A piece of town-owned waterfront property on Westport Island provides public access to the Back River for both recreational and commercial use. The site, the Wright Landing is a historical site for the people of Westport Island.
It is the place where the old ferry transported people off and on the island for over 100 years, until the causeway was built in 1950. The facility is now maintained by a group of volunteers called the Ad-hoc Wright House non-easement/easement Committee.
Voters at the 2004 town meeting approved the purchase of the Wright property along with a house located on the site at a cost of $567,000. The property is on a point at the end of the Ferry Road. Land for Maine’s Future awarded the town $187,000 toward the purchase of the property. The goal of the town in purchasing the property was to make sure the Ferry Landing was upgraded to serve recreational boaters and diggers.
The Wright Committee was appointed by the selectmen in 2005, the first appointees were: Art Ballard, Mary Ellen Barnes; Richard DeVries, John Nelson, and Jon Williams. Over the past eight years this committee has been credited in saving the town thousands of dollars. Three of the first volunteers, Ballard, DeVries, and Nelson, remain on the committee today.
Their duties over the years have been varied, and many times, they have responded above and beyond the call of duty, according to the selectmen, from treating the privy, to drafting ordinances.
Their work really began following the 2007 town meeting. The selectmen asked the committee to take on the tasks of drafting regulations for the use of the boat launch and the property associated with it, and to resolve any issues to do with the utility wires on the site.
The committee members were also charged with getting information on correcting the width of the Ferry Road to bring it up to the 16-foot standard.
The committee researched boat launch regulations and mooring ordinances from several communities in preparing ordinances that received voter approval the following November.
The committee met with the town road commissioner, and private property owners, to review the changes needed to increase the width of the road, and coordinated with the Department of Conservation and Pine Tree Engineering for the placement of street lights, and utility wires.
The house on the property had been rented and the volunteers spend several days a year working on the house, painting, making window frames. They have reshingled one of the outbuildings, put in a new picture window, repaired the main entrance steps to the house. Not only did they volunteer their time, they provided most of the materials to do the jobs.
They do the needed repairs on the floats, the jetty, installed protection to jetty cribs and much more. They mow the grass, cut down trees that needed to be removed for the project, developed a landscape plan for the landing, implemented it, and continue to maintain it.
Each year the committee present the selectmen with a “To Do” list they hope to accomplish before the year’s end. The 2013 list includes 23 items with over half already completed.
There are six members in the current committee: two engineers, a metal worker, a boatyard manager, a biologist, and teacher. The three town selectmen, George Richardson, Gerald Bodmer, and Ross Norton, have all said, the town is very fortunate to have the dedication and skills of these people working for the town.
In a recent selectmen’s meeting, Richardson said to the Wright Committee Chairman Art Ballard, “The people in this town do not know all you and your committee do for this town. You have saved us thousands and thousands of dollars.”
The committee members other than Ballard, DeVries, and Nelson are Al Andrews, Troy Hodgdon, and the newest member Ken Parsons.
The Wright Committee is just one of several committees on Westport Island whose members give of their time and talents in service to their town. The town’s population is just over 700 people. According to the selectmen, there are about 80 volunteers listed on the town’s committees.
