Government

TABLE: Town Hall Building Project To Come In about $100,000 Under Budget

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Officials say the Town Hall renovation and expansion work now wrapping up is on track to come in about $100,000 under the $18 million total budgeted for construction and soft costs. As of June 30, the volunteer committee of residents and town officials overseeing the project say about $156,000 was left to spend from what New Canaan had bonded two years ago. With some final “punch-list” and other items (such as a $21,000 table for the large meeting room) still to be counted against that figure, best estimates as of Monday night were that the project will finish about $100,000 under budget, according to Michael Pastore, director of the New Canaan Department of Public Works. “Every dollar that has been spent is accounted for,” Pastore said at a meeting of the Town Hall Building Committee, held in the Lamb Room at New Canaan Library. Here’s a table that breaks down the budgeted and estimated final costs by major line items:

 

Kathleen Corbet, a member of the committee who serves at secretary on the Town Council, commended Pastore for his diligence.

Government

Public Works: New Parking Deck at Locust Avenue Lot Could Be in Place by Thanksgiving 2016

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Town officials said Wednesday that they could start construction on a widely anticipated parking deck at the Locust Avenue Lot next summer with a plan to have it finished and open by Thanksgiving 2016. The new parking deck would add about 86 spaces to the now 150-space lot, and would be well-lit, with a pocket park up alongside it, good traffic flow and an aesthetically pleasing appearance, members of the New Canaan Department of Public Works told the Town Council at that group’s regular meeting. Conceptual plans have been drawn up for a structure that would cost about $3.75 million to build, a traffic study is in hand and the property presents no environmental issues, DPW Director Michael Pastore said at the meeting, held in the Sturgess Room at the New Canaan Nature Center. The structure would have two independent levels, with an at-grade level accessible by Locust Avenue and a deck that is fed by a leg coming off of Heritage Hill Road, Pastore said. “The big thing with structure is that it would be open, and the whole design is to keep with the P&Z Village District Guidelines for the aesthetics and appearance of this,” he said.

Government

Town Eyes 14 Parking Spots at Red Cross Building for Municipal Employees

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The town will sign a land lease with the Red Cross to gain about 15 parking spaces for town employees out back of the organization’s Main Street building, and also re-designate some 20 spaces in the Park Street lot that now are being used by construction workers, in order to keep all the parking directly behind the renovated and expanded Town Hall for visitors, officials say. By the time Town Hall is fully reoccupied this summer, the number of spaces for visitors will more than double, from 14 to 30, according to the Town Hall Building Committee. “The good news is that we will have more visitor parking than before,” First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said at the group’s March 23 meeting, held in the Lamb Room at New Canaan Library. Municipal departments located now above Walter Stewart’s—such as the Assessor, Town Clerk, Registrars of Voters and Tax Collector—will start re-occupying the renovated and expanded 1909 building in early May. The estimated $13 million project, whose price tag is closer to $18 million given costs such as renting temporary offices during construction, remains on budget, the Building Committee said.

Government

New Canaan Playhouse: Private Owner Would Have More Flexibility in ADA Compliance

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A new, private owner of the iconic Playhouse on Elm Street would have more flexibility in bringing the 1923 building to ADA compliance than its current owner—the town of New Canaan—does right now, public works officials say. Anyone who owns the cupola-topped brick structure will be responsible for ensuring it is ADA-compliant, Department of Public Works Director Michael Pastore told the Town Council on Thursday. The difference is that while the town is required to bring the building up to code now, a private owner is allowed to work in ADA upgrades with other renovations, and over time, he said. The Playhouse subject to ADA because the building is “considered a public space—people gather there and the town has the ultimate responsibility as the owner,” Pastore said during the legislative body’s regular meeting. “If we were to sell it off to private developer, they would still be responsible for keeping it in compliance with ADA.

Government

DPW: ‘Brutal’ Winter Has Opened 700-Plus Potholes in New Canaan

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New Canaan’s highway crews are repairing 700-plus potholes brought on by the wet, cold winter that officially ends at 6:45 p.m. Friday—a season that public works officials are calling “brutal.”

The Department of Public Works will need to secure an additional $200,000 to fix town roads damaged so severely that entire sections of asphalt need to be replaced, officials told the Town Council on Thursday night. And it isn’t just roads, the sidewalks downtown have heaved dramatically, such an area near Starbucks that’s moved four or five inches, while handicapped and pedestrian ramps also have lifted themselves, DPW Assistant Director Tiger Mann said. “We’ve had a lot of damage around town,” Mann said at the council’s regular meeting, held in the Sturgess Room at New Canaan Nature Center. “We do not feel the damage is done yet. We feel the frost is not out of ground yet and we have not got the wet weather yet.