Selectmen Appoint Committee To Study Uses and Capital Needs of New Canaan’s Public Buildings

Town officials on Tuesday dissolved a volunteer committee tasked one year ago with studying New Canaan’s use of Waveny House and appointed what amounts to a successor group that will carry out the same work but more broadly, evaluating and making recommendations on a number of public buildings. The Board of Selectmen during a regular meeting voted 3-0 to form the Town Building Evaluation and Use Committee “to evaluate over a six-month period the uses, physical condition and future capital needs” of structures such as the former Teen Center, Vine Cottage and Irwin Park main house. The newly appointed group will “not have to start from scratch” because enough studies are “in the book to lay the groundwork,” First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. “It’s important that we look at it holistically and everything is on the table. If there is a use that isn’t fitting for a certain building, we will take input from them.

‘The Community Is Behind It’: Finance Board Votes 8-0 in Favor of $475,000 for New Canaan Library As Rebuilding Project Nears

Calling New Canaan Library a vital community hub whose new building will benefit the town in numerous ways, finance officials on Tuesday night unanimously supported a proposed $475,000 special appropriation for the organization. Approved 8-0 by the Board of Finance at the group’s regular meeting, the funds are designed to help the library acquire a key property on its block and trigger a widely anticipated capital campaign. Purchasing the .19-acre property at 48 South Ave., currently the site of a rented multifamily dwelling, “is critical to any plans the library might have, because not only does it complete the campus footprint but setback rules would make other properties that they have acquired useless for construction purposes and limit their use for parking spaces,” finance board member Chris LeBris said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. “So the entrance to town—instead of having a nice new library building—would be, essentially, several blocks of parking as you drive down South Avenue, so for the town aesthetics there is a reason to do this.”

The appropriation still requires the approval of the Town Council, which meets next week. Conceived by town leaders after library officials said during budget discussions last fiscal year that they would go forward with their rebuilding plans even without it, the appropriation has received wide community support, finance board member said.

‘A Very Good Investment for Our Community’: Town Could Help Library Acquire Key Final Property for Rebuilding Plan

The town stands to benefit aesthetically, culturally and otherwise if New Canaan Library in planning its rebuilt facility has a properly sized and configured parcel with which to work, officials said Tuesday. Because of setback regulations, a major gateway into the New Canaan at South Avenue and Maple Street realistically could only serve as a parking lot unless the library is able to acquire a key .19-acre property on its block, the town’s highest elected official said during a meeting of the Board of Finance. So if it’s feasible and residents and town officials support the idea, New Canaan ought to consider helping the library purchase that property, according to First Selectman Rob Mallozzi, who serves as chairman of the finance board. “There is an opportunity for this town to demonstrate to our library what we think and be a partner in their vision that I think is fundamental for the success of this community,” Mallozzi said during the finance board’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall. Doing so would bolster “the look and feel of the community as you approach our downtown village, and, I think, truly jumpstart a capital campaign to the library that would lead to a phenomenal facility over the next few years.”

He added: “I think it would be a very good investment for our community.”

That investment, if it’s made, remains some months away, according to finance board member Neil Budnick.

‘There’s a Fine Line Between Charming and Outdated’: Playhouse Committee Convenes First Meeting

Town residents should be polled on a range of options for future operations of the New Canaan Playhouse, where details such as costs to maintain or more substantially repair the aging structure are spelled out in detail, officials say. During their first meeting, members of the New Canaan Playhouse Committee on Tuesday said the town may opt to keep up the 1923-built structure as-is, mending it as needed, raising rent, cutting costs and operating at a loss, or else going to market to find a private owner interested in getting into the movie business, or even partnering with a newly created nonprofit organization that may run it as a more diversified entertainment venue. It’s important to find out just what those options would mean for New Canaan property owners, committee member Neil Budnick said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. “Our job is always to minimize debt and taxpayer cost,” he said. The best way to accomplish that may be through what committee members called a “white knight” scenario, whereby a generous supporter simply offers to give money to support the Playhouse.

New Canaan Playhouse Committee Established to Identify Funding, Uses

What’s the best way to operate the town-owned New Canaan Playhouse? That’s the heart of the question that the New Canaan Playhouse Committee is charged with addressing, members the Board of Selectmen said Tuesday as they formally appointed a panel of locals from the Town Council, selectmen and Board of Finance to make recommendations concerning future of the Elm Street fixture. While officials have said New Canaan is not in danger of losing the building, the committee will consider funding mechanisms to raise the estimated $3 to $4 million to bring the 1923-built structure up to code, as well as additional uses for the space. “The Playhouse Committee is tasked with the exploration of the public and private options leading to the funding of capital improvements, as noted in the 2015 budget review,” First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said during the meeting, held in the training room of the New Canaan Police Department. The committee is composed of John Engel, Steve Karl, and Joe Paladino of the Town Council, Neil Budnick of the Board of Finance and Beth Jones of the Board of Selectmen.