Government

Commercial Property Owner to Town: Include Us in Plans for the Alley Next to The Playhouse

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The owners of a commercial property that backs up to The Playhouse parking lot and a staircase that leads to an alley running along the eastern side of the movie theater are asking to be included in any discussions of improvements there. With the widely anticipated Playhouse project weeks from completion—town officials have targeted the month of May—Terry Spring, a managing member of Cody Real Estate LLC, said she’s “particularly interested in future plans for this alley as it is such an important town right-of-way between parking lots, Elm Street and potentially our property.”

“We have a significant interest in this town right-of-way and have not been contacted by the town to review details before the matter is voted on,” Spring said in a letter that was read into the record during the March 19 Board of Selectmen meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. She continued: “We are concerned in connection with the final location and use of the garbage compactor recently located nearby at the top of the stairs to the alley, bordering our rear property line. We ask respectfully if your vote on these two items can be delayed until we have the opportunity to sit down with the town to look over the plans for the use of this of this alley, which we are glad to see underway but have not yet had an opportunity to consider any negative effects it might have on our property.”

Spring specifically referred to two items on the agenda for the selectmen meeting. One of them, an approximately $7,500 contract with a local architecture firm for “additional structural engineering services for steel connections at the Playhouse Theater” was removed from the agenda. 

The selectmen did approve an approximately $9,000 contract for the other item, which will see a New Canaan-based company install a concrete sidewalk in the alley on the other (western) side of the Playhouse.

Business

Outdoor Dining Season in Downtown New Canaan on Track for April 1 to Oct. 31

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Town officials on Wednesday approved the installation of new concrete “planter” barricades for outdoor dining for the upcoming season. The Police Commission voted 3-0 during its regular meeting to allow for the barricades to be put in place from April 1 to Oct. 31. They’ll be placed on either side of the sidewalk “bumpouts” on the northern side of Elm Street, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. They will be “in the area from, say, in front of Rosie’s and then the area from Solé from the Playhouse westward past Chef Luis,” Mann told the Commission at the meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference.

Board of Selectmen

Town To Install Brick Sidewalks Past Walter Stewart’s on Elm

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Town officials this week approved a contract for work designed to improve the sidewalk on a heavily foot-trafficked area of upper Elm Street. The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 during its regular meeting Tuesday to approve $1,965 in survey work in the area of Walter Stewart’s Market. 

The northern side of the sidewalk there is to get brick sidewalks and granite curbing installed, bringing it into the same style as much of downtown New Canaan, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “If you look, we have a brick sidewalk that leads from Elm Street, the downtown area, to the edge of Walter Stewart’s and then from the edge of Walter Stewart’s past Karl Chevrolet to Grove Street,” Mann told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. He continued: “We have brick sidewalks on the opposite side of the street. It’s one piece that’s in the middle that we weren’t able to complete at the time.

Government

Town Approves Contract for Sports Field Fence Repair

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The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved about $24,000 in contracts with two companies to repair fences at some of New Canaan’s most-used sports fields. The contracts with New Canaan-based Gannon Rustic Fence and New Haven-based Total Fence will address damaged fences at the softball field in Waveny, varsity baseball field in Mead Park and two Water Tower turf fields at New Canaan High School, according to Todd Deklyn, superintendent of parks in the Department of Public Works. “The Water Tower field fence is over five years old, and these two fields get used by various sports groups throughout the season,” Deklyn told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

He continued: “Damage to these fences is mostly caused by balls being kicked or hit in the fence during their games or practices. At the baseball and softball field fences, most of the damage is mostly caused by athletes doing soft toss and throwing weighted balls against them for warmups. Only the bad sections of the fence on each field will be replaced and we have requested two quotes from Gannon Fence and Total Fence.”

The town has used both companies in the past and they’ve “done quality work for us,” Deklyn said.

Government

Selectmen Criticize Effectiveness, Aesthetics of Pedestrian-Activated Flashing Beacons

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The Board of Selectmen at its most recent meeting approved a contract with a Newtown-based company for pedestrian-activated flashing beacons on Gower Road at South School and Elm Street at Kimberly Place. Motorists are “not necessarily paying attention to the students in the crosswalk” or crossing guards and monitors at South School trying to ensure their safety, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “We put in additional ‘no parking’ signs to try to free up the area and we’re still having a problem,” Mann told the selectmen at their March 5 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. There also are many people on Kimberly Place who seek to cross Elm Street at the intersection, he said. “It’s been a longstanding request,” Mann said.