Government

Town Approves $50,000 To Install Second Pump at ‘Steve Benko Pool’

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Municipal officials last week approved an approximately $50,000 contract with a Bethel-based company to help assure the continuous operation of the popular town pool at Waveny Park. Purchase of a second main pump for the Steve Benko Pool will make the facility “a much better place as far as I’m concerned,” according to Parks & Recreation Director John Howe. 

“It will allow me to sleep,” Howe told members of the Board of Selectmen at their Feb 25 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

He continued: “What this is, a few years ago, we were able to buy a second main pump. We have one pump that filters all the water. If that goes offline for any reason, we have to close the pool. We have to have constant filtration in order for the pool to stay open.

Government

Fitness Stations at Waveny To Be Removed Next Month, Making Way for New Equipment

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The broken and outdated equipment in a fitness area located on a grassy, tree-shaded island across the Orchard Field parking lot in Waveny will be removed next month, officials say. Set for a widely anticipated replacement, the 60-by-60-foot all-abilities fitness area often draws children who mistake it for playground equipment, according to Selectman Amy Murphy Carroll. “Multiple times, men and women are trying to use it, and it’s swarmed by kids,” Murphy Carroll said during Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

She added that no one is blaming the kids for doing so. “I know the actual equipment has little signs on it, which every kid in the world would ignore,” Murphy Carroll said. “And the parents probably don’t even see it, to be fair.

Government

Town Approves Waveny Ice Rink for Winter Season, Postpones Food Truck Decision

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Town officials this week approved installation of the temporary ice rink at Waveny for the upcoming season while putting off a decision with respect to allowing food trucks there. 

Located on the lot serving the Orchard Field with its two softball diamonds, the open-air rink launched two years ago. The Board of Selectmen during its regular meeting on Tuesday took up a request to green-light the 2024-25 season as well as a separate request to allow food trucks there to serve skaters and their families. Saying more information is needed regarding the trucks’ hours of operation in the public park, the selectmen postponed a decision on them. “We’re approving food trucks a lot these days,” Selectman Amy Murphy Carroll said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “And they [food trucks] can be really additive.

Government

Town OK’s Sale of T-Shirts at FCIAC X-Country Championships in Waveny

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Town officials on Tuesday approved the sale at Waveny this week of commemorative T-shirts benefiting the county’s high school athletics organization. The Board of Selectmen during its regular meeting voted 3-0 in favor of allowing the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference or ‘FCIAC’ to sell the T-shirts at its cross-country finals, to be held Wednesday. “The FCIAC likes to sell commemorative T-shirts for this event,” Parks and Recreation Director John Howe told members of the Board at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of allowing the sales. Carlson noted that New Canaan likely is one of the few communities that doesn’t allow that type of commerce in its parks by right. She asked whether money earned through T-shirt sales goes back to the FCIAC.

Government

Canada Geese To Be Hazed Away from NCHS, Saxe

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New Canaan soon will see border collies chasing off the Canada geese that gather and soil playing fields at the middle and high schools. For years, the town has successfully used a Wilton-based company to rid Mead Park of the geese there, according to John Howe, New Canaan’s director of parks and recreation. “We don’t harm the geese by any means,” Howe told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held Tuesday at Town Hall and via videoconference. “At the high school and Saxe, they’re going to do twice a day, seven days a week, but they’re offering us to do more in the beginning because they feel that they’re going to fly from Saxe to the high school and back and forth,” he said. “So they’re planning on coming at least three times a day until they can consistently move them.”

First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 to approve a one-year $9,900 contract with Geese Relief for services at Saxe Middle School and New Canaan High School.