Berchem Moses PC

Moynihan Pushes Back on the Board of Selectmen Approving Permanent Part-Time Hires for the Town

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New Canaan’s highest-elected official is pushing back on an effort from fellow Board of Selectmen members to have the three-person body approve permanent part-time hires with the town. According to First Selectman Kevin Moynihan, “there really is no provision for [the Board] approving part-time employees” in the Town Charter. “Generally full-time employees are added through the budget process, so if we want to talk about a revised policy or a new policy consistent with the Town Charter, we can do that, but as I said, you know, we have 200, 300 part-time employees in the course of the year and it really is impractical to have the Board of Selectmen review who the lifeguards are at the pool and the election workers and Town Clerk [workers],” Moynihan said during the selectmen’s Nov. 15 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “I really don’t see the point.

News

Town Approves Installation of Light Posts with Security Cameras in Irwin Park

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The town last week approved contracts to install two light posts with security cameras in the front parking lot at Irwin Park. New Canaan has “had some criminal incidents there, one recently about a month ago and some residents had expressed concern,” according to Police Chief Leon Krolikowski. “And that is in line with the folks that come in from out-of-state and commit crimes in our parks,” Krolikowski told the Board of Selectmen at its Nov. 15 meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. “So certainly installing these light posts will help and also we intend to install cameras within the light posts.”

Selectman Nick Williams said he appreciated the thoughtfulness that the New Canaan Police Department had put into its request for the light posts at Irwin “because I think we want to get it right.”

“You guys have done a great job,” Williams said.

Business

Town Officials Consider Widening Sidewalks for Length of Elm Street Between Main and Park

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Town officials say they’re deciding whether to extend the wider sidewalks on Elm Street all the way from Main to Park Street on the north side. New Canaan, like other towns, saw the popularity of outdoor dining rise during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and officials have said the “bumpout” already in place from South Avenue to The Playhouse appears to be serving the downtown well. “Should we look at having a ‘continual bumpout,’ so to speak, on Elm Street?” Selectmen Nick Williams said Tuesday during the Board of Selectmen meeting. “I could see it extending all the way on the north side of the street.”

Public Works Director Tiger Mann said New Canaan’s local traffic authority—the Police Commission—has suggested the same scenario. “There also is the possibility of stopping at the alleyway or the driveway next to Chef Luis and allowing some parking there,” Mann said.

News

10 ‘Fixed’ License Plate Readers To Be Installed in New Canaan

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Town officials on Tuesday voted in favor of a contract to install 10 “fixed” license plate readers around New Canaan. The Board of Selectmen unanimously approved the $32,000 one-year contract with Flock Group Inc.

Funds for the license plate readers already have been approved by the town, officials said during the regular selectmen meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan pushed to have the entire discussion about license plate readers held out of the public eye, in executive session, though Police Chief Leon Krolikowski said that wasn’t necessary and Selectman Nick Williams said it was important for the public to understand what’s going on. “This is a serious matter—it’s not a PR stunt—and I think it’s important that the folks in town understand that we are purchasing a number of license plate readers using the funds that heretofore have been provided to the Police Department,” Williams said. “And they’re going to be around town.

Government

Town Officials Push for Studies, Survey Prior to Decisions on West School Cell Tower

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The town is preparing to hire consultants to provide two studies to help municipal officials determine whether to move forward with a widely discussed plan to erect a cell tower behind West School. Following recommendations that the Planning & Zoning Commission made during an Oct. 24 special meeting, the town is to get “independent” studies to establish cell phone needs in the area and the degree of health risk that a tower 900 feet behind West School (and 600 feet from its playing fields) will have to children there. It’s unclear which consulting firms will be hired to carry out the assessments. 

Regarding the coverage study, Selectman Williams last week tried to pin down First Selectman Kevin Moynihan about whether the Town Council or Board of Selectmen would make the decision, but Moynihan said only that he planned to ask a firm hired in the past—Centerline—“to update their report.”

When Williams suggested a firm other than Centerline do the independent study, Moyinhan said, “Centerline is independent” and that he has “no reason to think they’re not independent,” though if the Town Council feels otherwise, “we can take a different direction.”

Though several members of P&Z voiced opposition to locating a cell tower on school grounds, they narrowed the scope of their referral on Oct. 24 to whether or not the proposed infrastructure is consistent with a continuously updated document that guides planning in New Canaan—the Plan of Conservation and Development—and found that it does.