Charles Crookenden

Parks & Rec Approves Installation of Two Sculpted Benches in Waveny

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Parks officials last week approved the installation of two new benches in Waveny. The Parks & Rec Commission during its regular meeting March 15 voted unanimously to allow a local nonprofit organization to purchase and install the benches, created by a British sculptor. They are expected to add “a really interesting new dimension to the park that enriches current residents’ experience of the park and actually can attract new visitors,” Charles Crookenden, treasurer of the Waveny Park Conservancy, told the Commission during its meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. Nigel Ross’s benches “are functional and attractive sculptures,” he said. “By that I mean that they are designed to be played on, to be sat on,” Crookenden continued.

Government

Town To Have 17 Small Bridges, Culverts Inspected Under $75,000 Contract

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Town officials last week approved a $75,000 contract with a Newington-based civil engineering firm to inspect 17 small bridges and culverts in New Canaan. It’s been nearly 30 years since bridges smaller than 20 feet underwent a full inspection by the state Department of Transportation, though they’ve undergone screenings to rule out major problems, according to town Senior Engineer Joe Zagarenski. “Culverts have older or nonexistent data, so the intent of these inspections is to gather the data on these structures, identify any deficiencies and to develop a repair/maintenance plan with costs,” Zagarenski told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held March 7 at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

The purpose of the new contract with WMC Consulting Engineers is “identifying the small culverts” around town so municipal officials know which ones “need a little bit of work and a little more attention,” he said. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 in favor of the contract. WMC “has recently designed and provided construction inspection services with the West Road bridge and Wastewater Treatment Plant bridge, and we’ve been very happy with their performance,” Zagarenski said.

Government

Parking Commission Voids $30 Ticket Issued to Local Man

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Town officials this month voided a $30 ticket issued to a local man who recently switched back to commuting out of the New Canaan station after riding trains out of Noroton Heights for more than 10 years. In his written appeal letter to the Parking Commission, Ben Merrill noted that he’s “still getting used to the Pay-for-Parking program” in New Canaan. “In particular, two items are different,” Merrill said in the letter, discussed by the Commission at its March 1 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “1. The Noroton Heights app has my license plate stored and the ticket checker just looks at that, there is no space number required, 2.

Government

Town Approves $250,000 Contract for Masonry, Landscaping Work in ‘Service Area’ Outside Waveny House

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Town officials on Tuesday approved a $255,850 contract with a Bedford Hills, N.Y.-based company to rebuild a brick wall outside Waveny House. The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 in favor of the contract with Cambareri Masonry, Inc. 

The wall in question is located in a service area east of the main house, and the cost of the project will be split 50-50 with the Waveny Park Conservancy, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. Cambareri had done the Conservancy’s first major project at Waveny, Mann said, a “trail coming from the forecourt and leading down the hill through the trees there, the Flexi-pave trail.”

“They did a very nice job and then they did the most recent project with the Conservancy and the town, which was the installation of the plantings along the Waveny drive coming in from South Avenue on both sides of the road,” Mann said at the meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. “They’ve done very nice work and we are confident he will give us a nice project for this phase.”

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 in favor of the contract. The project went out to bid, Mann said, and the town received bids as high as $763,000.

Government

State: Timing, Duration of New Canaan Branch Line Shutdown TBD

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State officials say they don’t yet know just when or for how long service on Metro-North Railroad’s New Canaan branch line will be suspended. The state Department of Transportation and Metro-North “are in communication regarding significant track work proposed on the New Canaan Branch Line,” according to DOT Communications Manager Josh Morgan. “To expedite completion, rail service will be temporarily suspended,” Morgan told NewCanaanite.com in an email. “CTDOT will ensure riders will continue to have access to transportation and be able to get to their destinations by running buses to replace train service.”

He continued, “The construction schedule, which will ultimately determine when and for how long service will be suspended, has not yet been finalized but will be communicated publicly upon completion. We continue to discuss the project with Metro-North to minimize impacts to customers.