Tarn Grauer
WESTPORT — A Zoning Board of Appeals meeting scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m. has been canceled due to internet connectivity issues with the town’s website.
Chairman Jim Ezzes said he was told there was a problem with Optimum’s connection.
“Due to some issues with Optimum cable, we had to cancel tonight’s public hearing as we were concerned that if interested parties wanted to attend, they would not be able to access the town website due to issues with Optimum and Zoom links,” Ezzes told ZBA said at the online meeting.
“We have decided to cancel tonight’s hearing and we will do some juggling to get people heard and start in April,” he said. “My advice to anyone who comes forward tonight to donate is [Deputy Planning and Zoning Director] Michelle Perelli called…”
“I think this is the best way for the town to move forward and we certainly don’t want people to not have the option to come forward,” Eads said. “In the spirit of transparency, we want everyone to have that option.”
There was no mention of internet issues on the town’s website at westportct.gov Tuesday.
But there is definitely a problem, at least as of Monday.
The Westport Daily News received multiple error notifications Monday afternoon when trying to access the website, saying the server was unresponsive.
For The Wall Street Journal, attending the evening’s online meeting wasn’t a problem. But it became inaccessible overnight. Despite using various browsers, I still get the same error message.
In the absence of any communication from City Hall, it’s unclear how widespread the access issues are.
It’s unclear whether Optimum is the town’s internet provider or if Optimum customers are the only ones having difficulty connecting. A call to one of the women selected was not immediately returned Tuesday evening.
Two other meetings scheduled for Tuesday night went ahead as planned.
The Architectural Review Committee met at 7:30 p.m. and chairman Ward French said he had not received any notification of the connectivity issues.
The town representatives’ environmental committee meeting also continued at 7:30 p.m., and District 7 Chairwoman Ellen Lautenberg said she had heard nothing about technical issues.
A member of another town agency told the Westport Daily News on Tuesday that they had received information that emails sent by some officials from town accounts were bouncing back.
Thane Grauel grew up in Westport and worked as a reporter in Fairfield County and beyond for 36 years.The time to contact him is editor@westportjournal.com.Learn more about us here.