Advisory committee forming to determine interest in Westport campground

The Westport Camping Grounds on Old County Road might one day belong to the town or the school district — at least if the current owner and a group of interested residents have anything to say about it.

WESTPORT — The Westport Camping Grounds on Old County Road might one day belong to the town or the school district — at least if the current owner and a group of interested residents have anything to say about it.

Selectmen recently met with petitioners, who have interest in the town or school district purchasing the 33-acre property and expanding the footprint of the proposed 5 through 12 school campus.

“We’ve formed an advisory committee to research it for us. They will be asked to look at possible uses for the property, fair market value and potential funding sources,” Selectmen Vice Chairwoman Shana Shufelt said after the meeting. “ We think it’s an opportunity worth pursuing and this group will help us define the potential project.”

Shufelt said the committee will be resident led, but Town Administrator Timothy King will serve on it , as well as a school committee member to be named. The rest of the seven-member committee will be comprised of at-large residents.

Shufelt stressed that the potential acquisition of the property should not be mixed with the proposed 5 through 12 project. Shufelt said all plans for that campus are moving forward and school use of the campgrounds would be a separate project.

The owner of the campgrounds, which is also on Old County Road and visible from the elementary school’s parking lot, said he plans to sell the property and his first choice as a seller is the town or district.

Martin Costa, whose family helped build the campsite from scratch, has said he plans on selling within four years.

Such news has sparked the interest of School Building Committee members Antonio Viveiros and Antone Vieira Jr., among others.

Viveiros, the School Committee chairman, and committeeman Mark Carney have praised the potential acquisition of the property for school use, with the committee going on the record as being in support of the school district purchasing the property.

Nearby resident Joseph Ingoldsby helped circulate a petition and says he garnered pages of signatures within days.

Although the current 5 through 12 building and adjacent lands passed percolation and other tests, there is still some doubt as to whether the strain of a campus with more than 1,000 students, including the elementary school, can sustain the proposed well and septic configurations.

“This (campground) land offers two wells of potable water, dry upland to allow for recreational field construction, an access road for safety, and room to shift the monolithic (new) building away from the Westport Free Public Library parking lot and grounds to potentially save the existing memorial tennis courts from demolition and reconstruction,” Ingoldsby wrote in an email. “This may offset the purchase price of the Westport Camping Grounds. … The extra land would give the town options for re-siting the septic fields where the playing fields were proposed or on high and dry land at the Westport Camping Grounds.”

Costa described the purchase of the property as a “win-win” for the town and schools, as well as his family,

Dan Tavares, the owner’s project manager, expressed doubt that the proposed 5 through 12 school could undergo a major change that would encompass more land and alter any site plans.

As a state School Building Authority project, which will draw approximately 40 percent of funding from the state, the project is reliant on a tight schedule, Tavares said.

He also indicated that redesigning the campus could delay the entire project, which is scheduled to go out to bid for a contractor next spring.

Tavares indicated that after the project is completed, it might be worthwhile for the district to use the campsite, especially for ball fields. He mentioned that some of the proposed 5 through 12 campus fields overlap, and the campsite could give more room.

SBC member Antone Vieira Jr. said the SBC should at least discuss this issue with the MSBA.

Vieira mentioned how that, with the current setup, some sports teams would be bussed to other facilities.

Viveiros on Wednesday added details, saying that as proposed, the school district will still have to use the high school fields when the new campus opens in 2021.

He and Facilities Director Michael Duarte had concerns about some of the proposed septic and plumbing plans as well. Vieira mentioned that concerns about well water, septic, and other space issues would be eliminated.

Some of those issues included library parking and the presence of tennis courts. Vieira mentioned the lack of play areas for the adjacent elementary school campus and how the new building could further diminish that space.

Those interested in serving on the advisory committee can contact selectmen at 508-636-1003.