Board of Selectmen

Town To Finalize Easement Agreement with Condo Association Near Mead Pond

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Town officials last week approved funds for a survey of a condominium association’s property that includes an area along the eastern edge of Mead Pond. 

The town didn’t realize when it proposed spending federal American Rescue Act funds to create a Flexi-pave walk around the pond two years ago that the abutting Park Slope condo association owns much of the property downslope from its residences, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. 

For decades, the town has mowed and otherwise kept up the area— which encompasses a revitalized memorial walk dedicated to the 38 New Canaan men who died while serving in World War II—as part of its Mead Park maintenance, Mann told members of the Board of Selectmen at their March 5 meeting. Now, the condo association “would like an easement” as part of its agreement with the town. Asked by First Selectman Dionna Carlson to explain why the town is pursuing the easement, Mann said, “It’s not a question of why, it’s a question of need.”

“This came about when we were discussing placing the Flexi-pave walk through that area,” he continued at the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “It was determined that their [Park Slope’s] property actually extends closer to the park than was originally anticipated or originally known. We thought we owned further back.

Board of Selectmen

Selectmen Approve $45,000 Contract for Waveny Wall Repair Work

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The Board of Selectmen last week approved a $45,200 contract with a Ridgefield-based company to reconstruct Waveny’s stone walls along Lapham Road. 

The contractor, Greg of Fallaci Masonry—a man known to many who frequent the popular park, as he has been rebuilding the fieldstone walls there in recent years—charges $900 per day for his services, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. That figure would beat what the town and its partner in many projects at the park, the Waveny Park Conservancy, would pay to a contractor if the job went out to bid, he said. “Overall he’s saving us money if we were to actually go out and bid this to another masonry contractor,” Mann told the selectmen during their regular meeting, held March 5 in Town Hall and via videoconference. “And he’s done the entire wall to date, and it looks fantastic. So we just want to finish the two ends up by the Benko Pool and then down by the leaf mulch site until they run into the trees.

Board of Selectmen

Outdoor Basketball Courts at Saxe To Get Major Upgrade

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The well-used basketball courts behind Saxe Middle School stand to get a major upgrade, thanks to the foresight and generosity of the Parent Teacher Council. Cracked and with weeds growing out of the asphalt, the outdoor courts currently aren’t regulation for middle school use, according to Saxe PTC Co-Presidents Jess Huetter and Jessica Knowles. Yet the courts rank among “the most utilized” spaces at Saxe by students and the wider community, Knowles told members of the Board of Selectmen at their most recent meeting. “There are kids of all grades, all ages at school, genders—it’s used on the weekends by the community, after soccer practice, lacrosse practice, kids come and play, there’s always pick-up basketball games,” Knowles said during a presentation to the selectmen at their Feb. 20 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Government

New Canaan Farmers Market Approved for April 20 Opening

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The Board of Selectmen at its most recent meeting approved use of the Lumberyard Lot downtown for the New Canaan Farmers Market for the upcoming season. The Farmers Market will be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays from April 20 to Dec. 21, following a 3-0 vote by First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll at their Feb. 20 meeting. “The farmers and the vendors are actually anxiously getting ready to get out there and be back to the community,” Market Master Lexi Gazy of Oxford-based Gazy Brothers Farm said at the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Affordable Housing Committee

Affordable Housing Committee Elects Officers, Hears from Town Officials at First Meeting

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A newly appointed committee charged with identifying properties in New Canaan where affordable housing units could be built, among other responsibilities, on Monday voted to elect a seasoned and widely respected municipal volunteer as its chair. At its first meeting, members of the Affordable Housing Committee voted 9-0 to elect former Planning & Zoning Commission chair John Goodwin to lead the group. 

In nominating him, Committee member Krista Neilson said that Goodwin’s time on P&Z “gives him a lot of insight into the work that we’re going to be doing here.”

“He sat in on approving Canaan Parish and Millport, I’m sure he probably dodged some 8-30g applications that didn’t come to us,” Neilson said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. She continued: “So he’s seen the whole gamut, at least, of how it comes to the town. And also, I think he has great experience being the chair of the Planning & Zoning Commission, which—those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of attending our meetings, can be quite long, quite contentious. I feel if you can chair that, you can chair most anything.