Government

‘Follow Them, Look at Their Car, Get the License Plate’: Parks Commissioner Calls for Self-Policing at Irwin

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A town official on Wednesday night called for a renewed effort to self-police Irwin Park, which she said has seen a resurgence in abandoned dog feces. 

Parks & Recreation Commission member Francesca Segalas said during the group’s regular meeting that reporting offenders to police and having them ticketed has worked in the past. Tickets issued to irresponsible dog walkers last year led to less dog waste left behind, Segalas said at the meeting, held at Town Hall. “And the tickets happened from two citizens reporting, not from the cops stopping them,” she said. “The dog warden caught them but she caught them on information from the citizen. So we need people to go and kind of look and see and if you see somebody who leaves dog poo behind, follow them, look at their car, get the license plate and text it to me and I’ll take care of it.”

The comments come one year after Parks & Rec formed a committee to tackle the problem and one local woman launched a widely discussed public shaming campaign at Irwin, placing ‘Shame On You’ flags on individual piles of excrement left at the popular park.

Caffeine & Carburetors

Parks & Rec Chair: We Need a Formal Parking Plan Before Approving October ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ at Waveny

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Saying they’re concerned about pedestrian safety, town officials on Wednesday night called for the organizer of a popular car enthusiast gathering to be held Oct. 20 at Waveny to ensure that a footpath running along the main road through the park is clear. 

If the Caffeine & Carburetors exhibitor cars are parked on one side of the footpath only, then visitors who wander through the popular show that Sunday will be less likely to walk in the road, according to members of the Parks & Recreation Commission. “If you can get the cars to park so that the path accessible that would be great, because that would change entirely what happened with all the pedestrians in the road,” Commissioner Francesca Segalas said at the group’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall. It isn’t clear which side of the pedestrian path is to be left clear—parks officials couldn’t agree on that—but Caffeine & Carburetors founder Doug Zumbach agreed to work with Recreation Director Steve Benko, Parks Superintendent John Howe and Commissioner Matt Konspore on a parking plan. Parks & Rec Chair Sally Campbell said the Commission would take a vote on whether to recommend the Oct.

Government

Selectmen Approve New Slate of Fees for 2019 Waveny Pool Passes

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The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday unanimously approved a new slate of fees for the Waveny Pool. While rates for season passes will hold at $455 for New Canaan families, the out-of-town rate will increase $25 to $1,225 for nonresident families, under the new slate. As in years past, a total of 100 nonresident family passes will be sold following a lottery. 

Here’s a look at the fees:

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kit Devereaux and Nick Williams voted in favor of the slate during their regular Board meeting, held at Town Hall. Recreation Director Steve Benko said one change to pool passes will be that a 10-ticket book of guest cards will be sold to residents for $80 versus a 15-ticket book, because it appeared at the end of the 2018 season that most people who purchased the book did not use all 15 tickets. 

The town-owned, self-sustaining Waveny Pool is open each year from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Williams called the pool “a great story” and said Benko and Parks & Recreation Commission Chair Sally Campbell “deserve a lot of credit” for coming to the town with a plan to put it on firm financial footing.

Amy Murphy Carroll

Selectmen: Town Council Should Look Again at ’Mead Park Brick Barn’ Demolition

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Saying a nonprofit group’s effort in planning for the restoration of the Mead Park Brick Barn warrants a stay of execution, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday decided to forgo voting on contracts to demolish the long-vacant Richmond Hill Road structure. 

Now that the New Canaan Preservation Alliance has poured resources into developing architectural plans for the Brick Barn and identified viable funding sources so that its restoration and maintenance can be privately funded, the Town Council should “weigh in on this,” Selectman Nick Williams said during a regular Board meeting, held at Town Hall. “You cannot recapture history, so I would like to send it back to the Town Council, and that is two weeks from now, and there will be a resolution within the next few weeks one way or the other, and I am committed to that,” Williams said. He referred to the Council’s Feb. 27 meeting, saying that if the legislative body again votes to demolish the Brick Barn, “I would be inclined to go along with that.”

Williams and Selectman Kit Devereaux voted 2-0 to postpone the Board’s decision on the demolition contracts until fresh direction is had from the Town Council. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan, long a proponent for demolishing the building, abstained from voting on the motion.

Board of Selectmen

First Selectman: Governor Doesn’t Support Proposed Bills on Forced School District Regionalization

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The governor of Connecticut does not support proposed legislation that would force the regionalization of public schools in the state, New Canaan’s highest elected official said Tuesday morning. Summarizing a meeting with Gov. Ned Lamont held Monday at Town Hall, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said that the 10 people present “talked a good bit about the two bills that are pending that would have forced regionalization of [school] districts.”

“And I think we got a commitment from the governor to issue a public statement that he doesn’t support those measures,” Moynihan said during a regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, held at Town Hall. He referred to widely discussed, separate bills proposed by state Sen. Martin Looney (D-11th) and Bob Duff (D-25th). In addition to Moynihan and Lamont, those present at the meeting were New Canaan Selectman Kit Devereaux, Board of Finance Chairman Todd Lavieri, Town Councilmen John Engel and Penny Young, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi, town residents Toddy Turrentine and Tucker Murphy and state Rep. Tom O’Dea (R-125th), Moynihan said. Lamont did not immediately respond to a request for comment.