Around Town

‘Tireless Caring, Devotion and Love’: Friends Remember Steve Benko; Town Renames Waveny Pool in His Honor

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Bea Watkins got to know Steve Benko at New Canaan High School in the late-1960s, and for the last 11 years has worked for him as office manager of the town’s Recreation Department. There at the Rec offices in Waveny House, they often reminisced about mutual friends, parties and weddings, as well as Watkins’s brother, Lem, who’d worked for Benko one summer years ago. “I have always been in awe of Steve’s work ethic and proud to be on his team,” Watkins told NewCanaanite.com in an email when asked for her thoughts on Benko. “He always took such pride in everything he and our crew has had to accomplish for the residents in terms of activities, programs, and facilities. With the recent influx of new residents who continue to voice how astonished they are with all that the Recreation Department and the town has to offer, I know that it is largely due to the hard work and effort of Steve.”

Calling Benko “Mr. New Canaan,” Watkins remembered her friend as singularly passionate about the town and what it offers. “I always enjoyed sharing thoughts and ideas with Steve and a good argument was exciting as well,” she said.

Around Town

‘She Is the Queen Bee’: Longtime Resident Jeanne Rozel To Leave New Canaan at Month’s End

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A longtime New Canaan resident who has been deeply involved in community organizations through her 46 years here is moving out-of-state this summer. 

Jeanne Rozel, a professional Realtor known to many for her involvement with the Merrie Bee Cabin and Democratic Town Committee, as well as years of service on the Board of Assessment Appeals and Zoning Board of Appeals, is moving back to her native Indiana at month’s end to be near her siblings. “It’s very hard to leave,” she told NewCanaanite.com. “Some things come up and it makes me cry. It’s hard to leave, I’ve enjoyed it so much and the people are so nice. Everywhere I look are friends I’m going to miss that I cannot replace.

Cristina A. Ross

Town Council Votes 8-4 To Remove 1913-Related Wording from Draft Agreement with New Canaan Library

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Weeks after voicing concerns about it, the Town Council during its regular meeting Wednesday night voted 8-4 to remove a clause from the municipality’s draft agreement with New Canaan Library regarding the organization’s rebuilding project that would have allowed for a decision on whether to demolish the original 1913 library building to be put off for at least two years during construction. 

Saying the fate of the 1913 building has not been and will not be decided by the inclusion or removal the clause, Councilman Steve Karl noted that the legislative body has “covered this at length during all of our meetings.”

“We’ve had legal counsel from both sides weigh in on this document,” Karl said during the meeting, held via videoconference. 

“It’s a document that we were given by both sides. We’ve talked about it long enough. And as we’ve said in our last meeting, we were elected to lead and we need to move this. That’s the way I feel about it. I will say again: This is not the end of the 1913 building.

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‘That’s What Makes New Canaan Great’: High Praise for Health Officials, Volunteers Doing COVID-19 Vaccinations

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Members of the Town Council last week gave high praise to New Canaan’s health director as well as the municipal staff members and volunteers who are working hard and effectively to ensure that residents are receiving vaccinations for COVID-19 virus in the phases outlined by the state. Councilman Steve Karl said he’s been hearing “a lot of positive statements out of our Lapham Community effort and how organized they are and how smooth it is over there.”

“They have turned Lapham Community Center into a really efficient” facility for administering vaccine shots, Karl said during the legislative body’s regular meeting, held Feb. 24 via videoconference. “And they went from 100 a day to 300, like just overnight,” he continued. “[New Canaan Health Director] Jenn [Eielson] has done an unbelievable job getting that facility up and running and getting our residents through there.

Cristina A. Ross

Town Council Preempts Change to School Start Times in Divided Budget Vote

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The Town Council during an emotionally charged meeting Thursday voted 8-4 in favor of a spending plan for next fiscal year that effectively forestalls long-discussed changes to New Canaan Public Schools start times. The legislative body’s bipartisan vote in favor of an overall budget of $152.2 million represents an increase of just .19% over projected spending for the current fiscal year. Though the budget also includes a 2.5% year-over-year increase to district spending (exclusive of healthcare savings), it’s still about $1 million less than what the Board of Education had requested of the town funding bodies. The shortfall means the Board of Ed can’t pay for additional school buses and attendant staff needed to implement a proposed new start times schedule—a consequence that district leaders and some councilmen understood following discussions held in recent days, according to Town Council Chair John Engel. In voting in favor of the budget, Engel and others said they’re convinced that New Canaan adolescents should start school later, but added that the wide economic uncertainty due to COVID-19 means now is the wrong time to introduce significant new transportation costs.