New Canaan’s highest-elected official said Wednesday night that he expects the town to make an announcement “imminently” regarding a new home for the Board of Education.
Town and Board of Ed officials for years have studied alternatives to the longstanding practice of New Canaan Public Schools administrators leasing space in a Locust Avenue office building at a cost of about $330,000-plus per year. Asked during a Town Council meeting this week on whether he had an update regarding the Board of Ed building, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said, “There is nothing to talk about publicly until we have a final final final final deal.”
“We are very close,” Moynihan said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. “Probably tomorrow [Thursday].”
Addressing Moynihan, Town Council Chair John Engel said, “We are working on trying to find a permanent home for the Board of Education and you are in private negotiations.”
The exchange came during Moynihan’s general update to the legislative body.
Earlier in the day, the Board of Selectmen during its own regular meeting had gone into executive session “to discuss a potential real estate transaction.” The selectmen did not take any formal votes at the end of the executive session. In recent months, the town spent thousands of dollars in legal fees on something called the “220 Elm Street transaction,” according to a copy of legal bills that form part of the public packet for selectmen meetings.
The address—220 Elm—refers to a .73-acre parcel of land owned by the town, with a building owned by Bankwell. Two years ago, Moynihan said he’d discussed selling the property.
