Around Town

Parks Officials Support May 22 and Oct. 16 Caffeine & Carburetors at Waveny

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Following a successful trial of two Caffeine & Carburetors gatherings at Waveny in 2015 that yielded zero complaints, the event’s founder on Wednesday night secured support from parks officials to pursue two more dates this year. The Park & Recreation Commission voted overwhelmingly in favor of May 22 and Oct. 16 for Caffeine & Carburetors at Waveny—both Sunday mornings. Commissioner Jason Milligan was the sole member of Park & Rec not voting in favor of the event. Doug Zumbach, owner of the eponymous gourmet coffee shop on Pine Street where Caffeine & Carburetors was born as a far smaller gathering of automotive enthusiasts, told the commission at its regular monthly meeting that he’s already garnered Police Commission support for April 17 and Sept.

Government

Parks Officials Propose New Rates for 2016 Season at Waveny Pool

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With plans for even more improvements at the popular and self-sustaining Waveny Pool—such as installing a water heater, hopefully before the 2016 season starts, relining the pool’s plaster, bringing in 50 new beach chairs, landscaping the area and upping the frequency of cleaning the facility’s bathrooms—the Park & Recreation Commission on Wednesday night voted unanimously to propose a new slate of rates for the upcoming summer. Commissioner Jason Milligan said a newly organized Waveny Pool ‘Lifestyle Committee’ composed of regular pool users has proactively and collaboratively recommended a number of sound improvements “and almost all of the things on their wish list are being addressed in one way or another this year.”

Those improvements, and other longer-term plans for maintenance and upgrades, require modest increases to pool pass fees, the commissioners said. The proposed new rates are as follows (they must be approved by the Board of Selectmen)—passes go on sale April 1:

 

Sally Campbell, chairman of the commission, said that based on the proposed new rate sheet, the group should be able to fund pool operations as well as make a “strong contribution to the capital reserve” and pay for five years’ of projected capital projects (such as redoing the deck at Waveny Pool and installing lights). “We feel really comfortable that we are in great financial shape, and that not only will we be able to run a great pool this season but we will be able to take care of all our capital improvements,” Campbell said.

Government

Neighbor of New Canaan Nature Center Raises Concerns About Condition of Grounds

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A longtime next-door neighbor of the New Canaan Nature Center told officials at a public meeting last week that the organization is failing to care properly for its grounds and that he plans to share steps with the town to correct existing problems and ensure they do not re-emerge. John Busch of Oenoke Ridge Road told members of the Park & Recreation Commission that he’s lived just north of the Nature Center for nearly 20 years “and I walk the trails all the time.”

“And I daresay I know a lot about how the land has been cared for and, in my opinion, not cared for,” Busch told the commission at its regular meeting, held Wednesday night in the Douglass Room at Lapham Community Center. “I would like to share some thoughts not only about the condition currently but actions that I think this commission could take to improve the condition of the land not just now but in the future.”

Chairman Sally Campbell said the commission would form a subcommittee to establish whether it has oversight of the property and, if so, walk the grounds with Busch and report back to the full group at its meeting in February. Asked by commissioner Matt Konspore for a quick summary of what exactly is wrong, Busch answered: “The Nature Center’s land is something not been cared for. There is a lot of debris.

Government

‘Eyes for the Town’: Park & Rec Approves Slate of Citizen Liaisons To Spencer’s Run

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Parks officials on Wednesday approved a slate of 12 citizen volunteers who will act as liaisons to the town from the popular dog park at Waveny. Spencer’s Run regular Kit Devereaux, owner of a handsome white poodle named ‘Louis’ (after Louis Armstrong), told members of the Park & Recreation Commission during their regular monthly meeting that the volunteers will serve as “the eyes for the town, because once you have people with dogs it can get dicey.”

“They are not there to enforce the rules. They are there to remind people of them, and if people do not follow them, then they call Animal Control,” Devereaux said during the meeting, held in the Douglass Room at Lapham Community Center. The volunteers are also there “to make people feel welcome and to keep the bags [dispenser] at Spencer’s full,” she added. “I would like everyone to think what would happen at the dog park if they [the bags] ran dry—it would get very interesting, very fast,” Devereaux said.

Government

‘This Is Really Exciting’: Conservancy Unveils Plan for Waveny Pond

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Members of the private nonprofit group that formed to recommend, fund and oversee improvements to a portion of the grounds at Waveny on Wednesday night unveiled a dramatic plan to create a more visible, functional and attractive pond at the foot of the sledding hill. The Waveny Park Conservancy is calling for new trails, stream system, fishing dock, bridges and wildlife lookout area as well as a full dredge, re-routing of a conspicuous utility line overhead, installation of underwater bubblers to prevent hypoxia, improved spillway and extensive landscaping around the pond, such as the removal of several trees in order to restore the area to the Lapham family’s original vision and create better sightlines toward the main house, according to Keith Simpson, New Canaan-based landscaped architect and member of the group. “A project such as this is a major construction project, no question about it,” Simpson told members of the Park & Recreation Commission during their regular meeting, held in the Douglass Room at Lapham Community Center. “We will be cordoning off a significant area, and we will be putting in erosion controls. All these things have to be done and they are costly.