Amy Murphy Carroll

Selectmen Put Off Vote on Redo of ‘Bridegroom’s Room’ at Waveny

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Saying they need more information, members of the Board of Selectmen this week put off voting on contracts for a future “bridegroom’s room” at Waveny House. Building officials came to the Board at its regular meeting Tuesday seeking approval for two contracts that would see a chandelier installed in a former IT Department office that the town now wants to convert into the groom’s room for weddings at Waveny. The room also would be painted, but the selectmen said they first need to understand how many lower wall electrical outlets are in it, and also what color it will be. “I don’t think we’re ready,” First Selectman Dionna Carlson said of voting on the contracts, totaling about $15,000. “I don’t think we’re ready for this one.

Government

‘I Don’t Understand What It Takes’: Selectmen Push Back on Registrar’s Request for Higher Pay

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The Board of Selectmen following a strained discussion at its most recent meeting voted 2-1 to increase the compensation for each of New Canaan’s registrars of voters by 3%, to $41,200. 

The figure is far less than the $52,000 that one of the registrars, Joan McLaughlin, had been seeking. In addressing the selectmen at their Jan. 7 meeting, McLaughlin said her work doubled with the introduction of early voting in Connecticut last year, as well as a recent shakeup of state legislature districts that resulted in three more for New Canaan. McLaughlin, who serves two-year terms as the Republican registrar in New Canaan, said during the meeting that she worked an average of 32 hours per week last year (up from 20 to 22 hours per week in the past) and that the higher figure was due to 14 days of early voting. “I have 14 days of early voting that starts at 10 o’clock in the morning and ends at 6 o’clock at night,” McLaughlin said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Government

Fitness Stations at Waveny To Be Removed Next Month, Making Way for New Equipment

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The broken and outdated equipment in a fitness area located on a grassy, tree-shaded island across the Orchard Field parking lot in Waveny will be removed next month, officials say. Set for a widely anticipated replacement, the 60-by-60-foot all-abilities fitness area often draws children who mistake it for playground equipment, according to Selectman Amy Murphy Carroll. “Multiple times, men and women are trying to use it, and it’s swarmed by kids,” Murphy Carroll said during Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

She added that no one is blaming the kids for doing so. “I know the actual equipment has little signs on it, which every kid in the world would ignore,” Murphy Carroll said. “And the parents probably don’t even see it, to be fair.

Government

Town To Impose Fee for EV Charging Station Use in Town Hall Lot

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Town officials last week approved a fee of 53 cents per kilowatt hour for the electric vehicle or ‘EV’ charging stations in the Town Hall parking lot. The figure is expected to cover the cost of electricity for the town at the stations, according to Public Works Senior Engineer Joe Zagarenski. The Board of Selectmen during their regular meeting also approved what Zagarenski called a “parking fee equivalent” of $1.25 per hour. “I say ‘equivalent’ because it’s calculated based on a charge rate of 7.2 kilowatts per hour divided by $1.25 an hour,” he said during the Board’s regular meeting, held Nov. 4 at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Amy Murphy Carroll

Selectmen Approve Contract for New ‘Bumpout,’ Expanded Brick Sidewalk in front of Playhouse

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Town officials this week approved an approximately $38,000 contract with a New Canaan-based company to create a new sidewalk “bumpout” in front of The Playhouse. The contract with Peter Lanni Inc. will also see bricks installed in the area in front of the movie theater where there’s a patchwork of asphalt and concrete at present, officials said during Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen. “What this will do is continue the granite curb past The Playhouse, and then it’ll come back into our existing curb in between The Playhouse and Solé,” Public Works Director Tiger Mann said at the meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. He continued: “And then we’ll have brick sidewalk leading all the way from the platform out, at that point in time, to the granite curbing and a new pedestrian ramp associated with it. So it’ll give a nice, big, large platform area similar to what we have down the street.”

First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of the $38,450 contract. 

Lanni, who did the original sidewalk work in front of the movie theater, has held his brickwork pricing since 2020, Mann said.