We the undersigned support building a new elementary school WITHOUT eliminating the Westport Community Gardens and the Long Lots Preserve, two legacy projects and diverse assets which add value to the Town of Westport.

The Long Lots School Building Committee has come up with options for replacing Long Lots Elementary School, some of which involve eliminating the Westport Community Gardens and the newly planted Long Lots Preserve.  

The Westport Community Gardens (WCG) is a twenty year asset built by and for Westport residents and Town of Westport employees. The gardens were purchased by the town under First Selectwoman Diane Farrell about 20 years ago, specifically as a site for the Westport Community Gardens. This purchase was to replace the community gardens that were taken away from gardeners eight years prior to that to build the Bedford Middle School.

Throughout these years, Westport residents, ages 5 to 95, have poured their hearts, souls, sweat, and sometimes tears into creating our beautiful Westport Community Gardens. It is a truly a magical place. 

This is not just a patch of soil. Great expense and thousands of volunteer hours have gone into creating deer-proof fencing, common spaces with seating areas, a pergola built by a Westport Eagle Scout, a bocce court, a seed share kiosk, a composting facility, and raised beds. 

The Long Lots Preserve is a pollinator pathway initiative surrounding the WCG to improve suburban environmental health. This two-year, four phase project is 3/4 complete. Crowd-funded and grant-funded at a cost of nearly $40,000, large parcels of town land have been transformed into a native New England forest. The damaging, aggressive, invasive plants that dominated the area are being eradicated. Keystone trees, including mature Pin Oak, Red Oak, Scarlet Oak and Swamp White Oak have been established along with hundreds other native plantings. 

In-kind donations have come from AJ Penna and Son, SIR Development, Aspatuck Land Trust, Earthplace, Connecticut Audubon, Bartlett Tree Experts, Bert’s Tree Service, Sustainable Connecticut, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Southwest Conservation District, and dozens of town residents.

The Westport Community Gardens maintains a social media presence on Facebook and Instagram @westportgardens

The Long Lots Preserve maintains an Instagram page as well @longlotspreserve

Please visit them to get an idea about just how wonderful these two places are.

If you would like a tour of either facility, please email:

westportcommunitygarden@gmail.com or longlotspreserve@gmail.com

Additionally, please reach out to the Town of Westport First Selectwoman, Jennifer Tooker, and these Long Lots Elementary School Building Committee members and encourage them to find a way to build a new school without eliminating the Westport Community Gardens and the Long Lots Preserve. 

Jennifer Tooker, Town of Westport First Selectwoman

jtooker@westportct.gov

Jay Keenan, LLES Building Committee Chair

jkeenan@westportct.gov

Don O'Day, LLES Building Committee

doday@westportct.gov

Srikanth Puttagunta, LLES Building Committee

sputtagu79@gmail.com

Joe Renzulli, LLES Building Committee

jdrwestport@gmail.com

Tim Wetmore, LLES Building Committee

lttw@aol.com

Liz Heyer, BOE Liaison to the LLES Building Committee

liz.heyer@gmail.com

John Broadbin, Deputy Director Westport Public Works

jbroadbin@westportct.gov

Jay DesMarteau, Board of Finance

jdesmarteau@westportct.gov

Board of Finance

Lee Caney

lcaney@westportct.gov

Nancie Dupier

ndupier@westportct.gov

James Foster

jfoster@westportct.gov

Sheri Gordon

sgordon@westportct.gov

Michael Keller

mkeller@westportct.gov

Brian Stern

bstern@westportct.gov

Board of Education Members

Lee Goldstein, Chair

lgoldstein@westportps.org

Liz Heyer, Vice Chair

lheyer@westportps.org

Neil Phillips, Secretary

nphillips@westportps.org

Kevin Christie

kchristie@westportps.org

RTM Members

Matthew Mandell

mmandell@westportct.gov

Liz Milwe

lmilwe@westportct.gov

Kristin Purcell

kpurcell@westportct.gov

Chris Tait

ctait@westportct.gov

Harris Falk

hfalk@westportct.gov

Jay Keenan

jkeenan@westportct.gov

Louis Mall

lmall@westportct.gov

Michael Perry

mperry@westportct.gov

Ross Burkhardt

rburkhardt@westportct.gov

Lyn Hogan

lhogan@westportct.gov

Jimmy Izzo

jizzo@westportct.gov

Don O'Day

doday@westportct.gov

James Bairaktaris

jbairaktaris@westportct.gov

Andrew Colabella

acolabella@westportct.gov

Noah Hammond

nhammond@westportct.gov

Jeff Wieser

jwieser@westportct.gov

Peter Gold

pgold@westportct.gov

Karen Kramer

kkramer@westportct.gov

Richard Lowenstein

dlowenstein@westportct.gov

Claudia Shaum

cshaum@westportct.gov

Candace Banks

cbanks@westportct.gov

Jessica Bram

jbram@westportct.gov

Seth Braunstein

sbraunstein@westportct.gov

Brien Buckman

bbuckman@westportct.gov

Brandi Briggs

bbriggs@westportct.gov

Ellen Lautenberg Hendel

elautenberg@westportct.gov

Lauren Karpf

lkarpf@westportct.gov

Jack Klinge

jklinge@westportct.gov

Wendy Batteau

wbatteau@westportct.gov

Rachel Steel Cohn

rcohn@westportct.gov

Stephen Shackelford

sshackelford@westportct.gov

Julie Whamond

jwhamond@westportct.gov

Lori Church

lchurch@westportct.gov

Nancy Kail

nkail@westportct.gov

Sal Liccione

sliccione@westportct.gov

Kristin Schneeman

kschneeman@westportct.gov

Jeffrey Dunkerton

jdunkerton@westportct.gov

Tatiana Plachi, Asst TC

tplachi@westportct.gov

Jackie Fuchs, Secretary

jfuchs@westportct.gov