Government

Town To Knock Down Gazebo Behind Lapham

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The Board of Selectmen last week voted 3-0 in favor of a contract with a Norwalk-based company to remove a gazebo behind the Lapham Community Center. Located near a planned baseball stadium, the structure is “past its useful life,” according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “The benches on the inside are rotted out,” Mann told the selectmen during their regular meeting, held April 16 at Town Hall and via videoconference. “We’ve got some other issues working on it. And it’ll either require some additional work to maintain or we should necessarily remove it.”

He added, “It is quite close to the work at Coppo Field and will probably be impacted by that work.

Government

‘I Don’t Want Town Funds Being Used for This’: Carlson Pushes Back on Contract for Stanchion Repair

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Town officials decided Tuesday to wait for an insurance claim to be processed prior to repairing a low painted brick column that marks the start of a public road near the Merritt Parkway. One of the two columns located at the start of White Birch Road—opposite the off-ramp from Merritt Parkway Exit 37 northbound—was struck and damaged by a vehicle in December, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. The “stanchion” is in the public right-of-way and helps delineate White Birch, a residential street, for motorists exiting the parkway, Mann told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting by way of seeking approval of a $5,350 contract to repair it. Yet New Canaan’s highest elected official pushed back on spending taxpayer dollars on the project. “I’m just going to throw it out there: Why are we reconstructing this?” First Selectman Dionna Carlson said during the meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference.

Around Town

Quiet Heroes of New Canaan: Mose Saccary

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About 15 years ago, Public Works Director Tiger Mann recalls, the annual Fishing Derby in New Canaan had to be halted because Mill Pond desperately needed to be dredged. 

Once that was done, it was Mose Saccary, the town’s highway superintendent, who called on municipal workers to resurrect the beloved family-friendly event. “This thing wouldn’t happen without him,” Mann said of the Fishing Derby, to be held Saturday at Mill Pond. Anglers can register online or starting at 8 a.m. on April 20 at the pond, the derby starts at 8:30 a.m. (Emails used to register will not be used to sign people up for town email blasts or other unwanted subscriptions, officials confirmed). A Center School alumnus and 1978 New Canaan High School graduate, Saccary “has been working here his entire life in various capacities for the Highway Department,” Mann said. “And I don’t think anybody cares more to be quite honest,” he continued, by way of nominating Saccary for the “Quiet Heroes” series.

Government

Town To Pave 8 Local Roads

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Town officials last week approved an approximately $1.25 million contract with a Norwalk-based company to pave a number of local roads. The Board of Selectmen during its regular meeting April 2 voted unanimously in favor of the contract with FGB Construction, one of four companies to bid on it, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. The company has “done excellent work with minimal complaints from the residents and the motoring public,” Mann said at the meeting, held in Town Hall and via videoconference. The roads to be paved include Danforth Drive, Indian Rock Road, Lantern Ridge Road, Laurel Road from Canoe Hill to Turner Hill, Pond View Lane, Reeder Lane, Toby’s Lane and West Hills Road. It’s “the first portion of our paving program for this year,” Mann said.

Board of Finance

‘We Don’t Want To See This Thing Happen Ever Again’: Finance Board Approves Further $164,000 for Playhouse

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The Board of Finance last week approved a further—and, officials say, final—approximately $284,000 for the widely anticipated restoration of the movie theater downtown. The appointed body voted 8-0 during a March 27 special meeting in favor of the Playhouse project funding, which includes a special appropriation of about $164,000 (there’s also a separate “project increase” of approximately $120,000). The special appropriation is to be used for additional plumbing for the concession, plating room and bars as well as Health Code compliance (about $59,000), more design fees for a local architectural firm ($78,000), finishes for staircases and landings ($11,000) and a ductless AC unit for an AV room ($16,000), according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. With respect to the Health Code, Mann said municipal officials “feel the town should be responsible for in this regard, given the fact that we have a tenant coming in but we want to make sure our building is up to Code for every requirement, regardless of who we have as a tenant.”

Regarding the floor finishes, Mann said that the town had assumed the new private operator of the Playhouse, CinemaLab, “would be responsible also for the finishes on the staircases to and from.”

“And then as it shook out, through the project, we learned that they didn’t carry that number in their contract and considered that the two staircases were a means of egress and would be the leaseholder’s responsibility,” Mann said during the meeting, held in a Town Hall conference room and via videoconference. Board of Finance Chair Todd Lavieri, Secretary Chris Le Bris and members Michael Chen, Colm Dobbyn, Nick Mitrakis, Tom Schulte, Maria Weingarten and James Yao voted in favor.