Government

Selectmen Call for More Information on Waveny ‘Western Lot’ Project

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The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday morning delayed approval of an approximately $475,000 contract to reconfigure and repave a heavily used parking lot near Waveny House. 

The town has been planning to upgrade the “Western Lot” at Waveny “for several years now,” according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “The parking lot is currently poorly designed and noncompliant,” Mann told the selectmen during their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “We want a much more user-friendly design with better accessibility.”

Yet the selectmen, citing concerns about impervious surfaces and the need for such a project, called for renderings of just what would change at the lot. 

Saying they were unclear about the plan for a project that reaches what First Selectman Dionna Carlson called an “uncomfortable dollar threshold,” the selectmen decided to revisit the contract at their next meeting in two weeks. The contract is for $479,664.19 with New Canaan-based Peter Lanni Inc. The money is available in the DPW budget under their parking lot payment management program, according to Mann. The department contacted 10 contractors regarding the project and received two bids, with Peter Lanni Inc. submitting the lowest bid.

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Town Approves $25,000 for Traffic ‘Flaggers’

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[The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates.]

Municipal officials last week approved a contract for flagging services on local roads, including for the Putnam Road sidewalk replacement. The Putnam Road work, which has about two weeks left, has “alternating one-way traffic,” according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. 

“We use the flaggers to direct the motorists,” Mann told members of the Board of Selectmen during their July 8 meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. “Since we have one lane closed, we’ve got to be able to get them through the work zone safely.”

First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of a $25,000 contract with All State Flagging LLC. Mann said the town has a contract already with a different company, Precise Traffic Control, “but they are currently working on the paving projects and there’s just not enough flaggers to go around for Precise to utilize.”

The flaggers are there to prevent people from using the sidewalks, but to get drivers through the work zone without risk, Mann said. They also warn motorists on the Putnam curve where they can’t see ahead, he said.

Board of Selectmen

Town: Irwin House Demolition on Track for Late-August/September

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Irwin House is expected to be demolished in late-August or September, officials said last week. Located in the Weed Street park of the same name, the brick Irwin House was built between 1961 and 1963 after the original 1920’s shingle-style house—once owned by IBM founder Thomas Watson, Sr.—burned down in a fire. Noting that the structure needs an estimated $1.3 million in exterior work alone, town officials publicly discussed the prospect of demolishing Irwin House during this year’s budget process. The Board of Selectmen in April approved a $58,000 contract with an environmental services firm to find out what hazardous materials are inside Irwin House, and advise on how best to get rid of them so the full demo can go forward. 

During the July 8 Board of Selectmen meeting, Public Works Director Tiger Mann said that the town “got the initial environmental assessment back” and that DPW is “still working on the specifications.”

“And once that comes in, then we’ll get a good feel as to our number for environmental,” Mann told the selectmen during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “Then we’ll go out to bid and look to get the people that are there currently out and housed where they need and take the building down some time in late-August-September-ish.”

Specifically, work must be done at Irwin Barn, he said (a separate structure that is not under threat of demolition). 

“We’ve already done some work at Irwin Barn as far as the waste and water lines, to be able to then relocate Butch, our maintenance man, from the garage to the Irwin Barn and give him a palace where he can wash his hands and go to the bathroom,” Mann said.

Government

Selectmen Postpone Funding for ADA Ramp Between Town Hall, Vine Cottage

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[The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates.]

Saying they need more information, municipal officials this week postponed the approval of $250,000 in construction work at the Town Hall campus. After the federal government cited the town for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act—citing dozens of barriers to access at public facilities throughout New Canaan—the municipality and U.S. Department of Justice reached an agreement. 

Part of that agreement calls for the town to improve access between Town Hall and Vine Cottage, where the New Canaan Department of Health is located. 

An additional accessible route needs to be built, Public Works Director Tiger Mann said during Tuesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting, held at The Town Hall and via videoconference. Mann said a site plan from local firm Architectural Preservation Studios would locate the new ramp on part of an existing staircase from the access road through the campus up to Vine Cottage. “The far right side of the staircase will be separated, and that will become a ramp which will turn left towards the parking space,” Mann said. “We’ll remove one slot of the parking lot which will put us in the correct position to then head to the Vine Cottage.”

Installing the ramp will require removing part of the WPA-era retaining wall there, and is estimated to cost $258,583.11, including a 10% contingency, Mann said.

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‘It Only Took 15 Minutes To Get the First Complaint’: South Avenue Closure Underway

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[The NewCanaanite.com Summer Internship Program is sponsored by Karp Associates.]

The summer-long closure of a major north-south artery into New Canaan is off to a so-so start, officials said Tuesday. This week, the water company began installing a 36-inch pipe along South Avenue, between Harrison Avenue and Farm Road. The work will continue up until school starts again. According to Public Works Director Tiger Mann, municipal officials started receiving feedback immediately from motorists. “It only took 15 minutes to get the first complaint,” Mann said during a regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

Within 10 feet, Aquarion “had to go underneath the waterline, which was unanticipated,” Mann said.