It was unknown by how much, since voters still have the town budget to decide piece by piece June 19 and the school budget June 8, but as proposed, Westport Island’s property tax rate should drop, First Selectman George Richardson said Monday night.
Early voting starts next week
SUSAN JOHNS Tue, 05/04/2021 - 8:00am
Jacob Carver, 10, right, foists the American flag at Westport Island’s town office. With him is Stephen Coombs; behind Coombs, Bill Miller. Courtesy of Gaye Wagner
Courtesy of Gaye Wagner
Westport Island town office’s American flag is back flying for the first time in at least five years, Deputy Municipal Agent Gaye Wagner said. In Monday night’s UberConference call selectmen’s meeting and an email afterward, Wagner described a group effort to raise the flag.
“The halyard was broken, and the pole is steel and very heavy. Those previously asked about a fix said special equipment was needed to fix the pole in place,” Wagner wrote. “Westport Island resident Bill Miller was determined that the flag would fly once again and enlisted his friend Stephen Coombs from Massachusetts to make it happen. They, in turn, enlisted 10-year old onlooker Jacob Carver to assist. Jacob helped lift the pole an
SUSAN JOHNS Tue, 02/09/2021 - 8:45am
In Westport Island’s latest move to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, the town website at westportisland.us is getting a calendar. Via UberConference Monday night, selectmen agreed to hire Pedro Guimaraes of Willow Light Studio in Westport Island for $80 to set up the calendar. He designed the town website, Deputy Municipal Agent Gaye Wagner said.
Due to the pandemic, not everyone has ready access to the town office’s paper calendar that lists meeting dates and town hall reservations, Wagner said.
“I think it’s a good idea,” First Selectman George Richardson said of the online one.
SUSAN JOHNS Tue, 12/29/2020 - 8:00am
Westport Island First Selectman George Richardson said Monday night, Road Commissioner and G & D Cromwell co-owner Garry Cromwell and Fire Chief Stacey Hutchison talked, as Richardson asked them to. “And Stacey got back to me and said they had had a positive discussion and resolved the issues caused by the big (Dec. 17) storm and equipment malfunctions.
“If any issues come up that cannot be resolved, then Stacey will contact the selectmen,” Richardson told fellow board members and other attendees of the UberConference meeting.
“Excellent,” Second Selectman Gerald Bodmer said. Dec. 21, officials discussed G & D’s plowing in that storm including at the fire station.
Tue, 12/22/2020 - 8:45am
Which is the higher priority, a plowed fire station or plowed roads? Westport Island officials pondered that question in selectmen’s UberConference call Monday night. The question stemmed from the Dec. 17 snowstorm, when, according to officials, snow was falling at two to three inches an hour and the town’s plowing contractor, G & D Cromwell, had some equipment problems.
Second Selectman Gerald Bodmer said the fire department tends to all emergencies and should be the first priority to keep clear of snow. “It is critical to have that open.”
“Yeah, you really can’t do that,” Third Selectman Ross Norton said. He said the fire trucks can get out of the station in over a foot of snow, but the department and the island need the roads cleared.