Amy Murphy Carroll

‘That Just Wasn’t Honest’: Selectmen Call for Full Accounting of Delayed Waveny Elevator Project

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Saying delays and cost overruns on the Waveny House elevator project are unacceptable, members of the Board of Selectmen this week called for more transparency from Public Works officials, a specific number for how much it has already cost and regular updates on the widely anticipated installation. 

Everyone is “frustrated” with the project, described as being on track for completion this month then just one week later pushed out to July-August, Selectman Amy Murphy Carroll noted. “I’m incredibly frustrated with this, because since I was on the Board of Selectmen and I have asked at least once a month, ‘Where are we in the elevator? Are we okay? Are we on time?’ ” Murphy Carroll told DPW Buildings Superintendent Bill Oestmann during the regular selectmen meeting held Tuesday at Town Hall and via videoconference. “Two weeks ago, we were told to be done by the end of April,” Murphy Carroll continued.

Government

OSHA Cites Issue at WWTP, Town Approves Funds for Pump Safety Guards

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Officials last week approved an approximately $17,500 contract with a Bridgeport-based company to create guards for a town facility after federal inspectors identified a safety issue. Last month, representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration walked through Department of Public Works buildings, as well as Town Hall and the newly renovated New Canaan Police Department—the first time that OSHA came for such an inspection since 2017, according to DPW officials. While in the Waste Water Treatment Plant, an inspector found that eight pumps showing about two inches of exposed, slow-spinning drive shaft on each side of the motor represent “a safety hazard,” according to Bill Oestmann, DPW’s superintendent of buildings. 

“And they say because it’s an exposed shaft it should be covered,” Oestmann told members of the Board of Selectmen at their April 7 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. The pumps, which are bolted to the floor in a lightly trafficked area of the plant, have been in place for more than 25 years “and they’ve been running with no problem, but OSHA felt that they needed some safety guards on these pumps,” he said. The Board—First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll—voted 3-0 in favor of DPW’s request to enter into a $17,600 contract with Hard Corps Iron Works to create those guards, which Oestmann described as a “kind of safety cage” that still will allow for repairs. 

Public Works Director Tiger Mann noted that “at the time of the installation it wasn’t determined we needed it because we asked the question at the time.”

The selectmen asked what kind of accident OSHA foresaw (someone’s clothing or very long hair perhaps getting caught), what is the height of the pumps (ground level), how often inspections happen (every five to seven years), where the funds are coming from (sewer fund contingency) and whether Board of Finance approval is needed (yes, received later on Tuesday).

Government

Take Two: ‘Scene One New Canaan LLC’ To Operate Playhouse Movie Theater

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Town officials this week approved a lease with a Delaware-based limited liability company to operate The Playhouse. The Town Council and Board of Selectmen both voted unanimously in favor of a five-year lease with Scene One New Canaan LLC. Joseph Masher, representing the company, told the selectmen during their regular meeting Tuesday that he is sole owner of Scene One Entertainment, formerly Bow Tie Management. “For 20 years I was the chief operating officer of Bow Tie Cinemas,” Masher said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “So I have extensive experience with the old Playhouse and I’m very excited to be back, and what you’ve done with the Playhouse—making it into its current iteration—it’s amazing and my goal is to make sure that it is a centerpiece, is the centerpiece of town and the beacon of Elm Street.”

According to the Scene One website, the Schenectady, N.Y.-based company currently operates six movie theaters in four states, including New York.

Government

Town Enters $20,000 Service Contract for ‘RRFB’ Maintenance and Repair

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Town officials on Tuesday approved a three-year annual maintenance and repair contract with the company that makes New Canaan’s push button-activated pedestrian crossing signals. The $20,000 annual contract with Brown Deer, Wisc.-based TAPCO is “severable at one year” and covers all 16 locations of rapid rectangular flashing beacons or “RRFBs” throughout town, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “Because they are a specialized piece of equipment, you either have to hire a signal technician or have someone in your staff to be able to take care of it,” Mann told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. He continued: “And then with this, for every unit that they maintain, they will extend the warranty. So if there are parts that fall under the warranty, the year that they’re still servicing it, they’ll extend the warranty even if the warranty is expired.

Government

Town Adds ‘Veterans’ Category to Discounts at Popular Facilities

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Municipal officials are adding a new category to those who get discounted fees for using popular town facilities such as the Steve Benko Pool at Waveny and pickleball courts at Mead Park. Following a unanimous vote by the Board of Selectmen at its most recent meeting, veterans will now enjoy the same discounts as seniors, including free access to Kiwanis Park and $80 season passes to the pool, Mead Park pickleball and tennis courts and Waveny paddle tennis courts. Parks & Recreation Director John Howe, in proposing an updated slate of fees to the selectmen at the Nov. 18 meeting, called it “the biggest change” to the rates. “We added a ‘veterans pass’ where we’ll give veterans a discount to the regular individual rates,” Howe told the selectmen at the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.