News

Town to Repair Spinning Equipment at Mead Park Playground After Six-Year-Old Components Begin to Wobble

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The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously at its regular meeting at Town Hall on  July 21 to approve a $15,945 contract to repair two standalone spinning play components at the Mead Park playground that have become wobbly after years of use at the popular facility. Superintendent of Parks Ryan Restivo presented the request, saying the town had been alerted to the problem by members of the public who noticed the equipment was no longer functioning properly. “There’s just caution tape around it,” Restivo said of the components. “It still moves and it still functions, but it’s very wobbly.”

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.

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.

Amy Murphy Carroll

‘If We Lose This Pool, We Will Never Get It Back’: Selectmen Weigh in on New Canaan Y’s Valles Pool

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New Canaan’s top elected officials are weighing in on a widely discussed community issue involving a venerable local nonprofit organization. The CEO of the New Canaan YMCA has said that the South Avenue facility’s 46-year-old Valles Pool must close by the end of this year due to required repairs. It faces one to two years of construction, she said, and the Y’s Board of Directors has established a committee to examine the problem and weigh the cost-benefit of restoring the pool versus reimagining the space to serve swimming as well as non-swimming needs. On Tuesday, Selectman Amy Murphy Carroll called for New Canaanites to “pay attention” to a “potential major change in the Y.”

“Their board has been reviewing their facilities and what to do, and there has been some discussion about taking the main diving pool and swim pool, the Valles Pool, offline permanently, potentially with perhaps needs for more dry land,” Murphy Carroll said during the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. She continued: “It’s all proposal stage.