Letter: Bill Harkins has led Westport BOH well through turbulent times

Posted 3/27/19

To the editor:

I am writing this letter in support of the re-election of Bill Harkins to the Westport Board of Health (BOH).

The BOH was in complete disarray and our town was a regional, if not …

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Letter: Bill Harkins has led Westport BOH well through turbulent times

Posted

To the editor:

I am writing this letter in support of the re-election of Bill Harkins to the Westport Board of Health (BOH).

The BOH was in complete disarray and our town was a regional, if not statewide, laughing stock due to the animal abuse scandal when Bill was first elected. Not a great time for someone who was just elected to assume the responsibility to guide the board during this tumultuous period. But Bill took this challenge head-on and as being appointed chair, made the right decisions to correct the failures of the past and make the necessary changes to prevent those types of issues to occur again.

A longtime resident of the town of Westport (30 years), Bill has been involved in helping to make our town a serene and comfortable, yet economically sound place to live. An Army Veteran, Bill is a member of our chapter of the American Legion. He is on the Board of Westport Business to Business. As a member and chair of the Westport Water Resources Management Committee from 2013-2018, his concern for our river resources are second to none.

As chair of the BOH, he has led successful campaigns to replace the town nurse, and restore the position of health director to the BOH. Bill was instrumental in updating several BOH regulations including those governing the care and treatment of animals in our tenant farms and rules regulating smoking in our public spaces.

In the absence of a senior agent, Bill worked closely with the Public Health Emergency Preparedness program to keep Westport current on emergency preparedness deliverables.

Bill has also been instrumental in establishing and nurturing a working relationship with Massachusetts state departments, including Department of Environmental Protection for Title 5 septic regulation and the Department of Agriculture dealing with animal regulations.

Bill’s pragmatism and prudence has allowed our community to follow a forward but reasonable approach to our needs. We must thoroughly understand what issues we face before blindly reacting. In the long run this will prevent overspending on projects that will have minimal or no effect on town matters. His management of major equipment acquisition and updating fee schedules at our Transfer Station increased cost effectiveness. This has moved the Transfer Station budget closer to a break-even point.

I fully support my friend, Bill Harkins reelection to the Westport BOH on April 9.

Dave Spiteri

Westport

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