News

South Avenue To Reopen in Late August

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The water company’s installation of a main pipe on South Avenue, a project that has closed the major road this summer, is expected to wrap up before school starts later this month, officials say. The Board of Selectmen received an update on the South Avenue road closure at its Tuesday meeting. “They’re going to be off the day before the first day of school,” Public Works Director Tiger Mann told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. New Canaan Public Schools are scheduled to open Aug. 26.

Amy Murphy Carroll

Selectmen Push Back on Town Clerk’s Request for Part-Time Help

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The Board of Selectmen, following a pointed discussion, voted during a recent meeting to approve three months of pay for two part-time workers in the Town Clerk’s office. The quarterly approval is less than the full year of pay that Town Clerk Claudia Weber asked the selectmen for during their regular meeting, held July 22 at Town Hall and via videoconference. As Assistant Town Clerk Janet Donohue recently retired, Weber was seeking the additional help for an extended period because she “needs more hands,”she said. The requested hirings were of John Amarilios and Debra Lyon at up to 19 hours each through next June. “Historically, we’ve had a group of people that we can call upon on an as-needed basis,” Weber said.

Board of Selectmen

Number of Parking Spaces To Double at Waveny’s ‘Western Lot’

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Town officials on Tuesday approved a contract to nearly double the number of parking spaces available at a heavily used lot in Waveny. 

Part of improving the “Western Lot” at the park will involve “relocating the accessible spaces to align with the accessible route and remodeling the sidewalk to lead toward additional parking by the softball and soccer fields,” according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “We’ll also replace the existing decorative lighting and add new lighting,”  Mann told the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. He continued: “We’ll be adding approximately 17 spaces. It’s going to be a much more efficient layout than it is today.”

First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of the $479,664.19 contract with New Canaan-based Peter Lanni Inc. The contract entails jobs such as the milling, reclaiming, and repaving of Waveny’s “Western Lot,” according to the Board of Selectmen’s agenda. The approval comes after the selectmen previously delayed the project at their July 22 meeting.

New Canaan Police Department

Warrant: Police Arrest 24-Year-Old New Canaan Man

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New Canaan Police on July 23 arrested a 24-year-old New Canaan man by warrant and charged him with third-degree possession of child pornography. On Nov. 16, 2023, Sgt. Michael O’Sullivan received a “CyberTip Report” from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that Dropbox had flagged the content stored in the online infrastructure of a New Canaan resident, according to an arrest warrant application written by O’Sullivan and obtained by NewCanaanite.com. The tip stated the suspect’s username and email address and that six files containing child pornography had been uploaded to his Dropbox account, according to the police affidavit, which was signed by a prosecuting attorney and state Superior Court judge.

Around Town

Steve Benko Pool in Full Swing Amid Soaring Temps

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One of the biggest beneficiaries of the recent heat has been a favorite cool-down amenity in Waveny Park. Visitor numbers have skyrocketed at the Steve Benko Pool, though “it was pretty cold at the beginning of the season, so we didn’t have as many people coming out,” Recreation Department Recreation Supervisor/Aquatic Manager Steven Dayton said on a recent 90-degree morning. 

“As it’s gotten hotter, many more people have started to come regularly,” he said. The pool has seen roughly 27,000 people so far this summer, on pace to match last year’s 40,000, according to Dayton. In all, 1,117 resident memberships have been purchased for the pool, similar to last year’s number, Dayton said. Non-resident memberships (at higher rates) continue to be limited at 125.