Government

Selectmen Approve $170,000 for Waveny Pond Improvements

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Officials last week approved $170,000 in town spending toward the dredging of Waveny Pond and improvements around it. 

The figure is to be matched by funds supplied by a nonprofit organization, following a 3-0 vote by the Board of Selectmen at its regular meeting, held Aug. 20 in Town Hall. Work to be completed by Redding-based Nazzaro Inc. includes not only the first known dredge of the pond at the foot of the sledding hill, but also creation of a dock and observation area, guiderails and plantings, according to Maria Coplit, town engineer in the New Canaan Department of Public Works. The project cost is estimated at $325,406, with an additional contingency of $48,811, according to Coplit. The Waveny Park Conservancy is to match the town’s $170,000 contribution toward the project, and the approximately $34,000 beyond the $340,000 from both the town and organization will be held in escrow, Coplit said.

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Waveny Pond Dredging, New Observation Deck and Trail Coming This Summer

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Town officials say they plan to dredge Waveny Pond this summer and install amenities including an observation deck and new elevated walkway trail under the widely anticipated centerpiece of a public-private partnership. 

The pond in the past has filled in with sediment that’s reduced its inflow and led to algae blooms, Public Works Director told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission during their March 13 meeting at Town Hall. Under a project that’s expected to cost New Canaan about $170,000 with at least that much to be paid additionally by the Waveny Park Conservancy, the town will dredge the pond to a depth of about eight feet, Mann said. The pond’s outflow structure is in good contain and will receive new railings that used to line a pedestrian path near South Avenue. “We will add that railing around as a barrier to anyone to prevent them from falling in, so it will give us a little continuity between the pond dredging and the trails and Waveny itself,” Mann said. Unveiled more than three years ago, plans for Waveny Pond have undergone multiple iterations.

Gene Goodman

Parks Officials: Extensive Restoration, Reimagining of Waveny Pond, Environs Is Near

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A nonprofit organization dedicated to Waveny is moving forward with plans to improve the pond at the bottom of the sledding hill and surrounding area, parks officials said last week. A centerpiece of the Waveny Park Conservancy’s master plan, the pond restoration project requires both state and federal approval, according to Recreation Director Steve Benko. The town is funding a $170,000 dredge of Waveny Pond, and the Conservancy is committing an additional $150,000 “to go in and take out the understory and overgrown vines” from both sides of the pond on the approach from the main house, Benko said during a regular meeting of the Parks & Recreation Commission. A new trail will be installed around the left-hand side of the pond on that approach, a project that will include removal of dead trees, brush and vines, Benko said at the Dec. 12 meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. 

“It will really enhance the view of the pond as you walk down that path,” he said.