Board of Selectmen

Town To Be Reimbursed $73,500 to Drain and Refill Steve Benko Pool After Crash During NCHS Graduation

By |

The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously at its regular meeting last week to approve a $73,500 contract with Stamford-based company for the emergency draining and refilling of the Steve Benko Pool at Waveny, following the June 16 incident in which a man drove into the pool during the New Canaan High School graduation ceremony. 

Superintendent of Parks Ryan Restivo presented the request, noting that the work had already been completed and that the town was seeking approval for payment. He said the expense would be included in the town’s insurance claim for reimbursement from the driver’s insurer. The process of draining the pool turned out to be more complicated than simply opening a drain, Restivo said. “It wasn’t draining fast enough,” he said at the July 21 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “They had to haul.

Government

Referendum Fails; Summertime Ban on Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers Takes Effect

By |

New Canaan’s summertime ban on gas-powered leaf blowers is now in effect, following a referendum vote Saturday. Though more local electors voted in favor of nixing the ban, not enough people came to the polls to overturn the Town Council’s 8-4 vote in May in favor of a new ordinance whose full text can be read here under “Exhibit A” (scroll down). According to unofficial results released Saturday night by head moderator Bob Mantilia, 1,471 people voted “No” and 1,033 voted “Yes” on the following question:
“Shall the May 20, 2026 action of the Town Council approving an ordinance entitled ‘Gas Powered Leaf Blowers,’ which sets certain restrictions on their usage, be upheld?”
In order for the “No” votes to carry, two thresholds had to be met. Not only did more people have to vote “No” than “Yes,” but also 15% of the electorate as of the last completed voters’ list (which is 2,179 out of 14,526 people) had to vote “No.”

One advocate for the new ordinance, New Canaan resident John Seel, said when asked for his thoughts that “this was a very positive outcome.”

“As I’ve been saying, it upholds the democratic process in New Canaan,” Seel told NewCanaanite.com after the tally came in. “The decision of the Town Council back in May was an accurate reflection of the will of the people of New Canaan, as expressed through their democratically elected representatives.

News

Waveny LifeCare Network Unveils Proposal for 150-Unit Senior Living Community at ‘Mulch Pile’ Site

By |

The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by the New Canaan Racquet Club. Waveny LifeCare Network  or “WLN,” the nonprofit organization that operates a short- and long-term rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility and memory assisted living residence on Farm Road, an independent living facility on Oenoke Ridge and an adult day program, among other services, last week unveiled plans for a new 150-unit senior living community on town-owned within at Waveny through a long-term land lease agreement. (WLN’s Farm Road campus is also currently leased from the town.)
Presented July 15 to the Town Council as the beginning of what WLN leaders described as a public conversation—not a request for approval regarding the development—plans call for use of approximately 20 acres of the 50-acre “Parcel E,” known by many residents as the “mulch pile” area west of Lapham Road. Those presenting the proposal included WLN President and CEO Russ Barksdale Jr. and Board of Directors members Rich Townsend and Mark DeWaele. (Town Council member Penny Young recused herself from the discussion because she also serves on the WLN board.)

The location offers the best opportunity to address what they described as a longstanding shortage of senior housing while minimizing impacts to the park, they said.

Homepage Featured

Divided Commission Voids $30 Elm Street Parking Ticket for Norwalk Woman Who Was Unaware of Paid Parking Change

By |

A Norwalk woman who said she was unaware that parking on Elm Street had changed from free to paid had her ticket voided by the New Canaan Parking Commission on a divided vote. Vienna Bandur received a $30 ticket at 10:05 a.m. on June 16 on Elm Street, issued in the Elm/South Street zone. In a written appeal submitted to the Parking Bureau, Bandur said she’d come to town to meet a friend for coffee and was parked for approximately 30 to 40 minutes. “I do not live in New Canaan and was unaware that the parking on Elm Street had recently transitioned from free parking to metered parking,” Bandur said in her appeal. “There were no physical meters at the space where I parked or markings on the parking spot itself, and there was no signage indicating payment was required immediately in front of or near the spot, although, in hindsight, I did see that there were signs farther down the street, which I unfortunately overlooked.”

Government

Town Approves $150,000 for Repairs at Schoolhouse Apartments

By |

The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously at its regular meeting last week to approve $150,000 for capital improvements at Schoolhouse Apartments, the 40-unit affordable senior housing complex on South Avenue. The funds will come from interest accrued on the town’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation, and will be held in a special projects fund as bids on individual projects come in, officials said at the meeting, held July 7 at Town Hall and via videoconference. Steve Hoover, who became president of Schoolhouse Apartments Inc. four months ago, told the board that the nonprofit had been in serious trouble when a new executive committee took over in March. “For 11 of the last 36 months, we had no on-site property manager,” Hoover said.