News

Cameras at Waveny: Town Approves Contract for Security Upgrade

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In a major step forward for the grassroots push to install security cameras at Waveny, town officials last week approved a contract with a Shelton-based company that specializes in areas that include video surveillance and network infrastructure. The Board of Selectmen at its regular meeting Aug. 4 voted 3-0 in favor of the $57,222 contract with Advanced Security Technologies, Inc.

“We have committed improve security,” First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said at the meeting, held via videoconference. “This is one piece of that—creating a backbone and capability to expand more easily with more modern technology.”

Security systems at New Canaan’s municipal buildings and town-owned properties have been developed piecemeal. The planned upgrades will see cloud-based systems for Waveny park, as well as Waveny Pool, Town Hall, Waveny House and municipal parking lots all connected to the New Canaan Police Department, officials have said.

Board of Selectmen

Town Approves Contract with Firm To Solicit Plans for Security Upgrade, Including Cameras at Waveny

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The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voted unanimously to hire a Bridgeport-based technology consulting firm to put together an RFP for updating security systems in New Canaan. The $16,000 contract with D’Agostino & Associates is a step toward security upgrades at municipal buildings, parks and other town-owned properties, officials said. “Right now, Waveny House, Waveny Pool, this building, everything is standalone,” First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said during an interview after the Board’s meeting, held at Town Hall. “We want a system that all connects to the Police Department. But we need a backbone for that in the cloud, because right now each system is standalone.

Board of Selectmen

Selectmen Approve Plan for Security Cameras at Waveny

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Acceding to a grassroots push to install cameras at Waveny as per a police recommendation, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voted 3-0 to solicit proposals for updating security systems in New Canaan. Responses to a RFP likely would come back in December or January, officials said, giving the town an idea of costs as New Canaan sets its spending plan for next fiscal year. The local mom and attorney behind an online petition this summer that kickstarted the town’s efforts, Hilary Ormond, said during an interview after the Board meeting that she was “cautiously optimistic” about the progress. “I want to see this through,” said Ormond, who attended the meeting at Town Hall as a guest. “I want to see it actually happen.

Government

Selectman Williams: Concerns About Waveny Park Safety Have Been ‘Politicized’

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A town official on Tuesday voiced concerns about the characterization of New Canaan’s most heavily used park as unsafe. Saying he believed that some of the talk around town about the safety of Waveny Park was “misguided a bit,” Selectman Nick Williams raised the issue during the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall. While saying that he was “in favor of safety,” Williams asserted that “Waveny is one of the best parks in America and one of the safest parks in America.” Speaking during a section of the Board’s agenda dedicated to general town matters, Williams said that suggestions to the contrary were “perhaps politicized,” but was not specific about how. “I think it’s unfortunate that people are talking about Waveny as if it’s Central Park in the 1970s,” Williams said.

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Video Surveillance Cameras at Waveny: Parks Officials Call for Detailed Police Recommendation 

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Parks officials said Wednesday night that the first step in determining whether video surveillance cameras should be installed at Waveny is to get a formal, detailed opinion from local police. An online petition with more than 1,400 digital signatures that advocates for the cameras and data on how such security systems benefit the public are “very important pieces” of the discussion, Parks & Recreation Commission Chair Rona Siegel said during the appointed body’s regular meeting. And a “recommendation from law enforcement to the town, presented to Parks and Rec is the correct step,” Siegel said at the meeting. “A clear and concise opinion from law enforcement” that includes recommendations on just where the cameras would go “is what the town needs,” she said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. Other questions such as what local agency or agencies would have access and jurisdiction over video content and how long it would remain before officials taped over it also must be part of the town’s decision, officials said.