Westport River Watershed Alliance getting ready for big move

WESTPORT — Town Administrator Timothy King, the Landing Commission and Westport River Watershed Alliance are working on a lease for the alliance to relocate to a former town garage on Old County Road.

This is one of the final steps in the alliance's plan to turn the historic, dormant building into a river center, a headquarters for the nonprofit group and an education center about renewable energy and the Westport River.

WRWA President Tom Schmitt and Executive Director Deborah Weaver met with selectmen in early August. The board authorized King to work with the Landing Commission and the alliance on a lease arrangement.

The alliance owns the building but the town owns the land, which leads to the Head of Westport Landing, a popular spot where kayaks and canoes are launched during the summer.

Weaver and Schmitt told selectmen they anticipate the alliance could move into the structure around Labor Day with a grand opening in October.

Schmitt said the move has been in the works for a long time, stretching back to at least 2013.

As of mid-August, lease negotiations were ongoing.

King stressed that what the alliance has asked for is reasonable and Schmitt thanked the town for being supportive of the efforts.

“Our relationship with the town has really been excellent," Schmitt said. "We have had disagreements and differences of opinion, but we never failed to come to an agreement. The complexity of this project, to get this far, means the town stepped up to allow us to get here.”

According to the alliance, the environmentally friendly building will use compost toilets and only gray water, or untreated waste water, will flow from the sinks into a septic field.

The building upgrade also comes with improvements to the general area. Two years ago, the town received a $249,000 Seaport Economic Development grant to rehabilitate the Head Landing.