Bill Oestmann

Town Approves $62,000 Contract to Repair Gazebo in Waveny

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The Board of Selectmen last week approved a $62,100 contract with a Ridgefield-based company to repair the gazebo in Waveny Park. The company, Alden Bailey, has all supplies in stock to do the work, according to Bill Oestmann, superintendent of buildings in the Department of Public Works. The gazebo’s roof needs repair “and the structure itself is needing a little cleaning up,” Oestmann told the selectmen at their Aug. 23 meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. “Kids over the years have done a little vandalism to it,” Oestmann said.

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Rise in Crime: New Canaan Police Request $200,000-Plus To Boost Security in Parks, Downtown

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Noting that the town is seeing a rise in crimes such as thefts at public parks and the business district, the chief of police is seeking $200,000-plus to bolster safety through a series of initiatives. The funds would be targeted toward improved security at Waveny ($25,000) and Irwin Parks ($75,000), as well as the downtown ($125,000), according to New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski. “Given the crime we have seen and the concerns expressed by our residents, I think it’s a perfect time for us to build on what’s been done and improve on it,” Krolikowski said during the Feb. 16 meeting of the Police Commission, held at police headquarters and via videoconference. New Canaan had “an unprecedented” number of motor vehicle thefts in 2021, Krolikowski said, something police are “very concerned about”—up to 39 last year, from 27 in 2020 and just 10 in 2019.

Government

Police Chief ‘Thrilled’ That Security Cameras Now Are Being Installed at Waveny’s Entrances

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The chief of the New Canaan Police Department said he’s “thrilled” that security cameras are being installed at Waveny’s two main entrances. 

Asked about the pole-mounted security cameras—there’s one already in place at the park’s Lapham Road entrance—Police Chief Leon Krolikowski noted that New Canaan has seen motor vehicle break-ins in recent weeks at both Waveny and Irwin Parks. “We have seen video cameras work well specifically at the YMCA, preventing people from breaking into vehicles,” Krolikowski told NewCanaanite.com. “And if they do commit a crime, it will help us catch and and arrest them and prevent future crimes from occurring. These groups will enter a vehicle if they believe that there are valuables inside. Very typically they strike public parks and public common areas in Fairfield County, recently in Monroe and in our town and other parts of Fairfield County.

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Police: Purse, iPhone, House Keys Stolen in Smash-and-Grab at Waveny Park

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Police say a Longchamp purse, iPhone 6, cash and house keys were reported stolen Saturday afternoon from an SUV in a smash-and-grab at Waveny. Credit cards, a driver’s license and reading glasses also were stolen after the right rear passenger window of a 2018 Lexus RX 350 was smashed while its owner was using the popular park, according to a press release issued by Police Chief Leon Krolikowski. The larceny was reported to police at about 3:33 p.m. on Feb. 6, the chief said in the press release. “Many towns in Fairfield County are experiencing similar crimes,” Krolikowski said in the release.

Government

Selectman Williams: Concerns About Waveny Park Safety Have Been ‘Politicized’

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A town official on Tuesday voiced concerns about the characterization of New Canaan’s most heavily used park as unsafe. Saying he believed that some of the talk around town about the safety of Waveny Park was “misguided a bit,” Selectman Nick Williams raised the issue during the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall. While saying that he was “in favor of safety,” Williams asserted that “Waveny is one of the best parks in America and one of the safest parks in America.” Speaking during a section of the Board’s agenda dedicated to general town matters, Williams said that suggestions to the contrary were “perhaps politicized,” but was not specific about how. “I think it’s unfortunate that people are talking about Waveny as if it’s Central Park in the 1970s,” Williams said.