Government

Moynihan: New COVID-19 Cases Among Unvaccinated People and Those Who Are Traveling

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New Canaan’s highest elected official said Tuesday that the town continues to see four or five new positive cases of COVID-19 virus per week. The new cases are of two kinds, according to First Selectman Kevin Moynihan: unvaccinated people or people who have received vaccine but have traveled “predominantly to areas of higher risk.”

None of the New Canaan positive cases are being reported yet as “very sick or hospitalized in the area,” Moynihan said during a regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, held at Town Hall. “And [Gov. Ned Lamont] indicated yesterday this Delta variant is a concern,” Moynihan said. “I talked to the governor yesterday about the school reopening and whether or not he’s going to require masks,” he added. “The governor’s orders were extended as of today to [Sept.

Government

Town Adds Pesticide Use Disclosure to Municipal Website

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Eight months after parks officials voted in support of the move as part of a larger recommendation, the town on Tuesday added a section to the municipal website disclosing its use of pesticides on several athletic fields. Though state law prohibits the use of pesticides on school grounds through grade 8, New Canaan uses the chemicals in treating athletic grounds at Waveny, Conner Field and baseball fields at Mead Park. 

Selectman Kathleen Corbet last summer questioned why pesticides are still applied to some public fields used by young kids, and in September developed a set of recommendations for the town. Her findings included that “not very many people know about the use of pesticides in our Town,” and she said in her report that “[a]t a minimum, unless a pesticide free policy is adopted for all athletic fields, public disclosure about the use of pesticides on the natural grass athletic fields is recommended.”

During this week’s regular Board of Selectmen meeting, Corbet noted that a draft disclosure still hadn’t been posted to the town’s website. “Did we forget to do that?” Corbet asked during the meeting, held via videoconference. Public Works Director Tiger Mann responded that the town did not forget.

America Rescue Plan Act

Selectman Williams: $6 Million from Federal Rescue Plan Act Should Go to Restoring General Fund

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The town has already lost millions of dollars in revenue due to COVID-19, with more losses to come as New Canaan emerges from the pandemic, so municipal officials should look to use $6 million in new federal funding to restore the town’s General Fund, Selectman Nick Williams said. The $3 million that New Canaan should get this week through the America Rescue Plan Act just about covers losses already incurred in areas such as parking, recreation programs and property rentals, Williams noted during the June 15 Board of Selectmen meeting. And New Canaan has “other continuing negative trends on revenue” that should be addressed in a second $3 million payment from the federal government that’s expected to come within the next 12 months, Williams said during the meeting, held both in person at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

“Do we need to proactively say, ‘Oh we are going to get $3 million next year, Christmas has come early, what do we do with that money?’ ” he said. “It seems to me that prudence would augur that we just maybe just see how things go. Is there a rush?

Board of Selectmen

Selectmen Approve $20,000 for Seeding Athletic Fields

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The Board of Selectmen las week approved two contracts worth a total of about $20,000 to seed athletic fields in New Canaan. The selectmen at their regular meeting June 15 voted 3-0 to approve one contract for the purchase of 4,650 pounds of seed ($15,337) and a separate contract for its application ($4,800). “We over-seed the fields that we don’t necessarily treat with pesticides—so Saxe, Farm Road, [New Canaan High School] track field and all Mead Park baseball fields,” Public Works Director Tiger Mann told the Board at its meeting, held at Town Hall and accessible via videoconference for presenters. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted in favor of the purchases. Corbet asked whether the approved seed represents more than had been obtained last year (the town is purchasing it now as prices are expected to rise), whether the athletic fields that that do not have pesticides get seeded twice per year (yes) and what is the plan to apply pesticides on athletic fields this year (late-June or early-July at Conner Field and Waveny’s athletic fields). 

Corbet has advocated in the past that New Canaan disclose its use of pesticides on athletic fields on the town website—a recommendation that Parks & Rec supported.

Board of Selectmen

Selectman Corbet Defends Appearance in 1913 Library Group’s Photo

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Noting that she’s received “a lot of blowback” about appearing in a photo with preservationists gathered out front of New Canaan Library over the weekend to support keeping the 1913 building, Selectman Kathleen Corbet on Tuesday said she will respect whatever the Planning & Zoning Commission decides on the library’s application to rebuild its facility, even if that means demolishing the original structure. In a possible reference to the library’s offer to move the Main Street-facing facade to a western property line, Corbet said she has been “impressed with some of the ideas that have been put forward by the library in terms of moving and paying homage to the 1913.”

“But the simplest one would be to preserve it in place,” she said during a regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, held at Town Hall. “But again, I think making sure that every voice is heard and we are considering that, that’s what I respect, the process from Planning & Zoning. And whatever they decide, I support—even if it includes demolition. So that’s the process I have always taken.