News

Historic Ferris Hill Home To Be Rented, Back on Market in ‘Several Years’

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Now that the property has been safely transferred, volunteers spent several hours Tuesday afternoon cleaning up a historic farmhouse on Ferris Hill Road in order to make it rentable in the next couple of months. Tom Nissley, who holds title to the property with his wife, Emily, said his long-term goal is to sell the 1735-built house at 8 Ferris Hill Road, though it could be “several years” before it’s ready to go on the market again. “Somebody who loves history is going to have to buy the house,” Nissley said. “My theory is that everything sells. There is always a buyer for things, and there are a lot of people who are interested in history.”

That’s a major reason why the historic farmhouse still stands.

Government

Town Commissions Study To Determine Levels of Pollutants in Waveny House

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Officials on Tuesday approved about $6,000 for tests that will help make clear the extent of pollutants such as asbestos and lead in Waveny House. Most of the pollutants at Waveny are relegated to the basement because of its heating system and pipes, where “huge water tanks” are wrapped in asbestos, according to Bill Oestmann, buildings superintendent with the New Canaan Department of Public Works. The town as it looks at restoring the infrastructure at Waveny House should consider alternative heating sources to the steam pipes used now so that there’s no need to trigger abatement work by entering an area with contaminants, Oestmann told the Board of Selectmen during the group’s regular meeting. “As far as dollars go, this study will hopefully get us some estimates,” Oestmann said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. The study, from Meriden-based EnviroMed Services, will cost about $5,520 and the selectman approved a contract for it 3-0 with $800 contingency.

Around Town

Industrial-Grade Umbrellas, New Seating Coming To Pop Up Park, AKA ‘The Launchpad’

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The volunteers who oversee the soon-to-return Pop Up Park downtown say they’re upgrading the furniture there this summer and partnering with nonprofits to help the organizations gain visibility. As requested, the Pop Up Park’s organizers have checked with New Canaan’s Special Events Committee and are ready to run the makeshift park continuously from Aug. 5 to 28, according to Martin Skrelunas. Merchants have come to the Pop Up Park Committee requesting participation in the space this summer and “they are starting to refer to it as ‘The Launchpad,’ ” Skrelunas told members of the Police Commission at their meeting Thursday, held in the Training Room at the New Canaan Police Department. “I think we also have a grant opportunity that we are going to apply to add to the furnishings that we have.

Business

‘Pop Up Park’ Approved for Three Weeks Next August

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Town officials on Tuesday granted conditional approval for volunteers to operate the Pop Up Park in its place on the first block of South Avenue, continuously, from Aug. 5 through 28. So long as the administrative team that oversees special events planning in New Canaan says there’s no conflict, South Avenue will be closed between Morse Court and Elm Street for those three weeks, following a 3-0 vote by the Police Commission. One member of the Pop Up Park Committee, Martin Skrelunas, said First Selectman Rob Mallozzi supported the proposed dates (so long as it doesn’t run into Labor Day, Sept. 5) and told commissioners that the town has pledged financial support in the form of infrastructure at the site.

Government

Historic District Officials Raise Concerns About Red Cross Building on Main Street

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Town officials say they’re concerned that the 1889-built Red Cross building on Main Street appears to be deteriorating and are eager to steer the nonprofit organization toward grants available for capital repairs. The building’s owners appear to have taken care of some problems with the 2,600-square-foot structure at 51 Main St. but its porch appears to have regressed further, members of the Historic District Commission said at their most recent meeting. “We are reaching a point where it is beyond sheer stabilization, it is reaching that point,” Commissioner Martin Skrelunas said at the June 25 meeting, held at the New Canaan Historical Society. New Canaan’s historic district encompasses 21 structures near and around God’s Acre, including the building at number 51 that the Red Cross purchased in 1952 for $28,000.