Board of Selectmen

Selectmen Corbet, Williams Nix Cell-Related Contracts as Utilities Commission Is Appointed

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After residents voiced concerns, the Board of Selectmen decided Tuesday to forgo approval of two contracts related to a widely discussed proposal to erect a cell tower in the woods behind West School. Reiterating what citizens have been saying for months regarding plans to study cell coverage in New Canaan and to survey residents about their service, Selectman Kathleen Corbet said during the Board’s regular meeting that a newly appointed Utilities Commission should decide which companies will help the town. “I’m not going to approve this because I really want to see the Utilities Commission be able to step up and decide what the community survey is going to look like and how the coverage analysis is going to be done,” Corbet said during the selectmen’s meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. Selectman Nick Williams, long wary of First Selectman Kevin Moynihan’s push for the town’s selected partner in improving cell service, Homeland Towers, to pursue the West School option, said he would prefer to “table” the two contracts—with V-Comm Telecommunications Engineering (coverage) and Great Blue Research, Inc. (survey)—indefinitely. 

Yet Corbet said she wanted to discuss the items first, and in doing so she cited comments from the public. 

During a public comments section at the top of the meeting, New Canaan resident Barbara Wills said she was excited about the prospect of appointing members of a Utilities Commission (see below). “And I would respectfully like to request that no actions about cell service or the evaluation of it be taken until the Utilities Commission is seated,” Wills said.

Board of Selectmen

Letter: Nick Williams Will Not Seek Re-Election to Board of Selectmen

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Dear Friends,
It is with mixed emotions that I write to announce that after sixteen consecutive years of public service—12 as selectman and four as a member of the Board of Education—I will not be running for re-election to the Board of Selectman this November. 

It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve the Town of New Canaan, the place my family and I have been fortunate enough to call home for the last 30 years. I am incredibly proud of what we have all accomplished together: a world-class public education system, an extraordinary new library, increased police, fire, and EMS funding, a renovated Town Hall building, an expansion of Saxe Middle School, updated playing fields, natural gas, improved cell service, and many other infrastructure achievements. Make no mistake, none of these successes would have been possible without the unwavering support of this community and my constituents, who always told me what was important and necessary, even when it wasn’t an easy conversation. 
Constant engagement is a necessity in public service, and I express my deep gratitude to the residents of New Canaan for the valuable feedback and trust they have given me over the last 16 years. 
The decision to not run for re-election was not an easy one, requiring much contemplation and consultation with my family and friends. 
And while I don’t preclude seeking additional public service in the future, for now I’m going to take a break from government and from politics, recharge my batteries, and enjoy the company of those same family and friends. 
Why the decision today? For one, I am a firm believer in the importance of bringing fresh perspectives and new ideas to the table. Second, I fear that the toxicity, partisanship, and polarization that we’ve seen at a national level has entered into the local level, starting at the top. 
It feels that politics now has become about picking every battle, instead of picking the necessary battle. 
I am hopeful that change will lead to more measured conversations and increased civility in town, and in Town Hall itself (for the benefit of our hugely talented yet beleaguered staff).

Board of Selectmen

Three Crosswalks on Heritage Hill Road To Get Accessible Ramps

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Residents of Heritage Hill Road can anticipate safer pedestrian routes because of the Department of Public Works’ decision to move forward with installing new concrete curb ramps at crosswalks there. 

Those living on Heritage Hill Road—a popular cut-through to Route 123—asked for the crosswalks, and the project has since been given the green light by the Police Commission, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “We had a residential request for mid-block crosswalks on Heritage Hill Road,” Mann said during Tuesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting. “The intention is to address safety concerns, especially during school bus pickup times and facilitate easier crossing for residents.” The comments came as Mann presented a contract with a New Canaan-based company to do the work. Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams, and First Selectman Kevin Moynihan, voted 3-0 to approve the $19,925 contract with Peter Lanni, Inc. The figure includes $10,000 for police to oversee motor vehicle traffic during the ramp construction.

Board of Selectmen

Lead Contamination Found in Soil of Nature Center’s ‘Community Garden’

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Officials on Tuesday approved an approximately $19,000 with a Norwalk-based company following the discovery of lead in the soil of a community garden on a town-owned property. The discovery of elevated levels of lead at in the New Canaan Nature Center’s community herb garden requires the removal and disposal of existing wood from raised beds, the spreading and grading of existing soils, placement of a filter fabric on top of the soils and capping the entire area with two inches of stone, officials said during the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting. “We recently had the gardens tested and unfortunately they came in with lead levels that were elevated, so that they were no longer able to be utilized for a community garden,” Public Works Director Tiger Mann told the selectmen at the meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. “They weren’t to the point where they need to be removed or they need to be permanently capped,” he continued. “The direction from the Health Department was that we can close the area, place a filter fabric over the top of it and then two inches of stone and then reutilize the area for other purposes.

Board of Selectmen

Fellow Selectmen Pooh-Pooh Moynihan’s Proposed ‘Committee’ for Studying Cell Service

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Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams last week scuttled a plan from New Canaan’s highest elected official to appoint a new committee that would study cell service in town. As he’d signaled the prior week, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan during an April 4 Board of Selectmen meeting said he wanted to appoint a new committee to work on improving service on the west side of town. Corbet and Williams responded that there’s no need to form a brand-new committee for such work, since it rightly should be handled by a soon-to-be-reconstituted Utilities Commission. Referring to Moynihan’s suggestion, Corbet said, “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”

A reactivated Utilities Commission would include residents “with expertise and knowledgeable backgrounds and information about all aspects of public utilities, including cell service, including issues such as electricity and water,” Corbet said at the selectmen meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. 

“So there is a broad remit, if you will, in terms of the responsibilities of the Utilities Commission,” she said. “The first of which is to address cellular service in town.