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.

Government

‘We’ve Drastically Reduced the Population’: Town OKs Contract To Keep Geese Out of Mead, Kiwanis

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Town officials last week approved a $25,000 contract with a Greenwich-based company that visits Mead Park every day of the year to keep the Canada geese out. The Board of Selectmen during its July 9 meeting voted 3-0 in favor of the contract with Geese Relief, which also works for a fixed period each summer in Kiwanis Park. Parks & Recreation Director John Howe said the company “comes to Mead Park twice a day, every day of the year.”

“And we’ve drastically reduced the population of Canada geese in Mead Park,” he said at the meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted in favor of the contract. Geese Relief brings border collies to Mead and also paddles out to the island in the park to “addle” Canada goose eggs there.

Government

Town To Offer Pickleball Instruction and Programming at Mead

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The Board of Selectmen during its most recent meeting approved a contract for pickleball instruction and programming at Mead Park. The elected body during its May 21 meeting voted 3-0 to compensate Steve O’Connell for pickleball instruction, following heavy use of Mead Park’s courts since opening in 2021. “This $13,164 will cover us through the springtime for our programs,” Parks and Recreation Director John Howe said. “With these programs, they’re all cash positive. We bring in a little bit more than we pay.

Amy Murphy Carroll

Spencer’s Run: No More Swapping Codes

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Saying users sometimes swap access codes, town officials on Tuesday approved a request to install a new lock system at Waveny’s dog park. The Board of Selectman during its regular meeting approved a contract with a Brookfield-based company to replace the old four-digit-code method of getting into Spencer’s Run. First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of the $12,500 contract with United Alarm Services Inc., following a request from the Parks & Recreation Department. The new access control system is complete with key fobs that allow for dog-owners to enter and enjoy the park, according to Parks and Recreation Director John Howe. Although the old system had been in place for many years, issues began to arise, he said at the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Government

Town Approves $100,000 in Contracts for New Fitness Area at Waveny

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Town officials last week approved three contracts for the installation of a widely anticipated new outdoor fitness area at Waveny this summer, replacing existing equipment that’s broken down. The Board of Selectmen during its regular meeting Tuesday voted 3-0 in favor of the contracts, a total of $96,894. 

The new fitness area will be located just east of the existing one, making room for a brand-new children’s playground area that’s planned for the same site—the grassy, tree-strewn island that abuts the Orchard Field parking lot at the park. Parks and Recreation Director John Howe told the selectmen that local landscape architect Keith Simpson is drawing up a design that includes trees and plants to clearly cordon off the two areas. “And even though we’re using colors that are neutral in nature—the tans and browns and grays—we still want to shield it off,” Howe said at the meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconferencel

Referring to the playground committee’s plan to have the playground areas further off the main road through Waveny, he said, “And we don’t want people stopping on the edge of the road, dropping off kids or anything like that.”

First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of the contracts: GameTime MRC Equipment ($50,544 for “The Gladiator” fitness equipment), $20,315 for Pat Corsetti Inc. for installation and $26,035 for Rubber Recycle for a tan Poured-In-Place surface, according to Ryan Restivo, assistant parks superintendent in the Department of Public Works. The playground itself—a project led by a volunteer committee that includes Monica Capela, Hilary Ormond and Lauren Connolly Nussbaum—will be finalized and installed following community input and fundraising.