Board of Selectmen

Selectmen Approve Funds for Four More Sidewalk ‘Bumpouts’ on Elm; Timing of Project Uncertain

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Municipal officials last week approved funds for the creation of four more “bumpouts” on Elm Street—a project that will see the town regain five parking spaces. It isn’t clear just when the work will begin at the intersections of Elm Street and South Avenue (bumpouts are planned for the southeast southwest corners of the intersection) and Elm Street at the Bank of America (bumpouts are planned for each side of the crosswalk there—the Playhouse side is already done). 

Though Public Works Director Tiger Mann planned to get the project done over approximately three weeks in April-May, working on one bumpout at a time, First Selectman Dionna Carlson called for more information before committing to a start date. Specifically, Carlson said she “would like to have the least disruption to the downtown merchants” and asked if it would be better to do it in August. “Because that’s going to disrupt that [south] side of the street for three weeks at least,” Carlson said during a regular Board of Selectmen meeting, held March 25 at Town Hall and via videoconference. “And if it’s raining, it’s going to be more than three weeks because you’re going to have to extend the project… I want to approve this project, but let’s talk about what’s the best timing for this?

News

DUI Charge for 72-Year-Old Man

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Police late Friday arrested a 72-year-old Mount Vernon, N.Y. man and charged him with driving under the influence. At about 10:08 p.m. on March 28, an officer on patrol spotted a car on Route 123 that failed to use a proper signal and was being operated erratically, according to a police report. The officer stopped the vehicle near Locust Avenue and, during the stop, found signs of impairment in the driver, the report said. After completing field sobriety tests, the officer brought the misdemeanor charge, it said. At police headquarters, the man refused to provide a breath sample to establish his blood-alcohol level, it said.

Around Town

Coffee’s on for Thursday

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Join fellow residents and NewCanaanite.com editor Michael Dinan for the monthly Community Coffee, to be held 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Thursday, April 3 in the Jim & Dede Bartlett Auditorium at New Canaan Library. The Coffee is presented in partnership with the library, and the brew is supplied by Zumbach’s Gourmet Coffee (thank you, Doug). The free, public coffee is a group conversation about what’s happening around town, moderated by Dinan. Topics come from attendees and we spend no more than 10 minutes per subject. Those who would like to receive a friendly reminder email about the coffee—held the first Thursday of each month—should email Dinan at editor@newcanaanite.com.

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Nancy Helle

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A spark of joy left the world when Nancy Jane Schuleen Helle, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and dear friend to many, passed away on January 25, 2025. Surrounded by the love of her family, she died peacefully in her sleep, leaving a legacy of friendship, music, and caring. An eternal optimist, Nancy was known for her love of pink and red, high fashion, Broadway and Cole Porter music, and a clever turn of phrase. Born in 1933, in West Chester, PA, Nancy was the cherished daughter of Ernest “Red” Schuleen and Beulah “Ruth” Jones, and a devoted human to her wire-haired terrier Snips, whom she adored. Nancy grew up along the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County, PA, first in Holtwood, where she attended the two room schoolhouse built especially for employees of the Holtwood Dam where her father worked, then later in Safe Harbor, PA, where her father served as General Manager of the Safe Harbor Dam.

Government

Selectmen OK Demolition of Town-Owned 1900-Built House on Grove Street

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The Board of Selectmen last week approved an approximately $54,000 contract to demolish a town-owned house on Grove Street. The town two years ago purchased the 1900-built house at 28 Grove St. for about $1 million, calling the .15-acre parcel a “strategic” property in that it backs up to the Lumberyard Lot. 

At their regular meeting on March 25, the selectmen voted 3-0 to approve $54,198 in contracts to raze the house and a shed and remove contaminants from the site. “The demolition would include the foundation of the building,” Joe Zagarenski, senior engineer with the Department of Public Works, said at the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “And then we would just level it off to make it safe.