Y Could be on Jesup Green - DOWNTOWN

By Bonnie Adler
Staff Writer
Printed in the The Minuteman

Westport Weston Family Y officials announced on Tuesday the sale of the aging Bedford complex to Bedford Square Associates LLC for approximately $20 million (See related story, this page). Helene Weir, Chief Executive Officer of the Family Y, said while the organization is pressing ahead with plans to build a new complex at its property at Camp Mahackeno, the approval process is in no way complete or assured and Y officials are still interested in keeping an open discussion with Joseloff.

While there has been much debate about keeping the Family Y in a downtown location, Family Y officials stated that Baron's South would not longer be a possibility since the Center for Senior Activities has been built at the site and there would not be enough space for the Family Y.

However, Jesup Green, which currently houses the police station, remains a long term possibility. Officials estimate it will take three to five years before they will leave their current location downtown.

The Board of Finance last week approved an appropriation of $49,500 for an engineering study that would explore potential uses of Baron's South and Jesup Green. Joseloff had proposed the engineering study in order to explore options for building work- force or affordable housing, establishing a public safety complex that could encompass a new larger police station which could potentially be combined with the fire department, and also explore the possibility of a large community facility, which could be the Family Y.

Joseloff wanted to clarify what sorts of projects would be feasible for the two town-owned properties to support, given for example, the restrictions inherent in the hilly terrain of the Baron1s South property. The RTM will take up the matter of approving the appropriation at its January meeting.

Board of Finance Chairman Jeff Mayer said in a telephone interview with the Minuteman after the Family Y announcement that he supported Joseloff's idea of both doing the study and reconsidering placing the Family Y on town-owned property.

"Before you embark on an ambitious plan you have to have a study," Mayer said. "In the spring, when the studies come in, we can make some intelligent choices. They may take a long time to implement, but at least we'll be informed."

Mayer said that if it appears that use of a town-owned property would be feasible, it might be possible to do a deal that would meet everyone's objectives and said there were alternatives that don't have to cost the taxpayers anything.

"There are very creative public-private partnerships in which private funding has been marshalled for publicfacilities under long-term lease arrangements," he said. "There's no reason that we can't indulge our ambitions here and take a long view of Westport's needs and desires and try to put together a proposal that works. Gordon is being both visionary and practical at the same time."