Alicia Meyer

Board of Ed Chair To Step Away Temporarily Following Drunk-Driving Arrest

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The chair of the Board of Education said Monday night that he will step away from the elected body temporarily. Dan Bennett read out the following prepared statement at the start of the Board’s regular meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School, his first public comments since being arrested last week for drunk-driving:

“I wanted to make a statement to this Board and the public. After the completion of this meeting, I will be absent from Board meetings and participation in Board activities for a few weeks as I deal with a personal situation that requires my and my family’s attention. With the help of my wife and family, we will manage this situation with humility and respect. I will make no further comment on this matter, which I hope that you understand.

Cristina A. Ross

West School Cell Tower: Town Council Calls for ‘Active’ Utilities Commission

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In a blow to the town’s highest elected official, New Canaan’s legislative body asserted last week that the town needs an active volunteer commission that advises on utilities. Weeks into his first term in 2017, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said that he wished to dissolve the Utilities Commission while tackling cell coverage in New Canaan himself. 

Since then, Moynihan has brought no one forward to populate the six-person commission, which is down to three members—not enough to qualify as a quorum—and hasn’t posted a meeting agenda in four years. 

This summer, after it became known that Moynihan was planning to erect a cell tower behind West School, fellow members of the Board of Selectmen pushed back. In October, when Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams called for the reinstitution of the Utilities Commission, Moynihan said he didn’t “see the need” for it. 

Even so, Corbet and Williams this month pushed again for a reactivated Utilities Commission. 

And last week, the Town Council voted unanimously during an informal straw poll that New Canaan needs an active Utilities Commission and that the Council will do whatever is necessary to flesh that out, including taking input from the Board of Selectmen. “Right now, as we have a very active first selectman—he is having the thought process and the meetings that are not public meetings,” Councilman Cristina A. Ross said during the elected body’s Dec. 14 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Betty Lovastik

Town Committee to Private Group: We Can’t Change a Town Ordinance Allowing You To Place Ads in Waveny Ice Rink

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A committee of New Canaan’s legislative body at its most recent meeting decided against a recommendation to amend a local ordinance in order to allow a private group to have advertising in a makeshift ice rink planned for a public park. Though certain members of the Town Council Bylaws & Ordinances Committee argued in favor of allowing New Canaan Ice Inc. to run 10 to 15 paid “dasher board” ads along the walls of a rink planned for Waveny, others cautioned that making such an exception to a clearly written ordinance would set a bad precedent. Tom Butterworth, a Committee co-chair, noted that there appears to be a lack of enforcement with respect to the Section 42-8(G) of the Town Code, which reads: “No person shall distribute any handbills or circulars or post any bills, notices or advertising matter of any kind and nature in any park.”

Yet “we want a pristine Waveny,” Butterworth said at the Nov. 22 meeting, held via videoconference. 

“We want to have a rule that basically tells the world that Waveny gives you this pristine experience with nature,” he said. “And that’s a laudable goal.

Government

‘She Puts Party First, Before Other Things’: Town Councilmen Voice Concerns about Maria Weingarten in Divided Vote on Finance Board Appointment

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In an unusual discussion last week, some members of New Canaan’s legislative body voiced concerns about the qualifications and partisanship of a prospective member of an appointed municipal body. While Maria Weingarten can be admired for her outspokenness and strong opinions, she as an alternate member of the Board of Finance has already had to recuse herself from some important votes related to a proposed affordable housing development at 751 Weed St. and is also an activist on some education-related issues, Town Councilman Hilary Ormond said during the legislative body’s regular meeting July 20. It also is unclear just how Weingarten is qualified to serve as a regular member of the finance board, Ormond said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “I’m not entirely clear what her qualifications are,” Ormond said.

Cristina A. Ross

Town Council Seeks Change in How New Canaan Approves ARPA Allocations

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Multiple members of New Canaan’s legislative body last week said that they want to change the way proposed American Rescue Plan Act or “ARPA” allocations are approved after feeling pressured to vote in favor of more than $2 million in the federal funds as a block last month. The Town Council on Dec. 15 voted 11-1 to approve $2.05 million in ARPA funds for eight items in a single vote. During the elected body’s Jan. 19 meeting, Councilman Maria Naughton asked whether the Town Council “should consider doing line-item approvals when we get these ARPA requests coming in” since “there were some questions on some” of the items.

“I don’t think there’s that many that it would be burdensome,” Naughton said at the meeting, held via videoconference.