To address climate change and the impact of rising sea levels on the town, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) has appointed members to serve on a newly formed climate resiliency committee.

As a coastal town, it’s no secret that rising water levels are a threat to Westbrook. To combat that threat, the BOS voted in September to form the Coastal Resiliency Committee. Members of the new committee were formally named at a Nov. 8 BOS meeting.

The Committee will be comprised of representatives from various boards and commissions, and members include Board of Finance member Tony Cozza, Planning Commission member Marilyn Ozols, Council of Beaches member Jackie Keith, Harbor Commission member Andy Calderoni, and Zoning Commission member Mike Engels. Evan Cusson will serve on the committee as a representative of the business community and Sid Holbrook will serve as a member at large. First Selectman John Hall will also be an ex-officio member of the committee.

Town Planner Peter Gillespie developed a mission statement and charge that the BOS also approved at the Nov. 8 meeting. Per the mission statement, “This Westbrook Coastal Resiliency Committee will work with town staff and the community to analyze, coordinate, and prepare a Coastal Resiliency Plan in conjunction with the neighboring communities of Old Saybrook, Clinton, and Fenwick.”

The committee will consider the effects of sea level rise, storm surge, climate change, and extreme weather events and the effects those events will have on infrastructure, facility, economic, social, and historical needs.

The committee will be given support from town staff when needed and will be asked to remain in contact with similar groups in neighboring towns as well as at the state level. The committee will also periodically engage in public outreach and inform the BOS of its progress.

The plan states that the committee will report to the BOS and will deliver a climate resiliency plan to the BOS within 18 months of starting its work.

The group has not yet begun meeting, but it will elect a chairperson and will establish a meeting schedule at its first meeting.

Earlier this year, Gillespie said the committee likely wouldn’t start meeting until the beginning of 2023 since the town was still waiting to hear back from the state on a grant the town applied for. If approved, the grant would provide funding for the town to hire a consultant to advise the committee.

Once the committee does the planning work and hands in its report about 18 months from its first meeting, the BOS could choose to appoint a new committee to work towards the implementation of the plan or it could appoint a new committee. The BOS will make that determination in the future.

“These are issues we're going to be dealing with for many years,” said Gillespie earlier this year.