NEWS

Text of Telephone Survey Announcement

OPINION SURVEY LOCATION OF PROPOSED WESTPORT Y APRIL 14, 2005

Survey results show Westporters Want Y at Baron's South

Results of an opinion survey ("Survey") by The Marketing Network of North Haven, CT were presented at the Westport Historical Society today. Survey results showed that:

72% OF THOSE WITH A PREFERENCE SUPPORT A SITE OTHER THAN CAMP MAHACKENO

59% OF THOSE SURVEYED SUPPORT THE LEASE OF TOWN LANDS AT BARON'S SOUTH TO THE "Y" AND ONLY 28% WERE OPPOSED;

AMONG "Y" MEMBERS SURVEYED, 67% MORE WERE PREPARED TO CONTRIBUTE MONEY IN SUPPORT OF A NEW "Y" AT BARON'S SOUTH THAN AT CAMP MAHACKENO.

(Click here for detailed results) (from Westportnow.com)

The Marketing Network was founded in 1985 and is a full service firm offering qualitative and quantitative research and marketing consulting services. Clients include Bridgeport Hospital, the Shubert Theater, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government SBC Communications, and Aetna Insurance, among others. The Survey completed for Westport involved interviewing 400 residents of voter age with special care being taken to include a representative sample across the nine voting districts and across four age groups: 18-30, 31-50, 51-65, and over 65. Special care was made to approximate the actual demographics of Westport as closely as possible. Members of the Y were also included in the Survey and represented 30% of the total sample.

The Survey was initiated by four concerned citizens, Donald Bergmann, Ted Diamond, Roy Dickinson, and Andy Lozyniak, with different political backgrounds, but one thing in common, a concern about the development and welfare of Westport and its families. With myriad "letters to the editor" it has become difficult to determine just what "the people" really want. The sponsors of the Survey believed a non-partisan, straight forward questionnaire would help clear the air and provide a guide for both the "Y" Board and Town authorities. It is hoped that with the information developed, the "Y" and the Town can work together to find a responsible solution to the current controversy.

Andy Lozyniak has lived in Westport his entire life and his father owned a farm at the present site of the Sherwood Connector. Andy is also a past president of Dynamics Corporation of America. Ted Diamond came to Westport in 1955 and served as Westport's Second Selectman for 8 years. Ted was also on the RTM and he served as the head of the Committee to Save Winslow Park. Roy Dickinson arrived in 1968. He was a member of the RTM for 12 years and is a past chairman of both the Conservation Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission. Don Bergmann moved to Westport in 1979, and has become active in a number of Town wide issues. He is a regular at First Selectwoman Diane FarrelPs Brown Bag lunches. All four sponsors emphasize that they are trying to do what is in the best interest of Westport and its residents. They are supportive of the Y's desire to relocate and three of them are actually members of the "Y". They are all hopeful that the survey which they commissioned, and paid for, will be the catalyst to bring the Town and Y together in finding a place on Baron's South, near the Senior Center for the new Y facility.

The complete survey and its back up data were made available to the press for anyone interested in examining the detailed responses by voting district, sex, age range, and/or "Y" membership.

For further details contact Roy Dickinson (203-226-0322) in Westport or Frank Colangelo, President of The Marketing Network at 203-248-9751.

The Press conference will be held at the Westport Historical Society, opposite Town Hall at the corner of Myrtle Avenue and Avery Place at 10 a.m., Thursday, April 14, 2005.