To the editor:

I am writing in support of Bill Harkins for re-election to our Board of Health in Westport.

If the truth be known, it wasn’t always that way. In the 2016 election, I voted for one of his opponents, Phil Weinberg, because I was impressed with his lengthy tenure at the Mass. DEP. Phil lost that election to Bill, but in the end that worked out well because Bill became board chair in November 2016 at a critical moment and proved to be the right manager at the right time to begin the process of rebuilding the Board back from the depths of the animal-abuse scandal. And, in the 2017 election, Phil ran again, as did I, and we both joined the board.

Over the last two years, I have developed a greater appreciation for Bill’s management abilities, and in my opinion the immensely improved board we have today is largely the result of these abilities. Our Health Department is better staffed, with a new health director and town nurse, as well as an improved group at the Transfer Station (which the board runs).

We have enforced numerous regulations – stormwater, dumpster, port-a-jon – that were on the books but largely ignored by previous boards. We have upgraded our piggery regulation and promulgated a Tenant Farm regulation to prevent a re-occurrence of the tenant-farm disaster. We have raised fees at the Transfer Station to continue the popular recycling programs despite increased costs of doing so, particularly with glass. And more recently, we have developed an important policy regarding deed restrictions and de-nitrification septic systems near water wells on smaller lots in town. A lot of this credit goes to Bill.

But there is more to be done. Bill, with support from all of us, is leading the complicated process of transferring the Animal Control Office from the Board of Selectmen back under the Board of Health. We believe this will bring better management to the office, and enable us to adopt a Keeping of Animals Regulation, including an Animal Site Registry. We ask all citizens of the town for their support of this important initiative at our upcoming Town Meeting in May.

If Bill gets re-elected, whether he stays chair or not would depend on a vote of the board. However, I support returning him to the board because I believe the current board is the best one for our town. I appreciate that Bill is a US Army veteran with overseas service in Germany. I appreciate that he had a 35-year technical career at Tabor Academy in Marion during which he built and maintained the IT network on campus. I also very much appreciate his analytical capabilities that permit him to think through an issue that can result in his finding a different – and often improved – position.

So, given his record to date, current undertakings, and background, I want to keep working with Bill on the Board of Health. To that end, I support his re-election for a second three-year term at the Town ballot box on April 9.

Maurice E. May

Vice-chairman

Westport Board of Health