Amy Murphy Carroll

Affordable Housing: Town Approves Loan of Up to $4 Million for NCHA’s ‘Avalon’ Acquisition

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Though the funds likely won’t be needed, officials say, the town is prepared to offer a $4 million loan to the New Canaan Housing Authority or ‘NCHA’ as that entity works to acquire a 9.1-acre apartment development located opposite Lakeview Cemetery. Following recent votes by municipal funding bodies, the town is ready to offer the loan so that the Housing Authority can cover expenses related to its hopeful purchase of 106 Lakeview Ave. The property includes 10 residential buildings with dozens of units of various sizes, 11 garages and one large pool, tax records show. 

The acquisition is expected to help New Canaan remain exempt from a widely discussed state affordable housing law. The town faces the challenge of creating new affordable units in order to continue doing so. “Right now, it still remains that it’s likely that we will not need any funds from the town,” NCHA Chair Scott Hobbs told members of the Board of Finance during a special meeting held Sept. 16 at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

Referring to the company that created the abutting Canaan Parish affordable housing development (and redeveloped it in partnership with the Housing Authority and town), Hobbs continued: “We’re still working a little bit with New Canaan [Neighborhoods] in order to try to boost our equity.

Government

Canada Geese To Be Hazed Away from NCHS, Saxe

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New Canaan soon will see border collies chasing off the Canada geese that gather and soil playing fields at the middle and high schools. For years, the town has successfully used a Wilton-based company to rid Mead Park of the geese there, according to John Howe, New Canaan’s director of parks and recreation. “We don’t harm the geese by any means,” Howe told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held Tuesday at Town Hall and via videoconference. “At the high school and Saxe, they’re going to do twice a day, seven days a week, but they’re offering us to do more in the beginning because they feel that they’re going to fly from Saxe to the high school and back and forth,” he said. “So they’re planning on coming at least three times a day until they can consistently move them.”

First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 to approve a one-year $9,900 contract with Geese Relief for services at Saxe Middle School and New Canaan High School.

Amy Murphy Carroll

‘I’ve Had Great People Around Me’: Mose Saccary To Retire After 44 Years with the DPW

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Mose Saccary, East Avenue-raised son of a Nova Scotian coal miner, graduated from New Canaan High School in 1978 after coming up through Center School and Saxe. He worked several jobs out of school, including for the architect Dinyar Wadia, at Grand Union and at Walter Stewart’s (“We actually lived on Seminary Street by then, so I could jump the wall,” Saccary recalled.)

“Before that, I worked for Joe’s Pizza when I was about 10,” he told NewCanaanite.com. On graduating NCHS, he learned that two buddies—Joey Lucas, a ‘78 classmate, and Walt Jaykus, one year below—had taken jobs with the town’s Department of Public Works. “I got interested in it and came on board and never looked back,” Saccary said. That was April 1980, and he started as a laborer.

Government

Selectmen, Commission ID Wages Issue within NCPD

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The New Canaanite 2024 Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. Town officials this month discussed what they described as an ongoing salary issue among New Canaan’s finest. 

During the Ag. 6 meeting of the Board of Selectmen, members of the Police Commission asked the selectmen for percentage salary increases for the highest-ranking members of the New Canaan Police Department. Paul Foley, a member of the appointed body, asked the Board to increase the deputy chief and captain’s salary from 2.75% to 3%, and the chief’s from 2.75% to 3.5%. During the meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference, Foley said these increases aren’t “quite where other departments are, but it gets them bumped up a bit.”

Foley said the increases would send a message to the rest of the staff that “there is some room for compensation increase.”

Foley said the department has been dealing with an issue where there’s a lack of individuals moving into administration positions.

Government

‘We’ve Drastically Reduced the Population’: Town OKs Contract To Keep Geese Out of Mead, Kiwanis

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Town officials last week approved a $25,000 contract with a Greenwich-based company that visits Mead Park every day of the year to keep the Canada geese out. The Board of Selectmen during its July 9 meeting voted 3-0 in favor of the contract with Geese Relief, which also works for a fixed period each summer in Kiwanis Park. Parks & Recreation Director John Howe said the company “comes to Mead Park twice a day, every day of the year.”

“And we’ve drastically reduced the population of Canada geese in Mead Park,” he said at the meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted in favor of the contract. Geese Relief brings border collies to Mead and also paddles out to the island in the park to “addle” Canada goose eggs there.