Government

‘Our Flagpole Should Not Be a Speech Mechanism’: Selectmen Pass New ‘Flag Policy’ for Town Buildings

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New Canaan’s highest elected official this week instituted a new “flag policy” for town buildings. 

First Selectman Dionna Carlson in introducing a draft policy Tuesday for the full Board of Selectmen to review noted that it wouldn’t apply to school buildings. Carlson said that during her first week in office she “had an individual come up to me and asked to fly another country’s liberation flag.”

“And I guess my predecessor allowed a week of flying that flag,” Carlson said at a regular Board meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. 

“And I feel very strongly that the only flags that should be flown in municipal buildings are the American flag, the state of Connecticut flag and any town flag,” she continued. “I was thinking about school flags, and I really do believe that those should be reserved for the schools. The other thing that I’m trying to avoid is who gets to fly what flag when?…  If we did the school flags at the municipality, do we fly it for a football win? Then do we fly it for every debate [team] win?

Government

‘I Don’t Want Town Funds Being Used for This’: Carlson Pushes Back on Contract for Stanchion Repair

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Town officials decided Tuesday to wait for an insurance claim to be processed prior to repairing a low painted brick column that marks the start of a public road near the Merritt Parkway. One of the two columns located at the start of White Birch Road—opposite the off-ramp from Merritt Parkway Exit 37 northbound—was struck and damaged by a vehicle in December, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. The “stanchion” is in the public right-of-way and helps delineate White Birch, a residential street, for motorists exiting the parkway, Mann told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting by way of seeking approval of a $5,350 contract to repair it. Yet New Canaan’s highest elected official pushed back on spending taxpayer dollars on the project. “I’m just going to throw it out there: Why are we reconstructing this?” First Selectman Dionna Carlson said during the meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference.

Board of Finance

‘We Don’t Want To See This Thing Happen Ever Again’: Finance Board Approves Further $164,000 for Playhouse

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The Board of Finance last week approved a further—and, officials say, final—approximately $284,000 for the widely anticipated restoration of the movie theater downtown. The appointed body voted 8-0 during a March 27 special meeting in favor of the Playhouse project funding, which includes a special appropriation of about $164,000 (there’s also a separate “project increase” of approximately $120,000). The special appropriation is to be used for additional plumbing for the concession, plating room and bars as well as Health Code compliance (about $59,000), more design fees for a local architectural firm ($78,000), finishes for staircases and landings ($11,000) and a ductless AC unit for an AV room ($16,000), according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. With respect to the Health Code, Mann said municipal officials “feel the town should be responsible for in this regard, given the fact that we have a tenant coming in but we want to make sure our building is up to Code for every requirement, regardless of who we have as a tenant.”

Regarding the floor finishes, Mann said that the town had assumed the new private operator of the Playhouse, CinemaLab, “would be responsible also for the finishes on the staircases to and from.”

“And then as it shook out, through the project, we learned that they didn’t carry that number in their contract and considered that the two staircases were a means of egress and would be the leaseholder’s responsibility,” Mann said during the meeting, held in a Town Hall conference room and via videoconference. Board of Finance Chair Todd Lavieri, Secretary Chris Le Bris and members Michael Chen, Colm Dobbyn, Nick Mitrakis, Tom Schulte, Maria Weingarten and James Yao voted in favor.

Board of Selectmen

Town To Install Brick Sidewalks Past Walter Stewart’s on Elm

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Town officials this week approved a contract for work designed to improve the sidewalk on a heavily foot-trafficked area of upper Elm Street. The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 during its regular meeting Tuesday to approve $1,965 in survey work in the area of Walter Stewart’s Market. 

The northern side of the sidewalk there is to get brick sidewalks and granite curbing installed, bringing it into the same style as much of downtown New Canaan, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “If you look, we have a brick sidewalk that leads from Elm Street, the downtown area, to the edge of Walter Stewart’s and then from the edge of Walter Stewart’s past Karl Chevrolet to Grove Street,” Mann told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. He continued: “We have brick sidewalks on the opposite side of the street. It’s one piece that’s in the middle that we weren’t able to complete at the time.

Government

Selectmen Criticize Effectiveness, Aesthetics of Pedestrian-Activated Flashing Beacons

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The Board of Selectmen at its most recent meeting approved a contract with a Newtown-based company for pedestrian-activated flashing beacons on Gower Road at South School and Elm Street at Kimberly Place. Motorists are “not necessarily paying attention to the students in the crosswalk” or crossing guards and monitors at South School trying to ensure their safety, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “We put in additional ‘no parking’ signs to try to free up the area and we’re still having a problem,” Mann told the selectmen at their March 5 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. There also are many people on Kimberly Place who seek to cross Elm Street at the intersection, he said. “It’s been a longstanding request,” Mann said.