Berchem Moses

Elm Street Commercial Property Owner’s Lawsuit Against Town Headed To Trial

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A lawsuit filed by the owner of an Elm Street commercial property claiming the town overestimated its value in a recent tax assessment is slated to go to trial this summer. The town in January denied claims made on behalf of the owner of 61 Elm St. that an October 2018 evaluation—later upheld by the Board of Assessment Appeals—was “grossly excessive, disproportionate and unlawful.”

According to tax records, the two-story building at the intersection of South Avenue has 14,438 total square feet of finished space, and sits on .18 acres. It was assessed at $3,595,970, according to as substitute appeal filed last September in state Superior Court. 

The Board of Assessment Appeals denied the plaintiff’s appeal, according to a complaint filed by attorney Frank Murphy of Norwalk-based Tierney, Zullo, Flaherty & Murphy PC. 

The matter is scheduled to go to trial in July, according to Connecticut Judicial Branch records. The town in a March 2 legal filing said it would use Bridgeport-based real estate appraiser Peter Vimini as an expert witness. 

“The expert opinions to which Mr. Vimini is expected to testify will be contained in his written appraisal report as of October 1, 2018, which he has not yet completed but which will be disclosed to the plaintiff prior to trail pursuant to the court’s deadline for the mutual exchange of appraisals,” Coppola said in the disclosure.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday that he intends to sign an order keeping all Connecticut schools closed through at least May 20. “Out of the best interests of the health and safety of students, teachers, and staff, we feel this is the best approach at this time,” he said in a press release. According to New Canaan Emergency Management Director Mike Handler, the town had 106 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 11 deaths as of Thursday evening. ***

Regarding the estimated $12 million renovation of police headquarters on South Avenue, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said during a discussion of long-term capital spending at Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Finance, “If anything, if we are going into a recession or a depression, maybe you push the Police Department [project] off entirely.”

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New Canaan Police posted on Instagram Thursday that thieves continue to take advantage of residents who are not locking their cars amid the COVID-19 emergency. “More and more cars are being entered at night and several cars have been stolen,” police said.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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Municipal officials on Thursday denied a request to view a legal opinion rendered by the town attorney’s firm regarding New Canaan’s volunteer firefighters. The following line items and billing hours appear in a legal bill approved Feb. 11 by the Board of Selectmen, detailing what are described as professional tasks achieved by Berchem & Moses lawyers Christopher Hodgson, Kyle Roseman, Meredith Diette and Rebecca Goldberg, between Jan. 6 and 24 (New Canaan taxpayers fund an $8,5000 monthly retainer with the firm): 

“Follow up re: volunteer firefighters (.5 hours);
“Discussed strategy for payment of volunteer firefighters advice letter (.3 hours);
“Drafting advice letter re: payment of volunteer firefighters (.6 hours);
“Research volunteer firefighter issue (1 hour);
“Drafting advice letter re: payment of volunteer firefighters (2 hours);
“Review volunteer opinion memo; forward first draft to [Town Human Resources Director Cheryl Pickering-Jones] (.7 hours);
“Drafted advice letter re: use of volunteer firefighters to cover for career firefighter shifts (4 hours);
“Edited advice letter (1 hour);
“Emailed letter along with summary and additional memos of law for review (.4 hours);
“Research, review and revision of opinion letter re: volunteer firefighters (2 hours);
“Interoffice communication re: volunteer firefighter issue; research recent law re: same and draft language for opinion letter re: same (1.1 hours); 
“Research re: definition of volunteer firefighter; interoffice conference re: same (1.5 hours);
“Continued research for volunteer firefighter opinion; revise draft letter (1.7 hours);
“Interoffice communication re: volunteer firefighter issue (1.3 hours);
“Research, review and revision of opinion letter re: volunteer firefighters (1.3 hours);
“Interoffice discussions re: volunteer firefighters; review and analyze DOL opinion letters re: same (.7 hours);
“Final revisions to opinion letter re: volunteer firefighters (.8 hours);
“Interoffice communication re: volunteer firefighters (.7 hours);
“Conference with C. Jones to follow up re: volunteer firefighter issue (.3 hours);
“Reviewed final draft of letter re: compensation of unpaid firefighters (.5 hours);
“Draft memo re: volunteers; telephone conference with C. Jones.”

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The Town Clerk’s office on Feb. 20 recorded a notice of a $13,398.51 state real estate tax lien for the White Oak Shade Road home whose owners include a husband and wife who pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with a health care fraud scheme. 

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The Board of Education has scheduled a special meeting for March 2 to conduct a “student disciplinary hearing” in executive session.

Amy Murphy Carroll

New Canaan Committee Conducted Illegal Meetings, State Official Says

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The town of New Canaan violated state sunshine laws by failing to notice or open to the public a series of meetings held over several months last year, state officials say. Site visits conducted by two-person teams of the Building Evaluation & Use Committee—a group charged in February 2017 with studying and making recommendations about town-owned buildings—constituted “special meetings of a subcommittee” and “were subject to public notice and meeting minutes requirements,” according to attorney Valicia Dee Harmon, hearing officer of the state Freedom of Information Commission. After overseeing hearings at the Commission’s offices in Hartford on Dec. 5 and Feb. 6, to address a complaint about the meetings brought by NewCanaanite.com, Harmon found that the town, committee and Co-chairpersons Penny Young and Amy Murphy Carroll violated two provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

David Markatos

Town of New Canaan Broke FOI Law by Withholding Draft P&Z Document, State Official Says

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The town of New Canaan failed to comply with state sunshine law when it took more than two months to deliver a public document to a resident who had asked for it, officials said. According to an attorney with the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission, “there is no reason why” the town should’ve taken until Nov. 7 to hand over a 15-page document that the Planning & Zoning Commission had discussed at a public meeting on Aug. 29. The document, revised extensively at that August meeting, spelled out in a draft the conditions of approval that P&Z was considering for Grace Farms’s application for an amended permit.