Government

‘That Experiment Doesn’t Seem To Work Very Well in This Town’: Selectmen Flag Lack of Trash Receptacles at Parks

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New Canaan should look again at an ineffective, money-saving change that saw the town adopt a “carry-in, carry-out” policy in lieu of more garbage cans at public parks, officials said Tuesday. Residents are asking why there aren’t more receptacles at places such as Waveny and litter has become increasingly commonplace as a result, according to Selectman Nick Williams.

“I get a lot of complaints on this and I think maybe it’s something we may want to look at,” Williams said during the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall. “And I want to know historically how this came about, and what the cost-savings was projected. We have the [PFA] Beautification Committee at New Canaan High School doing great things, now we should continue that trend.”

The comments came as the selectmen approved 3-0 a $7,500 contract with a Wilton-based refuse company to take on year-round garbage and recycling services at Lapham Community Center, Waveny Pool, Mead Park and Kiwanis Park. Recreation Director Steve Benko said the Town Council about six or seven years ago switched to a carry-in, carry-out policy with the Department of Public Works providing four dumpsters at Waveny including the water tower turf field, two at Mead, one at Irwin and two at NCHS by the athletic fields.

Government

‘We Are In a Great Position’: Mild Winter Means Timely Opening of New Canaan’s Sports Playing Fields

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What a difference a year makes. Twelve months after a harsh, late winter made New Canaan’s grass fields unplayable well into April, the town’s parks superintendent said “the prognosis is good” for timely openings of the popular sports fields this spring. “We are in a great position,” said John Howe, parks superintendent in the Department of Public Works. “What helps me is that there’s no frost in the ground. Last year, when there was frost in the ground, it could only dry by evaporating, instead of working its way through the soil.”

New Canaan High School’s baseball and softball teams got a day of practice in already last weekend, and soccer teams are on track to start next week, he said.

News

Taller Backstops Planned for Softball Field at Waveny

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Town officials have approved a $6,400 contract with a Cross Street company to install new, taller backstops designed to control flying foul balls at the main softball field in Waveny. Known as the “Orchard Field”—on the right as you climb toward the crest of the hill on the main road, off of South Avenue (with the new ingress to the parking lot)—the softball diamond plays host to home varsity games as well as youth competition. The 10-foot-high backstop now in place—first installed in 1988—isn’t high enough to contain the girls’ foul balls, according to Recreation Director Steve Benko. Plans call for the center section to be raised to 18 feet, and the wings to be raised to 10 feet, Benko told the Board of Selectmen at the group’s regular meeting on Dec. 15.

Government

‘It Is An Asset That Sits There Empty’: Parks Officials Eye Expanded Use of Paddle Hut at Waveny

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Calling the “paddle hut” at Waveny a beautiful and underutilized town-owned building that could meet rising demand for special events rental space, parks officials are recommending a cost-benefit analysis of expanding the structure’s use. Available now on weekends only at $25 per hour, new rates for greater use of the renovated building could account for increased staffing and wear-and-tear, according to Park and Recreation Commission Chairman Sally Campbell. “I think it is something that is worth exploring, because it is a town facility and the town would like to use it and if it is priced properly, I think it could be a nice amenity for people in town,” Campbell said during the group’s regular meeting on Nov. 11, held in the Douglass Room at Lapham Community Center. “It is a nice building, it is an asset that sits there empty six months of the year and even during the season,” she added.

Government

‘This Is Really Dangerous’: New Trail Proposed To Get Pedestrians Off Main Road through Waveny

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Officials say they’re planning to extend a trail in Waveny that starts near the South Avenue entrance and follows the park’s main road up toward Waveny House, so that pedestrians aren’t forced into the roadway. As it is now, those who walk or run on the trail are forced when it ends at the Carriage Barn access road to vie with passing cars, members of the Park & Recreation Commission said at their meeting Wednesday night. “This is really dangerous,” Sally Campbell, the commission’s chairman, said during the group’s regular meeting, held in the Douglas Room at Lapham Community Center. What’s been proposed is a zigzagging “switchback” trail that would allow people to climb a wooded hill there, bringing them out at the far side of a parking area that’s far less dangerous for pedestrians, commissioners said. The trail extension has been recommended by the Waveny Park Conservancy and Tiger Mann, assistant director of the Department of Public Works, has mapped out a way to get it done and would put the project in his own capital budget, according to Campbell.