Government

Selectmen Vote 2-1 in Favor of Inland Wetlands Commission Appointment

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In what is typically a quick approval, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday cast a divided vote in appointing a resident as a regular member of one of the municipality’s volunteer commissions. First Selectman Dionna Carlson, while introducing an item to appoint Don Mastronardi to the Inland Wetlands Commission, noted that she had spoken with the candidate “because he has been unable to attend regularly as an alternate member.”

“And he said that he was having some staffing issues at his businesses, but that that issue has been resolved,” Carlson said during the selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “And I explained to him that attendance is mandatory. That if you miss too many meetings that this Board can take you up to say that we would like you to step down.”

Selectman Amy Murphy Carroll said she wasn’t comfortable voting in favor of Mastronardi’s appointment as a regular member because of his attendance record as an alternate on the Commission. “People in this town are very generous with their time and we appreciate it, but when people raise their hand to be on a board, even as an alternate, it is the expectation that you participate,” Murphy Carroll said.

Government

‘I Love the Community’: New Canaan’s Parking Manager To Retire After 22 Years with the Town

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Stacy Miltenberg’s first job in New Canaan was as a police officer. She joined the New Canaan Police Department in 2003, after working as a cop in New York City for 20 years. 

Seeking a schedule that worked better for her, Miltenberg took a position in 2005 as an administrative assistant in the New Canaan Parking Bureau. “I love the community, I always have” Miltenberg told NewCanaanite.com on Wednesday afternoon, speaking through the Parking Bureau window at Town Hall where she interacts with town residents and visitors all day. “When I used to commute from my job in Queens, in the Bronx, I’d always come through New Canaan. My youngest son went to the Y when we first moved up here [to northern Westchester] for childcare, so I’ve known New Canaan very well.

Government

1942-Installed Sewer Line on South Avenue To Be Relined

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The Board of Selectmen at its most recent meeting approved a $166,674 contract with a Tappan, N.Y.-based company to reline an 83-year-old stretch of sewer line on South Avenue. The aging sanitary sewer line runs for about 3,300 feet, according to Maria Coplit, town engineer with the Department of Public Works. “Records indicate that this eight-inch sewer main along this section of South Avenue between Bank Street and Farm Road dates back to 1942,” Coplit told the selectmen at their Aug. 19 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. She continued: “With the Aquarion water company’s Southwest Regional Pipeline Project to construct the new 36-inch water transmission line within South Avenue in such close proximity to our existing sewer main, it is prudent to reline this section of the sewer main, given both the proposed deep excavation required for the water main installation and the physical installation of the water main itself.

Board of Selectmen

‘This Is an Issue’: Town Eyes Improvements at ‘Challenging’ Route 106-Farm Road Intersection

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Town officials last week approved a $24,500 contract with a New Haven-based engineering firm to help address a major problem of congestion in town. Southbound traffic on Route 106 backs up during the school year at Farm Road, in part because drivers don’t move left while waiting to turn left at Farm and in part because there isn’t sufficient room for other motorists to get around them if more than one vehicle is making that turn. The town is hiring a firm to redesign the intersection and traffic signals “to accommodate additional turning lane or lanes at the intersection in order to help alleviate commuter traffic and associated school traffic,” according to Maria Coplit, town engineer in the Department of Public Works. “For years, this intersection has been plagued with its challenges,” she told the Board of Selectmen during their regular meeting, held Aug. 19 at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Amy Murphy Carroll

Selectmen Push Back on Town Clerk’s Request for Part-Time Help

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The Board of Selectmen, following a pointed discussion, voted during a recent meeting to approve three months of pay for two part-time workers in the Town Clerk’s office. The quarterly approval is less than the full year of pay that Town Clerk Claudia Weber asked the selectmen for during their regular meeting, held July 22 at Town Hall and via videoconference. As Assistant Town Clerk Janet Donohue recently retired, Weber was seeking the additional help for an extended period because she “needs more hands,”she said. The requested hirings were of John Amarilios and Debra Lyon at up to 19 hours each through next June. “Historically, we’ve had a group of people that we can call upon on an as-needed basis,” Weber said.