New Canaan’s highest elected official on Tuesday proposed creation a committee that would advise the Board of Selectmen on town building and infrastructure projects.
Composed of five or seven members, the committee would advise the Board of Selectman on projects including major roadway renovation, bridges, school roofs and solar installations, according to First Selectman Kevin Moynihan.
Though for major capital projects a dedicated building committee still would be formed, a standing committee that includes one representative from each of the Town Council, Board of Finance and Board of Education, as well as specialists such as contractors and architects, could meet monthly to review projects that now are handled on an ad hoc basis, Moynihan said during the selectmen’s regular meeting.
“There have been a couple of recent examples where a project has come out and we said, ‘Oh, have we thought about maybe if we oversaw that more or reviewed it more,’ ” Moynihan said during the meeting, held at Town Hall.
“A project is proposed and funded, and then the oversight of the execution of that project is something we sometimes have been a little surprised by. Do we have enough public input? Do we have enough questioning? So I think it would just be a useful process.”
It wasn’t clear what projects Moynihan referred to.
The proposed committee could evolve into a formal commission that oversees the Department of Public Works, Moynihan said, an idea discussed four years ago when New Canaan’s governing document was under review.
“We could see how they evolve,” Moynihan said.
Selectman Nick Williams voiced support for the idea.
“I know other towns have similar body that does this,” Williams said. “We are a big real estate owner—in my opinion, too much, but that is another discussion.”
Williams asked whether the committee would be similar to the former Town Building Evaluation & Use Committee, and Moynihan said no, that the latter was focused on research.
Williams also asked Public Works Director Tiger Mann, an attendee at the meeting, whether he was “good” with Moynihan’s proposal.
Mann said only that he was eager to see the proposed committee’s mission statement.
Tuesday’s meeting opened with the swearings-in of the selectmen, each of whom was re-elected to a two-year term this month.