Owenoke Park Home Wins Westport’s Green Building Award
[Bottom Row L-R] Kristen Butts, (Chair of Green Building Awards), Jennifer Tooker (First Selectwoman), Keith Melnick (Owner), Kate Melnick (Owner), Jack Franzen (Franzen Architects), [Top Row L-R] Stephen Smith (Building Official), Peter Boyd (Chair of Advisory Board, Sustainable Westport), Gately Ross (Co-Director Sustainable Westport), Johanna Martell (Co-Director Sustainable Westport), John Segerson (Segerson Builders), Pam Brennan (Segerson Builders). Photography by Jenaé Weinbrenner.Press ReleaseThe Town of Westport and Sustainable Westport announced today that 24 Owenoke Park is the 2022 recipient of The Westport Green Building Award for Achievement in Sustainable Design and Construction.
Team:
Owners: Keith & Kate Melnick
Architect: Jack Franzen
Builder: John & Steve Segerson, Pam Brennan, Segerson Builders
Interior Designer: Chrystal Toth
The Westport Green Building Award for Achievement in Sustainable Design and Construction recognizes residential and commercial projects that make, or have made, significant contributions to sustainability and Westport’s future as a Net Zero Community. This award is a collaboration between the Town of Westport and Sustainable Westport and it acknowledges noteworthy accomplishments that add benefit to the Westport community. 24 Owenoke Park is a stellar example of what is possible with sustainable design and construction in a residential project.
When moving to Westport, CT in 2016, the Melnicks’ goal was to incorporate the sustainable building features they had discovered while living abroad in Switzerland and Australia in their new home. Sustainable aspects of 24 Owenoke Park include an efficient building envelope, use of sustainable building materials, a solar photovoltaic system, and a geothermal heating and cooling system.
The building envelope includes double pane insulated glass with low emittance coating to reflect heat and keep it from penetrating the glass. This reduces heating and cooling demands on the home, as well as the size of the heating and cooling equipment.
The heating and cooling system is an all-electric geothermal heat pump, lessening the home’s reliance on fossil fuels. When heat is required, the heat pump draws heat from the ground; when cooling is required, the heat pump rejects heat back into wells drilled 535’ into the ground. Because the ground temperature is nearly constant year-round, less energy is required to extract and reject heat to the ground than to the air.
A 7.8kW solar array installation of Photovoltaic panels produces clean electricity, powering the home, and allowing it to send electricity back to the electric grid instead of pulling from it. The solar PV panels also power an EV charger for their electric car.
Ultra-High Efficiency Tankless water heaters have also been utilized. Tankless systems provide hot water only when there is a call from a sink or shower, eliminating the need to keep the water heated 24/7.
The interior of the home includes natural finishes and furnishings as well as paint that minimize Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). VOCs are chemicals typically found in building materials and interior furnishings that can cause health problems. The paint also includes cradle-to-cradle (C2C) certification that not only assures the health and safety of the end product, but also sustainable manufacturing practices.
All appliances are Energy Star rated. These appliances meet energy efficiency standards set by the US Environmental Protection Agency or US Department of Energy.
To learn more about what you can do to make your home more sustainable, refer to the Sustainable Westport Green Building Awards Program on Sustainable Westport’s website: sustainablewestport.org, and follow the link to Guidance for Applicants.
ABOUT SUSTAINABLE WESTPORT
Sustainable Westport is a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire, support and connect Westport residents, organizations and the town in furtherance of the 2017 RTM resolution committing Westport to use best efforts to become a Net Zero community by 2050 or sooner, where the community has reduced its impacts across energy, water and waste so that they are sustainably managed, using approaches that are economically viable, of social benefit and environmentally responsible.
The Town of Westport and Sustainable Westport invites Westport residents to submit an application or a nomination for projects that meet the criteria for a Westport Green Building Award as found on the Sustainable Westport website (sustainablewestport.org). All Westport properties are eligible to receive the Award. Applicants will be considered on a rolling basis and awarded throughout the year.
Morning Weather Report: Cold
Today
Sunny, with a high near 40. Wind chill values between 10 and 20. North wind 6 to 9 mph.
Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 23. Wind chill values between 15 and 20. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph.
Tomorrow
Sunny, with a high near 39. Wind chill values between 15 and 25. Northwest wind 9 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Tomorrow Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 24. North wind 5 to 8 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Westport Library Blue Sunday Concert Series Finale Spotlights Blues Legend
Famed keyboardist, noted producer and radio host, Westporter Mark Naftalin brought the fourth and final installment of the library's ultra-popular Blue Sunday series to a very appreciative audience, featuring headliner and Blues icon James Montgomery. Naftalin's band bright their usual high energy show once again to the Trefz forum and after a series of great, classic blues songs known nationwide Naftalin brought out the headliner to wild cheers from crowd.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Whether you call it a harmonica, blues harp, mouth organ or just plain harp, Montgomery dazzled with his mastery of blues harmonica and had the crowd on it's feet more than once. Later in the show he invited the audience to turn the Trefz forum into a dance floor and many seats quickly emptied as the crowd, already energized from the performances, showed off their dance moves in the library's isles. Naftalin's Blue Sunday Band included guitarists Paul Gabriel and JD Seem, drummer Nick Longo and Paul Opalach on bass, Also later in the show, Montgomery shared the stage with two other great harmonica players, Mark Zaretsky and Manny Foglio.
The show was a perfect fit for the Library's beautiful Trefz Forum which is a versatile, cutting-edge space. The Trefz Forum is a premier tri-state area venue for performances, concerts, film screenings, lectures, and more. It features a concert stage, an 18-foot x 10-foot Digital Projection Radiance LED screen, state-of-the-art sound, theatrical lighting, video and digital projection, and seating for 400+ people (600 standing).
Presented by The Westport Library and Verso Studios, this series is produced by Naftalin, a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame who rose to fame as the keyboardist with the influential Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Manna Toast Announces Closing: “we’ve chosen not to invest in scaling the business”
Manna Toast held a prominent storefront in Bedford Square and included an outdoor eating area (pictured at left). WestportLocal.com photoManna Toast Release:
Thank You
Manna Toast will be closing at the end of this year. To all our customers, partners, local farms and suppliers, and our myriad of supporters—thank you! Each and every one of you has been an integral part of Manna Toast.
We started in 2020, bravely opening during the height of the pandemic, with a mission and purpose. Since then we've served almost 30,000 customers and helped inspire a cultural shift towards plant-based eating. We’ve educated many about the value of supporting local food initiatives and lowering our collective impact on the environment by composting over 15,000 pounds of food waste and consistently investing in compostable and recyclable packaging. To say we're proud of what we accomplished would be an understatement.
In addition, we provided well-paying jobs during one of the most economically challenging times in our history and want to thank our loyal employees that have been with us since the beginning.
We also want to thank the Westport Community and the Town of Westport’s wide range of departments (health, building, P&Z, Fire, Police, Board of Selectman) who supported our new business launch and efforts to help revitalize downtown.
Initially, our operations were designed for rapid growth, with the intention of opening multiple cafes across Fairfield County, but unfortunately in the current labor market, in our segment of the restaurant industry, and due to varying priorities in our personal and business lives, we’ve chosen not to invest in scaling the business. It's our hope that others will go forward and build on the success we’ve had in serving this wonderful community.
Please enjoy your Manna favorites over the next 3 weeks—place a takeout or delivery order, or visit us in the cafe and let us thank you in person and end the year with health and happiness. (click here to order)
Sincerely, the Manna Toast Family