Government

Town Officials Reject Proposal To Require Residents to Remove Snow and Ice

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The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. Saying it is both unfair and unsafe for residents, town officials recently rejected a proposal to require certain property owners to remove snow and ice from public sidewalks abutting their property. 

The Town Council last month heard from various New Canaanites voicing their opinions on the first selectman’s proposal from June. A committee of the legislative body at its July 15 meeting voted unanimously to reject the suggestion, despite budget concerns. 

Town Council Bylaws & Ordinances Committee Co-Chair Tom Butterworth said, “There is very low likelihood [the proposal] has got any life left in it,” following the legislative body’s vote. Before residents addressed the Council, members conducted an informal straw poll, in which all council members expressed a collective desire to reject the proposal. 

Following the straw poll motion, residents were invited to speak to the Council. 

Here is what they had to say:

Rich de Moll: “As you probably already know, Park Street is a designated response road and, therefore, has enhanced snow clearing in the winter. In addition, it’s a primary access road for cars going to high school and middle school complexes as well as the Merritt Parkway.

Homepage Featured

Back to School: NCPD Officer To Return to East as SRO

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The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. For many, going back to elementary school may not be a good thing. 

But for Police Officer Ron Bentley, “it means the world.” 

For the school year that kicks off this month, Bentley—a two-plus decade NCPD veteran readying to enter his final year as a cop—has been assigned as the School Resource Officer or “SRO” at East Elementary School, his alma mater. Bentley describes this assignment as “personal.” 

“I was there the other day and I’m walking through the school and a flood of memories came back from when I went to school there— from where the gym used to be to the teachers and  just great moments that I had there,” he said. Bentley—together with his younger brother, Charlie, a New Canaan firefighter—grew up in town. Bentley was a member of the 1994 New Canaan High School graduating class.

Bruce MacLear

Private ‘Finch Club’ Proposed for Historic Park Street House

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The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. A group of local residents are seeking to build a private club in the historic ‘Maxwell Perkins House’ on Park Street. The three-floor house—long owned by the late architect Richard Bergmann—would be called ‘The Finch Club’ under a plan that was presented recently to the Planning & Zoning Commission. The Greek Revival-style house at 63 Park St. once was occupied by Maxwell Perkins, the great Scribner’s editor of Ernest Hemingway, F.Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe.

News

Waveny Soon to Debut New Fitness Area, New Playground Planned for Next Summer

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The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. The construction of a widely anticipated addition to one of New Canaan’s most popular parks is underway. 

Earlier this year, town officials approved a $100,000 contract for the installation of a new fitness area in Waveny Park. 

The new fitness equipment, dubbed ‘The Gladiator’ by its manufacturer, is geared for people ages 13 and up, according to Ryan Restivo, assistant superintendent of the New Canaan Parks Department. 

It will have 12 stations including a larger component called “Thrive 250.” 

According to Restivo, the Thrive 250 has special QR code signs which, when using a phone to scan, provide a link to fitness instructions and workout plans. 

“There’s some step-by-step online workouts, so that’s a really cool feature,” Restivo said. 

The fitness area is to be resurfaced with a material called ‘Poured-in-Place Surfacing’ which Restivo said “is the best ADA compliant surfacing.” 

The Poured-in-Place Surfacing is what was used in the hugely successful and popular Mead Park Playground, he said. (Restivo is working with a committee that includes Monica Capela, who co-founded the Friends of Mead Park Playground with Allyson Mahoney, as well as Lauren Connolly Nussbaum and Hilary Ormond.)

“It’s like a spongy material and it comes in all different colors,” Restivo said of the surface. “The color that we chose was a tan and black and it blends in well with the site.” 

This type of surfacing has many advantages, Restivo said. 

“It’s the number one accessible surface, it’s safe and durable, it’s shock absorbent for fall protection, and it’s low maintenance and aesthetically pleasing, he said. This new material replaces the woodchips used in the old fitness area. 

The Parks Department has already received the new fitness equipment but due to minor issues on the part of the manufacturers, the installation has been slightly delayed. 

“One of the posts had a manufacturer issue,” Restivo said.

Alekhya Pulavarthy

‘Drive Test’ Results: Major Gaps in Mobile Coverage Across Town

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The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. Much of New Canaan has poor cellular service and many parts have none at all, according to a widely anticipated “drive test” or “road test” conducted this summer by a Seattle-based company. During the July 16 meeting of the Utilities Commission, representatives from Ookla provided substantial data regarding mobile coverage – or rather, the lack thereof –  throughout New Canaan.  

“Poor to dreadful” is how one commissioner described the town’s mobile coverage during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. Ookla presented multiple graphs illustrating gaps in service. Alekhya Pulavarthy, senior product manager at Ookla, presented a chart to officials showing a period of time where about 30% of calls placed by T-Mobile users in New Canaan failed.