of all kinds within the town’s borders. The first of two related
petition articles dealing with cannabis operations in the general bylaws and
zoning bylaws – both changed with majority votes after considerable debate –
negated a February 2020 special town meeting action that allowed licensed
medical marijuana businesses to expand into recreational marijuana
cultivation, processing, and retail sales operations. A backer of Article 3 started
the debate with a review of Westport’s legislative decisions on cannabis
control following statewide legalization in 2016. After coming off a
moratorium on local marijuana businesses, residents voted at the ballot box
in early 2018 to ban non-medical cannabis businesses in town; the decision
was endorsed at the 2018 annual town meeting. Petitioners succeeded in getting
a bylaw amendment allowing medical cannabis businesses to operate
non-medical facilities in February; changes to the zoning bylaws were made
as well. The proponent told the assembly that it seemed improper to allow a
bylaw to stand that “only one company will benefit from.” Speaking to uphold the bylaw
allowing recreational production and sales was Westport resident Diego
Bernal, co-owner of the Coastal Healing medical cannabis dispensary with a
provisional license from the state Cannabis Control Commission for 248 State
Road. Bernal admitted his company
would be the only business that could benefit from the bylaw, but noted that
his three-year effort to secure local approvals and permits and the
necessary state licenses was a huge investment that would benefit from the
non-medical business opportunity. The State Road facility will provide work
for local contractors, permanent jobs for local residents, and more property
taxes for the town if successful, he suggested. “We want the town to benefit
from this business,” which will open soon as a medical cannabis only
establishment, he said. But the company will seek to add
recreational cannabis operations after the dispensary opens, and is actively
seeking a new Host Community Agreement with the town, he indicated. Town
officials reviewing the medical dispensary plans approved the site as
suitable for such a business, he noted. The vote to restore the prohibition
on non-medical cannabis businesses may put a damper on the Coastal Healing
plans, if the Oct. 3 vote is upheld by the state Attorney General. In
discussion of the later article, one former town official suggested the
state will not allow towns to completely ban the now-legal recreational
marijuana businesses from operating. Supporting the move to restore
the recreational ban was Police Chief Keith Pelletier, who said he had
concerns about the traffic, crime and social impacts a non-medical facility
would have on the town’s neighborhoods. “It’s not about helping people with
their medical problems... it’s about money,” he said of the proposed
expanded operations. The police have no reliable test
for marijuana-impaired driving, which would likely increase with a local
recreational marijuana store, he suggested. “The town’s not ready for
recreational marijuana, and the police are not either,” he said. 400+ town residents showed up at
October’s Special Town Meeting and put the kibosh on permitting recreational marijuana outlets
in this bucolic seaside community. Impassioned speeches by Police
Chief Pelletier and former Select Board Chair R. Michael Sullivan reverberated
throughout the town’s
legislative body, which overwhelmingly voted in favor of prohibiting pot
stores in Westport by passing Articles
3 and 4. Former selectman R. Michael
Sullivan and other residents urged voters to restore the ban so the Planning
Board can develop “proper zoning regulations” for recreational cannabis
businesses in appropriate commercial zones. When the vote on Article 3 was
called, the prohibition passed on a show of hands; because it was a general
bylaw being amended, only a simple majority vote was needed. Much of the same debate
continued over passage of Article 4, a petition proposal to remove the
language treating recreational businesses the same as medical dispensaries
from the zoning bylaws. This time, a two-thirds majority was required to
ensure the action. Current Selectman Brian Valcourt
spoke in support of keeping the zoning regulations as they stood. His
arguments in favor of that point noted the considerable tax revenue that
recreational cannabis could bring the town. “The town is in desperate need
of income to supplement our budgets,” and popular recreational cannabis
stores could bring in more revenues, he argued. He indicated that the Board of
Selectmen has promised residents they would be careful about future
Community Host Agreements and “would not sign anything that would put
neighborhoods at risk. We can do this the right way” with proper zoning
regulations, he suggested. The last word of debate came
from R. Michael Sullivan, who urged his fellow voters to restore the ban and
“give your Planning Board the opportunity to do things right” with well
thought out revisions to zoning regulations. When the vote was called, the
petition passed on a show of hands by a wide margin. In other action at the special
town meeting, voters endorsed the borrowing of up to $4.51 million to fund
the replacement of the Westport Elementary School roof. Up to 48 percent of
the costs are likely to be reimbursed to the town by a Mass. School Building
Authority grant. Residents approved some
supplemental funding for approved budgets for the current fiscal year,
voting adjustments to 18 accounts. Changes to police ($200,000), fire
($100,000), and school department ($500,000) accounts drew the most debate. The most discussion was over the school
funding, which School Committee member Nancy Stanton-Cross said was vitally
needed because the original school budget was cut by $1.1 million because of
fears of reduced town revenues due to the economic downturn from the
coronavirus pandemic. “We need to hire personnel; we
need to hire IT (people),” she told the assembly. “We’re still half a
million short of what we needed to run our schools,” she noted.
Westport
Cultural Council Currently Accepting LCC Grant Applications EverythingWestport.com Monday, October 5, 2020
Information on the goals and
purposes of the WCC is available on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/WestportCulturalCouncil.org., and the Westport Town
website (www.Westport-MA.gov) under “Organizations/Westport Cultural
Council”. For more information or if there
are questions, prospective applicants can contact: Gay Gillespie,
chairperson at ggillespie51@gmail.com.
Contact: Carol Vidal at phone:
508.676.8994, or Email: cav318@gmail.com
Rolling Parade of Veterans on Veterans' Day EverythingWestport.com October 15, 2020 The Town of Westport, Office of
Veterans’ Services, announces that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and
the ban on large gatherings and strict social distancing
guidelines, the Town of Westport is holding a Rolling Parade of Veterans on Veterans' Day, followed by
a very brief ceremony at Beech Grove Cemetery.
Participants should plan to
arrive at the COA no later than 8:45 a.m. As Veterans' Day is to honor all
those who have served in the US Armed Forces, we require that each vehicle
have at least one veteran; however, family members are welcome to ride with
the veteran. Veteran participants will be given a small American flag as a
token of gratitude for their service. The Council
on Aging will have vehicles available for veterans who do not have
transportation or who prefer not to drive in the parade. Please contact
Carol Freitas, Westport Veterans' Service Officer, if you would like to ride
on one of the Council on Aging vans. In order to have an approximate
number of vehicles, registration is required by Friday, November 6, and can
be done through Carol Freitas. Registration can be done via phone: 508.636.1028,
email: freitasc@westport-ma.gov,
or by completing the registration form and returning it via the contact
information listed on the form. They ask that only
residents who live on the parade route line the roads to avoid large crowds.
Please maintain social distancing and wear masks. For more information please
contact Carol Freitas at 508.636.028 or freitasc@westport-ma.gov.
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