Government

Town Approves Contract for Pre-Demolition Services at Irwin House

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Town officials this month approved an approximately $58,000 contract for environmental services required in order to demolish the main and guest houses in Irwin Park. The prospect of demolishing Irwin House—a 1963-built Colonial that served as the temporary home of some municipal departments during the Town Hall renovation and expansion about 10 years ago—emerged publicly during the recently completed budget process. On April 15, the Board of Selectmen approved a contract with New Haven-based Fuss & O’Neill to prepare for the project. The environmental services firm “will perform the pre-demolition hazardous material inspections and design services,” according to Joe Zagarenski, senior engineer in the Department of Public Works. “They will inspect the building for asbestos, lead paint, PCBs and mercury, and they create a big document for us to remove them,” he told the selectmen at the regular meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference.

Government

Selectmen Approve Traffic-Calming Work at Conrad and Whiffle Tree

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The Board of Selectmen last week approved an approximately $87,000 contract with a New Canaan-based company to further improve a closely watched and historically problematic intersection in the “South of the Y” neighborhood. The town had several stops and starts since it began focusing on relieving high-volume traffic and speeding at the intersection of Conrad Road and Whiffle Tree Lane, including a proposal to install a “mini-roundabout” and a short-lived experiment involving a barricade that drew criticism from residents. Last year, town officials striped the intersection into a three-way stop, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “That was after multiple discussions with the residents and the Police Commission,” Mann told members of the Board of Selectmen during their April 15 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

He continued: “We turned it into a three-way stop with temporary striping to show everyone the delineation of where these—I’ll call it a ‘bumpout’—but it’s basically bringing the intersection in, honing it down to make it a true three-way intersection and not allow you to cut the corners on the tangents. So in order to do so, we’ve got to install some drainage on each corner of each bumpout.”

First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of the $86,767.50 contract with Peter Lanni Inc. to complete the work.

Amy Murphy Carroll

Pedestrian Railing Coming to Front of Playhouse To Help with Tripping Issue

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Because visitors to The Playhouse have had problems tripping off of the small concrete platform right out front, the town is planning to install a railing at the platform’s edge. The hope is that the railing will serve as a visual demarcation between the concrete and brick sidewalk below, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. The railing itself also will be required by code with a new pedestrian ramp that’s going in on the right-hand side of the building, Mann said. “We’re still having issues with some residents not navigating from the platform down to the brick sidewalk,” Mann told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held Tuesday at Town Hall and via videoconference. “They’re not able to understand from the concrete to the brick.

Government

Selectmen OK Demolition of Town-Owned 1900-Built House on Grove Street

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The Board of Selectmen last week approved an approximately $54,000 contract to demolish a town-owned house on Grove Street. The town two years ago purchased the 1900-built house at 28 Grove St. for about $1 million, calling the .15-acre parcel a “strategic” property in that it backs up to the Lumberyard Lot. 

At their regular meeting on March 25, the selectmen voted 3-0 to approve $54,198 in contracts to raze the house and a shed and remove contaminants from the site. “The demolition would include the foundation of the building,” Joe Zagarenski, senior engineer with the Department of Public Works, said at the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “And then we would just level it off to make it safe.

Government

Waveny To Be Closed to Vehicular Traffic on Morning of Oct. 19 for ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ Car Show 

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Waveny will be closed to vehicular traffic on a Sunday morning in October to accommodate a popular car show that benefits a nonprofit group that works with the town on the park’s behalf. The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 during its regular meeting Tuesday in favor of closing the park to cars from 6 to 11 a.m. on Oct. 19 for Caffeine & Carburetors. (The fall car show at Waveny, and a June 22 event downtown, received unanimous approval last week from the Police Commission.)

Last year, C&C raised $24,000 for the Waveny Park Conservancy while the downtown show raised $16,000 for the New Canaan Community Foundation. During the selectmen meeting, Parks & Recreation Director John Howe said that last year “due to the success of Caffeine and Carburetors, there were too many cars and you wouldn’t have been able to get a car through it a lot of times, say nothing about an ambulance or a fire truck.”

“So with the Special Events Committee, we’ve met many times to discuss how we can make Caffeine and Carburetors still work for the park and still donate to the Conservancy, but make it so that it’s safe and doable,” Howe said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.