Government

Town: Green Grass Expected Late Fall at Irwin House Demo Site

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Town officials on Tuesday approved another $84,000 for the remediation of contaminated soils at the former Irwin House site. The funds—to be paid to the Stamford Wrecking Company following a 3-0 vote by the Board of Selectmen—hopefully will be the final payment in a demolition and abatement project budgeted for about $770,000 all in, according to Joe Zagarenski, senior engineer in the Department of Public Works. The overall project is coming in about $29,000 over that spending plan, he told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. Asked when the public can expect to see green grass on the site of the former Irwin House, Zagarenski said in October-November — so long as no further contaminants turn up. “I don’t suspect we’re going to find anything, but if we’re trying to find the clean limits and we hit into another area that’s [contaminated]—I don’t see it, I don’t foresee it happening, but there is that [chance],” he said.

News

Town to Repair Spinning Equipment at Mead Park Playground After Six-Year-Old Components Begin to Wobble

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The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously at its regular meeting at Town Hall on  July 21 to approve a $15,945 contract to repair two standalone spinning play components at the Mead Park playground that have become wobbly after years of use at the popular facility. Superintendent of Parks Ryan Restivo presented the request, saying the town had been alerted to the problem by members of the public who noticed the equipment was no longer functioning properly. “There’s just caution tape around it,” Restivo said of the components. “It still moves and it still functions, but it’s very wobbly.”

Government

Town Approves $150,000 for Repairs at Schoolhouse Apartments

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The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates. The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously at its regular meeting last week to approve $150,000 for capital improvements at Schoolhouse Apartments, the 40-unit affordable senior housing complex on South Avenue. The funds will come from interest accrued on the town’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation, and will be held in a special projects fund as bids on individual projects come in, officials said at the meeting, held July 7 at Town Hall and via videoconference. Steve Hoover, who became president of Schoolhouse Apartments Inc. four months ago, told the board that the nonprofit had been in serious trouble when a new executive committee took over in March. “For 11 of the last 36 months, we had no on-site property manager,” Hoover said.

News

‘Patience Levels Are Low’: Water Main Installation on South Avenue Underway

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The Summer Internship Program is sponsored by the New Canaan Racquet Club. A four-year-long construction project in New Canaan started its final stretch this week. 

The water company’s 36-inch water main installation is nearly complete, though community members’ patience is dwindling, officials say. Four years ago, Aquarion began installing a water main, causing road closures on the eastern side of town. Now, the installation is taking place on South Avenue (with a plan to repave starting in September). Sections of South Avenue between Douglas and Farm Road will be closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays for the next three months, through the end of August, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann.

Amy Murphy Carroll

‘If We Lose This Pool, We Will Never Get It Back’: Selectmen Weigh in on New Canaan Y’s Valles Pool

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New Canaan’s top elected officials are weighing in on a widely discussed community issue involving a venerable local nonprofit organization. The CEO of the New Canaan YMCA has said that the South Avenue facility’s 46-year-old Valles Pool must close by the end of this year due to required repairs. It faces one to two years of construction, she said, and the Y’s Board of Directors has established a committee to examine the problem and weigh the cost-benefit of restoring the pool versus reimagining the space to serve swimming as well as non-swimming needs. On Tuesday, Selectman Amy Murphy Carroll called for New Canaanites to “pay attention” to a “potential major change in the Y.”

“Their board has been reviewing their facilities and what to do, and there has been some discussion about taking the main diving pool and swim pool, the Valles Pool, offline permanently, potentially with perhaps needs for more dry land,” Murphy Carroll said during the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. She continued: “It’s all proposal stage.