Government

ARPA: Town Officials Seek To Re-Plant Trees Along South Avenue

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Town officials are planning to allocate $200,000 in federal funds toward a tree restoration project along South Avenue. About 23 years ago, the New Canaan Beautification League launched a ‘South Avenue Re-Leaf Project’ designed to improve the tree canopy along the major gateway to town, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. Yet just the first phase of that project was completed, from Cherry to Bank Streets, and a second phase extending south to Waveny never was taken up, Mann told members of the Board of Selectmen at their Aug. 9 meeting. “So the thought is as an anchor for a portion of this money on the town road side, would be to re-establish any trees that may have been lost in that timeframe in the first stretch, then establish trees from Bank Street down to Waveny,” Mann told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

American Rescue Plan Act

ARPA: Town Pursues $300,000 Installation of ‘Flexi-Pave’ Walk at Mead Park

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Town officials say they plan to allocate about $300,000 in federal funding to create a new Flexi-Pave pedestrian path at Mead Park. The walkway would make a horse-shoe from each end of the main parking lot at Mead, encircling much of the pond and including a revitalized memorial walk dedicated to the 38 New Canaan men who died while serving in World War II, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “We would like to see a more formalized path around Mead Park itself,” Mann said during the Aug. 9 meeting of the Board of Selectmen, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

“The suggestion was to do that with Flexi-Pave. We had an upsurge through COVID through the parks.

Government

ARPA: Town Weighs $400,000 Allocation to Waveny for Telemedicine

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Town officials are weighing a $400,000 allocation of federal funds for a well-established local nonprofit organization that provides healthcare services to seniors. The Board of Selectmen voted 2-0 last week in favor of recommending the American Rescue Plan Act funds for Waveny LifeCare Network’s “telemedicine” initiative. The initiative has already been shown to address a rising need in healthcare in town, Waveny’s president and CEO, Russ Barksdale Jr., told the selectmen during their April 5 meeting. “An investment in telemedicine today will give New Canaan a tremendous advantage in managing any future public health crisis, by providing a daily tracking and disease management program with a proven record to enhance timeliness and quality of care,” Barksdale said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectman Nick Williams voted 2-0 in favor of the recommendation.

American Rescue Plan Act

Selectmen Recommend $1 Million in ARPA Funding Toward Restoring Playhouse on Elm

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The Board of Selectmen this week recommended spending $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to prepare The Playhouse for a new movie operator. The funds would be combined with about $804,000 already built up through a fund for the 1923-built Playhouse in order to “do a significant amount of upgrades to the building,” according to First Selectman Kevin Moynihan. “In conjunction with an operator, we will make a joint investment in upgrades in the theater,” he said during a special Board meeting, held Monday at Town Hall and via videoconference. Public Works Director Tiger Mann said that a roof replacement at the iconic Elm Street building is nearly done, and now work is needed to its brick exterior as well as ADA upgrades as they relate to a bathroom, accessibility and exits. The theater needs “ADA accessibly in and through the theaters themselves, depending on how they are laid out,” Mann said.