Around Town

Police Investigate Vandalism at Bristow Park

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Police are investigating vandalism in a public park on the edge of downtown New Canaan. Several surfaces inside Bristow Park—a bird sanctuary that this year marks its centennial—were sprayed with paint, according to Lt. Marc DeFelice, public information officer at the New Canaan Police Department. The vandalism is located in two separate areas of Bristow, he said. Police had no suspects as of Tuesday evening. Officer Nicole Vartuli is investigating the matter, DeFelice said.

Government

Conservation Commission Chair Proposes Solution To Build Up ‘Land Acquisition Fund’

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The chair of the Conservation Commission this week proposed a new way for the town to help build up its reserve fund for acquiring land to preserve as open space. The Town Council created the Land Acquisition Fund in 2017, prompted by Aquarion’s effort to subdivide and sell a 19-acre parcel at the end of Indian Waters Drive. 

Since then, the Fund has accumulated just $150,000, Conservation Commission Chair Chris Schipper told the Board of Finance during its regular meeting Tuesday night. “We looked at 11 years of conveyance fees,” Schipper said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. He added: “The town can charge a 25 basis point real estate sales conveyance fee through a Connecticut statute that allows it. And the intention, the legislative intention of that statute was the town would use those monies to preserve open space for future generations.

News

Who Knew: A Beginner’s Guide to Winged New Canaan

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‘Who Knew?’ is sponsored by Walter Stewart’s Market. When facing the waning years of your (ahem) forties, you have two choices. You can learn all the Gen Z slang and TikTok dances to cling, Gollum-like, to your waning youth, or you can slide into the sensible, low-heeled comforts of the retiree lifestyle a couple of decades early and start caring about things like warblers, relaxed-fit pants, and the lighthouses of the Eastern Seaboard. Twenty-two-year-old you might not recognize 47-year-old you, and there’s no doubt she’d judge your dorky fleece vest and Investment Binoculars™, but there’s much to be said for shifting yourself into a less chaotic gear and finding moments of actual presence in the natural world. Life begins to look more like a Mary Oliver poem than a Bret Easton Ellis novel, and that’s a-ok with me.

Around Town

Historic Oak Tree Coming Down; Pieces To Be Sawed, Carved To Fundraise for Bristow Park

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An 82-foot-tall, historic oak tree at the southern entrance to Bristow Park is coming down. Work commenced Thursday to remove the white oak along state Route 106, about three weeks after the tree lost its major branch. The state arborist, Eversource arborist and New Canaan tree warden evaluated the tree and determined that “extensive decay in the trunk” led to the loss of the large leader, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “The columns of decay have overwhelmed the lower trunk causing the entire tree to be structurally weak,” Mann told NewCanaanite.com in an email. “For safety reasons, therefore, the tree must be removed.”

The removal is expected to be completed by Monday, he said.

Around Town

Fate of Historic 82-Foot Oak Tree Uncertain After Major Branch Collapses on Route 106

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Heavy wind and rain brought down a massive branch belonging to one of New Canaan’s largest and most historic trees on Sunday, causing traffic delays and damaging several power lines. Department of Public Works officials have since removed the large branch from Route 106, though its remains can still be seen in the form of log piles next to Bristow Park’s main entrance. It’s still not yet clear whether or not the rest of the tree will be removed. 

Tiger Mann, head of DPW, said that the decision would come down to the state arborist and the town tree warden, both of whom he has already contacted. “If they deem it a hazard, it can come down immediately,” Mann said. “If not, if they were going to remove it, then it would need to be posted for 10 days by state statute, but again, if it’s deemed a hazard tree, it can be removed for obvious reasons.”

Located by the entrance to Bristow, the 82-foot-tall white oak has been recognized by Connecticut’s Notable Trees Committee.