Government

Town Approves $150,000 for Repairs at Schoolhouse Apartments

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The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously at its regular meeting last week to approve $150,000 for capital improvements at Schoolhouse Apartments, the 40-unit affordable senior housing complex on South Avenue. The funds will come from interest accrued on the town’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation, and will be held in a special projects fund as bids on individual projects come in, officials said at the meeting, held July 7 at Town Hall and via videoconference. Steve Hoover, who became president of Schoolhouse Apartments Inc. four months ago, told the board that the nonprofit had been in serious trouble when a new executive committee took over in March. “For 11 of the last 36 months, we had no on-site property manager,” Hoover said.

News

Fencing at Irwin House Site Expected Down at Month’s End, Town Says

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The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. The fencing surrounding the former house at Irwin Park is expected to come down this month, Public Works Director Tiger Mann told the Board of Selectmen during a regular meeting held last week at Town Hall. Mann said the town received revised disposal pricing for the remediation work on Tuesday morning, which starts the clock on a final three week process to complete the project. “Three weeks from now you should be taking down the fencing,” he said at the July 7 selectmen meeting. The Irwin House site has been fenced off for longer than originally anticipated, the result of a series of delays from the discovery of an unexpected underground storage tank on the property. 

The tank, the third found at the site, was undocumented and went unknown until demolition of Irwin House and its garage got underway last year.

Government

‘You Do the Best You Can’: Town Addresses Waveny Fireworks Decision

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The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. The town’s highest elected official this week addressed the widely discussed decision to proceed with the July 4 fireworks at Waveny Park, saying the storm that cut the event short and sent thousands of attendees scrambling was not foreseeable when the go-ahead was given. First Selectman Dionna Carlson addressed the controversy at the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting at Town Hall, where she said she’s received significant feedback from residents upset about the call. 

“I’m hearing lots of Monday morning quarterbacking on the call,” Carlson said. “I think it’s important for people to understand the decision-making process.” The show, she explained, had to be approved before the town’s fireworks provider crossed the George Washington Bridge from New Jersey into New York on Friday evening.

News

Selectmen Table $52,500 Police Vehicle Purchase, Request More Documentation

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The Board of Selectmen last week tabled a $52,500 purchase order for a New Canaan Police Department vehicle during its regular meeting, asking the agency to return with additional documentation before a vote. Capt. Joseph Farenga presented the request during the Board’s June 23 meeting, seeking up to $52,500 for the purchase and outfitting of a used utility van for the department’s Special Response Team. The van would replace a 2002 ambulance the team has used for years to transport equipment and personnel during call-outs and training exercises, he said. “It’s central for the team,” Farenga said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. He noted that a separate, older ambulance previously discussed by the board is intended for a different purpose, as a command and drone-operations vehicle.

Government

Town: Waveny House Elevator Still on Track for Completion by End of Summer

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The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. The long-delayed elevator project at Waveny House remains on track to be completed by the end of summer, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. The elevator contractor is on site working, Mann said, and the town is having the contractor revise a railing based on a discussion held the week before. “It’s a process,” Mann told the Board of Selectmen during its regular meeting Tuesday morning at Town Hall. “By the time we get through inspections and everything else, it’ll be operational by the end of the summer,” Mann said.