Government

Selectmen Approve Furniture Contract for Waveny House Wedding Rooms

By |

Furniture will be put into the brides’ and grooms’ rooms at Waveny House as preparations are made for what officials are calling an “off the charts” wedding schedule. On Tuesday, the Board of Selectmen approved a $14,299.10 contract with Raymour & Flanigan to furnish Waveny House’s wedding rooms.

“We’ve done substantial updates on these rooms, including painting them a nice cashmere color,” Parks & Recreation Director John Howe told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “The next step is to get furniture in them.”

First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll voted 3-0 in favor of the contract. The project is covered in the bride and groom rooms update section of the town’s budget. Parks & Recreation Office Manager Beatrice Watkins detailed the process of finalizing the contract.

Footer Featured Widget

Feds Find Dozens of ADA Violations at New Canaan Public Facilities

By |

Federal officials in an investigation regarding violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act have cited dozens of barriers to access at public facilities throughout New Canaan. Launched last summer, the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation led to an “on-site survey” of five public facilities in New Canaan in May, according to a Site Survey Report issued Oct. 7 by Diane Perry, an architect in the DOJ’s Disability Rights Section. The investigation at the five facilities—Waveny House, Town Hall campus, Mead Park, Firehouse, Waveny paddle courts and hut and playing fields at New Canaan High School—yielded a total of 109 citations, according to the report, obtained by NewCanaanite.com. 

The barriers range from what appear to require small changes, such as new or relocated signage, to substantial infrastructure projects, such as entirely new accessible routes where none currently exist or changes to the slope of walkways and ramps already in place. In some cases, the DOJ cited barriers following very recent projects.

New Canaan Community Foundation

Annual Meeting & Cocktail Party at Waveny House

By |

Join us on Thursday, February 6th from 6 to 8pm for our 2020 Annual Meeting & Cocktail Party at Waveny House. Come to hear a brief update on the Foundation’s successes in 2019! Enjoy cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, conversation and a warm fire as we kick-off another year of the Foundation supporting our community. We hope to see you there!

Government

Selectman Williams: Concerns About Waveny Park Safety Have Been ‘Politicized’

By |

A town official on Tuesday voiced concerns about the characterization of New Canaan’s most heavily used park as unsafe. Saying he believed that some of the talk around town about the safety of Waveny Park was “misguided a bit,” Selectman Nick Williams raised the issue during the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall. While saying that he was “in favor of safety,” Williams asserted that “Waveny is one of the best parks in America and one of the safest parks in America.” Speaking during a section of the Board’s agenda dedicated to general town matters, Williams said that suggestions to the contrary were “perhaps politicized,” but was not specific about how. “I think it’s unfortunate that people are talking about Waveny as if it’s Central Park in the 1970s,” Williams said.

Irwin Park

Police: ‘Vast Majority’ of Incidents at New Canaan Parks Occur at Waveny

By |

The “vast majority” of police incidents in town parks occur in Waveny, with 376 incidents reported there over the five-year period ending June 15, officials say. The figure is far higher than citizen-reported and police-initiated incidents at Irwin (62), Kiwanis (31), and Mead (89) Parks, according to data cited by Police Chief Leon Krolikowski. Though most of the incidents that police responded to at Waveny “were service-related, medical assists, animal complaints and suspicious vehicles,” Krolikowski said in a July 22 report to the head of the Parks & Recreation Commission, there were numerous criminal incidents as well. These include reports of a male masturbating in a vehicle and a fight during a wedding at Waveny House. Furthermore, on several occasions, the report said that “nationally organized gangs” were responsible for crimes committed in Waveny.