Board of Selectmen

Selectmen Approve $34,000 Contract with Local Company for Fence Work at Bristow

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The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voted unanimously in favor of a $34,000 contract with a New Canaan-based company to repair and replace damaged sections of fence at an increasingly popular bird sanctuary that’s undergoing a major restoration ahead of its centennial. The first phase of work at Bristow Bird Sanctuary and Wildwood Preserve—a 17-acre town-owned property that’s accessible through Mead Park and Route 106—as well as pond dredging and restoration has largely been completed, according to Town Engineer Maria Coplit. 

“In order to prepare for spring plantings, it is timely for sections of the existing fence around the perimeter of the park to be repaired or replaced, either due to tree or storm damage or age,” Coplit told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held via videoconference. “In addition, the existing pedestrian gates need to be relocated, per the Bristow Centennial Master Plan.”

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted in favor of a $33,943.40 contract with Gannon Rustic Fence. Gannon “has done fantastic work for us in the past,” Public Works Director Tiger Mann said. “They’re local, which is nice, they’re New Canaan-based.

Government

New Accessory Dwelling Proposed for Hemlock Hill Road Property

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The owners of a 3.82-acre property in northern New Canaan are seeking permission to replace two garages, including one with a two-bedroom apartment above, with a single new, smaller structure that includes a dwelling on the second-floor. The two-bedroom apartment at 81 Hemlock Hill Road would be located above a new three-car garage, according to an application filed on behalf of the property’s owners by architect Dan Radman of RADMANarchitects. The property includes a 1935-built, 10,000-square-foot home, tax records show. According to the application, the two freestanding garages currently on the property have a combined coverage of 1,627 square feet, while the new structure would be about 1,211 square feet. “In lieu of an additional pool house, we have decided to include a bathroom with shower, as well as additional storage areas, into this new garage, thereby consolidating two potential accessory structures into one,” the application said.

News

Survey: 93% of New Canaan Public Schools Parents Will Have Their Kids Start Academic Year with In-Person Learning  

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Some 93% of New Canaan Public Schools parents are choosing to have their kids start the academic year with in-person learning, as permitted, as opposed to going fully remote, district officials said this week. Reporting on the results of a survey focused on an academic year that will open amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi said Monday night that the parents of about 400 students still had not completed their survey, which was scheduled to close 2 p.m. Tuesday. “What we have to do is assume anyone who does not respond is in remote learning,” Luizzi said during a special meeting of the Board of Education, held via videoconference. 

The 2020-21 school year will open next Monday under a phased plan that Luizzi outlined at a Board of Ed meeting earlier this month (a continuously updated operations guide can be found here). It calls for students in grades one through 12 to be divided into one of two cohorts that will attend school in-person roughly half the week to start the school year (kindergartners will be divided into morning and afternoon sessions). Should health data and state guidance allow it, then starting Sept.

Board of Selectmen

Selectmen Approve $38,000 To Address Drainage Problems at ‘Farm Road Fields’

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Town officials on Tuesday approved a contract with a Norwalk-based company to improve drainage on playing fields heavily used by youth sports teams.

The approximately $38,000 contract with Hussey Bros. Excavating, LLC will address longstanding problems with the Farm Road playing fields, located just north of the track at New Canaan High School. The area in the past “has been modified with the addition of subsurface under drains which helped in providing enhanced drainage,” according to Town Engineer Maria Coplit. “The subsurface under drains are no longer operating sufficiently and the field remains wet after rain events,” Coplit told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held via videoconference. “The town of New Canaan solicited proposals to perform playing field drainage improvements including the maintenance of the existing under drain system and the installation of five additional rows of new under drains.”

The “Farm Road fields,” as they’re known, get especially heavy use by youth sports groups such as the New Canaan Football Club, formerly known as the Soccer Association. 

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kit Devereaux and Nick Williams voted 3-0 in favor of the contract. 

Williams said, “Those fields have been wet for years,” and asked when the original drains went in.

Board of Selectmen

Town Approves $45,000 for Design of New Access Road Between Waveny and NCHS, Parking Areas

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Town officials last week approved a pair of contracts totaling about $45,000 for the design of a new access road connecting Waveny to New Canaan High School. 

The area east of the water towers will be converted from a milled lot to a proper parking area that will expand when the smaller tower comes down this fall, according to the Board of Selectmen. The access road itself will follow along the former footpath to the Summer Theatre of New Canaan tent, and also will be flanked with new parking spaces. The project will yield approximately 90 total spaces, more than twice what’s available there now, according to Town Engineer Maria Coplit. 

The two firms selected for design services and construction documents—Avon-based Richter & Cegan and Wilton-based McChord Engineering Associates—have been involved in the project since its conception, Copliet told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held June 23 via videoconference. 

The area is “currently disturbed for paths and haphazard parking,” Coplit said. First Selectmen Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kit Devereaux and Nick Williams voted 3-0 in favor of the contracts. They total $27,140 for Richter & Cegan and $16,790 for McChord.