Caroline Garrity

Tree Warden, Garden Club at Odds Over Waveny Landscaping Plan

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The town official charged by state statute with caring for New Canaan’s public trees is at odds with a local volunteer group that’s eager to remove several Japanese maples from a walkway near Waveny House. The town’s tree warden thinks the maples planted along one side of the path that runs between the gazebo and fountain at the top of the sledding hill “are absolutely beautiful,” Public Works Director Tiger Mann said during the June 9 Parks & Recreation Commission meeting. Referring to a New Canaan Garden Club proposal to replace those trees with a long bed of peonies and flowering plants, Mann added, “He understands your desire to have that, but he also feels that he answers to the other 20,000 residents in the town and he doesn’t see any good reason why they should be removed at present.”

The comments followed a presentation by representatives of the Garden Club and Waveny Park Conservancy, as well as their landscape designer. Removing the Japanese maples would open up a nice view of the hill and pond below, would create more symmetry with the peonies already on the west side of the footpath and would be a better photo opportunity for people getting married at Waveny, according to Conservancy Chair Caroline Garrity and Kathryn Herman of New Canaan-based Kathryn Herman Design, LLC. “It would be very stunning to have this incredibly long walk that was unified on both sides of the walk with this really beautiful display,” Herman said during the meeting, held via videoconference.

Caffeine and Carburetors

Parks & Rec Unanimously Approves Oct. 17 ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ at Waveny

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After all four installments of a popular antique and specialty car show were canceled one year ago due to the pandemic, parks officials on Wednesday night approved ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ for Oct. 17 at Waveny. It’s founder and organizer, New Canaan resident Doug Zumbach, owner of the eponymous coffee shop at Pine and Grove Streets, “always does such an amazing job, and all the events that he has had in the past have been pretty problem-free,” Parks & Recreation Commissioner Laura Costigan said during the appointed body’s regular meeting, held via videoconference. “And I can’t think better way keep jumpstarting things after the pandemic than approving” the event, she said. The Commission voted 11-0 to approve it. 

Zumbach in proposing the event—and also noting that he hoped in the future for a possible Sept.

Government

Parks Officials Consider Proposed New Locations for Summer Theatre of New Canaan

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Parks officials say they’re planning to meet with the Summer Theatre of New Canaan to figure out a possible location for the organization’s popular shows, should public health-related restrictions allow for it at the time. The executive producer of Summer Theatre of New Canaan has inquired about two possible locations, both at Waveny, according to Recreation Director Steve Benko. Ed Libonati asked about “the hillside that leads down to the pond, right below the walled garden,” Benko told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission at their regular meeting, held March 10 via videoconference. “And the second area he asked about was possibly using the one behind the Lapham Center. What he is looking to do this year because of COVID—and we don’t know what all the restrictions are going to be yet, because the state hasn’t changed many things—I know he was looking to have the tent over the stage only and the audience would have to sit in designated circles or squares.

Government

Town: Sales of Waveny Pool Passes Down 

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Fewer seniors are purchasing passes to Waveny Pool in years past, officials said last week, likely due to COVID-19 virus-related fears. As of Wednesday, 116 senior passes had been sold, according to Recreation Program Manager Steve Dayton. 

The figure is down 33% from the 174 total sold through the summer season one year ago, records show. In the past five years, the number of senior passes sold for Waveny Pool ranged up from 140. “I don’t think they are coming to the pool,” Dayton told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission during the appointed body’s regular meeting, held July 8 via videoconference. Commissioner Matt Konspore said, “I think there are still people in fear,” referring to transmission of the virus to seniors, for whom coronavirus disease poses great risk.

Government

‘Taking Some Action’: Town Officials Move Forward with Proposal for Surveillance Cameras at Waveny Entrances

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Following an online petition signed by more than 2,000 people, and acting on the advice of police, town officials said this week that they’re looking to install cameras to record motor vehicles entering and exiting Waveny Park. 

Parks and Public Works officials said during a subcommittee meeting Tuesday that the cost of installation might be around $25,000, for which they would likely request a special appropriation. The main purpose of the cameras will be to “show visibility of activity coming in and out of our parks,” Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Rona Siegel said during a meeting of the appointed body’s Camera Subcommittee. The two-person subcommittee, which also includes Parks Commissioner Matt Konspore, discussed potential locations for the cameras, focusing on the three entrances to the park—one on South Avenue and two on Lapham Road, including near the Waveny Pool. “It would just be an extension of cameras at the entrances – not throughout the park,” Siegel said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. Those in attendance included Siegel and Konspore as well as Recreation Director Steve Benko, Public Works Director Tiger Mann and Parks Superintendent John Howe.