Government

Town Approves Purchase of Pedestrian-Activated ‘Flashing Beacons’ Alerting Motorists to Foot Traffic at Weed and Elm

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Motorists traveling northbound on Weed Street soon will need to pay attention to a flashing beacon indicating that pedestrians have entered a crosswalk leading to a heavily used new sidewalk at the Elm Street intersection. Town officials last week approved the $16,600 purchase of new pedestrian-activated push-button beacons to alert motorists when people have entered the soon-to-be-striped crosswalks on foot. The funds are coming from a state grant that New Canaan put in for and received, which also paid for the new sidewalk along the west side of Weed, from Elm to Irwin Park, according to Joe Zagarenski, senior engineer in the Department of Public Works. “I understand this has the support of Traffic Calming and the Police Commission,” Zagarenski told members of the Board of Selectmen during their July 25 meeting, held at Town Hall. “These also have a 90 percent adherence rate, so they are very effective,” he said.

Business

Town To Purchase 24 New Recycling Bins for Downtown, Public Areas

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Town officials on Tuesday morning voted in favor of the $10,000 purchase of 24 new green metal recycling receptacles in New Canaan. The town by state mandate must have a recycling receptacle for every garbage bin placed in a public area, according to Don Smith, assistant superintendent of solid waste with the New Canaan Department of Public Works. Yet as of this week, Smith said he had counted 31 garbage bins around New Canaan and “more than half do not have a recycling bin,” Smith told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall. The town is purchasing the two dozen “slatted body outdoor metal waste receptacles” from Port Jefferson, N.Y.-based Global Industrial. “They are gorgeous,” First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said.

Government

Selectman Votes Against Natural Gas Deal, Citing Environmentalist Concerns

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Describing herself as a strong environmentalist, Selectman Beth Jones on Tuesday declined to support the town’s long-awaited agreement with the utility company to bring natural gas to New Canaan. Casting a lone dissenting vote on the Board of Selectmen and saying the town should invest instead in renewable energy, Jones during the group’s regular meeting said she was “worried for the communities where the fracking is happening.”

“You can have a ‘NIMBY’ attitude about it and say it won’t affect us in New Canaan, but it affects others,” Jones said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. She referred to a plan that will bring natural gas from Route 106 in Stamford up through South Avenue. First Selectman Rob Mallozzi and Selectman Nick Williams voted in favor of the approval. According to Jones, both Maryland and New York have banned fracking, due in part to debates over how to dispose of waste.

Government

Selectmen Hear Recommendation for $20,000 Salary for Town Treasurer

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Members of a municipal government subcommittee advocating for a $20,000 salary for the salary of the town treasurer said this week that the substantial pay increase could, in fact, save New Canaan money. According to Town Council member Kathleen Corbet, who serves on the legislative body’s Subcommittee for General Government and Finance, “with responsible, fair compensation for the town treasurer,” New canaan could “rely on them to do some of the functions that are being paid for on an internal audit function, which is an outsource function.”

“This committee is really all about savings for the town,” Corbet told members of the Board of Selectmen during their July 11 regular meeting, held at Town Hall. “We had the benefit of working with the Board of Education to find cost savings in health insurance, and we did that. We saved over $200,000. We’re not doing this for political attribution, but for saving money for the town.”

This recommendation comes after an extensive study of the salaries of town treasurers in 22 neighboring towns and cities, with respect to their respective budgets and duties, according to Corbet.

Government

Town Hall To Get Plaques Listing New Canaanites Who Served in Korea, Vietnam and during Gulf War, War on Terrorism

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Town officials recently approved the payment of about $7,000 in privately raised funds to a Trumbull-based company that will install plaques at Town Hall honoring New Canaanites who have served in wartime. The additional plaques for the new major entrance of Town Hall will list the names of residents who served during the Korean War, Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm of the Gulf War, according to Bill Oestmann, buildings superintendent of the New Canaan Department of Public Works. The Board of Selectmen at its June 27 meeting voted 3-0 to approve $6,962.76 for A.W. Construction LLC—funds raised by VFW Post 653 and the Exchange Club of New Canaan. VFW Post 653 Commander Peter Langenus said later that New Canaan’s American Legion Post 30 has given an “incredible commitment of time and money” to the project. During the meeting, held at Town Hall,First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said: “I applaud the effort.”