Government

GOP Candidates For Town Council Spar Over Cell Service, Transparency During Debate

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Five of six Republican candidates seeking seats on the Town Council in the upcoming November municipal elections debated a range of topics—from cell towers to land acquisition to transparency in local government—during a lively and well-attended debate hosted by the Republican Town Committee at Town Hall last week. Four Republican seats on the Town Council are up for grabs in the upcoming fall election. The six candidates seeking nomination from town Republicans in the upcoming caucus, to be held July 18, include incumbents John Engel and Penny Young, as well as Roy Abramowitz, Tom Butterworth, Mike Mauro and Richard Townsend. Engel was unable to attend the debate. Recently, the town Utilities Commission, which is searching for ways to improve cell service in town, issued a report proposing that cell towers be erected in Irwin Park and near West School.

Government

RTC Announces Two Republican Debates Ahead of July 18 Caucus; First One Next Week

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The New Canaan Republican Town Committee on Monday announced that the organization is sponsoring a pair of debates ahead of the party’s July 18 caucus—a widely anticipated day that will see candidates in three contested races seek party backing. Featuring all Republican candidates running in contested races for town government, the first debate is to be held at 7 p.m. next Tuesday, June 27 in the large meeting room at Town Hall, the RTC said in a press release. The second will be held July 12, also at Town Hall. Those running include:

First Selectman

Cristina A. Ross
Rob Mallozzi
Kevin Moynihan

Selectman

Christa Kenin
Nick Williams

Town Council (four seats open)

Roy Abramowitz
Tom Butterworth
John Engel
Mike Mauro
Richard Townsend
Penny Young

NewCanaanite.com and the New Canaan Advertiser are supporting the RTC debates. The debates will be broadcast by NCTV Channel 79, according to the RTC.

News

Letter: Town Must Act Quickly To Help Land Trust Acquire Fowler Property

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We’re writing to support a special appropriation for the New Canaan Land Trust’s acquisition of the six-acre Fowler property in Silvermine. The town would fund a relatively small share of the overall cost. But if it fails to act quickly, other commitments would lapse, and the deal could collapse. The main concern of some town officials is setting an unwanted precedent for the budget process. But wouldn’t it be an even worse precedent to allow the deal to die?

Government

‘A Reasonable Consensus’: Developer of Proposed ‘Merritt Village’ Complex Reduces Number of Units, Height of Buildings

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The owners of a 3.29-acre property on the edge of downtown New Canaan on Thursday night unveiled a scaled-back version of the proposed condominium-and-apartment complex that’s caused wide discussion in town since it was presented in June. Instead of 123 units in four 4-floor multifamily dwellings, Merritt Village would have 116 units (55 condos, 61 apartments) and its townhouse-style buildings would rise no more than 3.5 stories, with some of the proposed structures coming down to two stories, according to representatives for the applicant, property owner M2 Partners. The architects of the proposal would prefer to move forward with what originally had been submitted to the town, though the modified plan takes into consideration reasonable concerns raised by third-party consultants and neighbors, Dan Granniss of project designer SLAM Collaborative of Glastonbury told members of the Planning & Zoning Commission at a special meeting. Though M2 Partners does not expect to garner “100 percent consensus,” still “we want to come to a reasonable consensus and we believe the modified design has done just that,” Granniss said during the meeting, which drew more than 100 attendees to Town Hall. The modified proposal was made public during the fourth hearing on Merritt Village, currently the site of Merritt Apartments, a 38-unit complex.