Joseloff presents 'State of the Town' address

In the company of colleagues on the Democratic Town Committee, First Selectman Gordon Joseloff gave an informal "State of the Town" address on Monday, touching on everything from the unlikely chance of a flat tax increase this year to potentially purchasing the downtown post office building, on to a recent surge in crime around town.

"In order to maintain the health and safety of the Town of Westport ... we do need to spend money, so I just don't think it's realistic to believe we're going to come in at a zero mill rate increase," said Joseloff, who began his second four-year term in November.

Last year -- an election year -- there was no increase in property taxes, which had not happened since 1997. The economic struggles of Westport's residents were cited by town boards, and particularly the Board of Finance, as the main reason to keep the rate of tax increases to a minimum.

"People have said to me, `Gordon, I didn't come to Westport to have you run Westport as cheaply as you can. I want good services, I want good schools, I want good recreational facilities and all I want is the comfort that the money is being well-spent,'" Joseloff said.

A proposed project which would create a mix of senior affordable housing and workforce housing -- on the Baron's South property -- has been "moving along" but there are no new developments, according to Joseloff. One other area in which the downtown area could be affected is with the potential purchase of the post office building at 154 Post Road E.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has expressed interest in vacating the 10,000-square-foot building and moving to a smaller location, as long as the building can be sold for the right price.

"I want to know what they're going to ask for that building," said Joseloff. "The building has been there since 1935 and I've taken two tours over there [recently]."

He said the ideal situation would be for the town to enter into a public-private partnership to purchase the property.

"What we want to do is try and put something in there that otherwise would not go in. You name it. Fill in the blank," Joseloff said. "I'm open to ideas: an art gallery, an art center, Toquet Hall Teen Center, a mini-movie theater, café, book store."

With various projects going on around town, Joseloff also took a moment to address recent crimes in the area, which included a Dec. 23 armed robbery of two Westport Weston Family Y patrons, who had exited the rear of the building on 59 Post E., and a Jan. 11 robbery in which two men reportedly robbed McDonald's at 701 Post Road E., armed with guns and knives.

"This is the kind of thing we really have not experienced in Westport," said Joseloff. He was optimistic, though, about what the police department can do with the help of new technology and a young force.

"These guys will be caught," Joseloff said about the robber outside the Family Y and the two McDonald's robbers. "Sooner or later they will be caught."