Board of Selectmen

Selectman Corbet Defends Appearance in 1913 Library Group’s Photo

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Noting that she’s received “a lot of blowback” about appearing in a photo with preservationists gathered out front of New Canaan Library over the weekend to support keeping the 1913 building, Selectman Kathleen Corbet on Tuesday said she will respect whatever the Planning & Zoning Commission decides on the library’s application to rebuild its facility, even if that means demolishing the original structure. In a possible reference to the library’s offer to move the Main Street-facing facade to a western property line, Corbet said she has been “impressed with some of the ideas that have been put forward by the library in terms of moving and paying homage to the 1913.”

“But the simplest one would be to preserve it in place,” she said during a regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, held at Town Hall. “But again, I think making sure that every voice is heard and we are considering that, that’s what I respect, the process from Planning & Zoning. And whatever they decide, I support—even if it includes demolition. So that’s the process I have always taken.

Bob Butman

Library Offers To Move 1913 Building Facade to Western Side of Campus

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Library officials last week unveiled renderings of what they’re calling an offer of compromise to preservationists who are opposed to the demolition of a century-old structure as part of a plan to rebuild the downtown facility. 

Moving the 1913 building’s portico and the Main Street-facing wall to the western border of the library’s campus could cost about $600,000 to $700,000, Executive Director Lisa Oldham told members of the Board of Finance during their regular meeting, held June 8 both in person and via videoconference. The library is “trying to get to a compromise solution that would respectfully honor the past, memorialize meaningfully the original library and not sacrifice the green, given the importance of the green to the overall campus,” Oldham told the finance board. At past public meetings, the library has said it would memorialize the 1913 building and its 1930s addition with professional photos, a limited edition commemorative book and works of art featuring the original structure that would become part of a permanent collection on display in the new facility. Library officials also have said in the past that granite from the 1913 facade would be used in a retaining wall for the green overlooking Cherry and Main Streets. The new proposal would see the portico and wall, at a depth of about eight feet, moved to the property line that the library shares with the gas station, New Canaan Library Board of Trustees President Bob Butman said.

Bill Walbert

Town To Unveil Potential Locations for New Police Station July 8

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Officials say a group that’s been meeting out of the public eye to identify sites around New Canaan where a new Police Department could go will unveil its findings next month. Assigned to the task by First Selectman Kevin Moynihan, the group of municipal employees, including representatives from the Department of Public Works, is expected to present to the town-appointed Police Department Building Committee on July 8. While Moynihan’s staff group has studied possible new sites, the Committee has been working on a possible renovation of the existing Police Department building on South Avenue. 

Committee member Jim Beall asked during the Committee’s regular meeting Thursday whether the Moynihan group might share its findings even before the next scheduled meeting on July 8. “Does it even have to wait until July?” Beall said during the meeting, held via videoconference. “Stuart, what is our expectation?

Caffeine and Carburetors

Parks & Rec Unanimously Approves Oct. 17 ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ at Waveny

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After all four installments of a popular antique and specialty car show were canceled one year ago due to the pandemic, parks officials on Wednesday night approved ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ for Oct. 17 at Waveny. It’s founder and organizer, New Canaan resident Doug Zumbach, owner of the eponymous coffee shop at Pine and Grove Streets, “always does such an amazing job, and all the events that he has had in the past have been pretty problem-free,” Parks & Recreation Commissioner Laura Costigan said during the appointed body’s regular meeting, held via videoconference. “And I can’t think better way keep jumpstarting things after the pandemic than approving” the event, she said. The Commission voted 11-0 to approve it. 

Zumbach in proposing the event—and also noting that he hoped in the future for a possible Sept.

Jim McLaughlin

Police Commission Votes 2-1 To Widen Sections of Sidewalk on Elm Street

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Municipal officials at a recent meeting voted in favor of a proposal to widen parts of the sidewalk along the one-way stretch of Elm Street downtown. The Police Commission at May 19 meeting reviewed a proposal to widen sidewalks at Elm and South Avenue, as well as along the north side of Elm Street between South and The Playhouse. Plans also call for a sidewalk “bump-out” at the crosswalk in front of the Bank of America building and converting six parking spaces on Elm into 15-minute spots, officials have said. Public Works Director Tiger Mann said the widened sidewalks would help restaurants accommodate outdoor dining and allow for expanded retail space. “In this day and age, the majority of people want to come downtown, that’s one of the reasons why New Canaan is so successful, we have a vibrant downtown,” he told members of the Commission at their regular meeting, held via videoconference. 

He continued, “It’s the walkability thereof that brought to the forefront.