Around Town

PHOTOS: Caffeine & Carburetors Wraps Up 2015 Season with Strong Turnout at Waveny

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Antique, classic, muscle, racing and speciality car enthusiasts descended on Waveny Park on a crisp, cool autumn morning Sunday for 2015’s final Caffeine & Carburetors gathering. Town officials had approved four installments this year of the popular event, launched by New Canaan’s Doug Zumbach and sponsored primarily by Bankwell (whose Lucy French provided us the photo at right), between April and October: two downtown and two at Waveny. After foul weather forced a cancellation of the September gathering downtown, thousands of spectators ventured to the park. Town resident and collector Peter Bush of The Fox 95.9 FM took to the microphone to emcee the event, tapping an encyclopedic knowledge of autos to describe many of the cars parked in the forecourt of Waveny House and elsewhere, while spectators sipped coffee—much of it purchased from Zumbach’s eponymous gourmet shop, which operated a stand near the center of the action—leash-walked their dogs, shot photos and video, talked shop and connected with fellow enthusiasts. Zumbach estimated the crowd at 3,000 to 3,5000 and the car count was at 800-plus.

Government

Naming Rights, Donor Plaques on Waveny Structures Part of Conservancy’s Draft Agreement with Town

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While members of the group appear now to be focused on landscaping, the Waveny Park Conservancy under a draft agreement with the town would be poised, with approvals, to name buildings and affix plaques to structures at the popular park in recognition of those who fund projects there. The “Park Preservation and Improvement Agreement” notes that the Town Council must approve “the naming of any building, structure or improvement after any donor, individual, foundation or group.”

“The Conservancy may affix donor recognition plaques in connection with completed Improvement Projects subject to Town approval in each instance as to size, design and location,” one section of the 2-page document reads. “The Conservancy shall not cause or permit any sign or advertisement to be placed in the Park or affixed to any building, structure or improvement except in compliance with the Town Code, ordinances and regulations.”

The document, which the Park & Recreation Commission supported 8-0 during its regular meeting Wednesday by way of recommending the agreement to the Board of Selectmen for further review, may offer a glimpse into one way that the Conservancy intends to raise money as it seeks to fund, propose and help oversee capital projects across a wide swath of Waveny’s grounds. Much of the Conservancy’s “bullet point” presentation to the Park & Recreation Commission dealt with the more immediate work that would be done at and near Waveny Pond as well as in the area in the southwest part of the park known as “the cornfields” (no longer a dumping area for dredged material). In particular, Conservancy member Bill Holmes said, the group is seeking to pay for a consultant to conduct a “forest management plan” which would include identifying invasive species at Waveny and would focus on the area south of the main road through the park.

Around Town

‘Pretty Good Doggone Show’: Waveny Fireworks Revenue Up $20,000

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Final figures from the New Canaan Family Fourth show a year-over-year increase of $20,000 in revenue—a figure that covers losses from the prior year and puts the volunteer-run event on solid footing, officials say. Anchored by the Waveny fireworks, the popular gathering garnered around $75,000, according to Tom Stadler, who serves as chairman of the Family Fourth Committee. A combination of rising costs the prior year—due mainly to police seeking straight pay instead of a comp day in 2014 (an $18,000 cost)—and a drop in family passes, had put the Family Fourth fund in a precarious state, prompting Stadler and the committee to push for greater community support. This year, Stadler said, all but three police opted to “bank” the day, which helped control costs, and greater numbers of residents seem to have purchased passes at $35—up from $30, Stadler said. “Right now I feel very good about [the health of the fund],” Stadler said.

Government

‘What Do We Want That Building To Be?’: Future Use of Waveny House an Open Question

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Waveny House needs so much work to get up to code and operate as a public building that—after baseline repairs are made, such as to its leaky roof—residents must decide just what role the cherished building should play in town, officials say. The Board of Selectmen should establish a committee that looks at Waveny House and answers this basic question, the town’s highest official said Tuesday: “What do we want that building to be?”

“Do we want it to be the offices of [the Recreation Department] and to store stuff?” First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said at the board’s regular monthly meeting, held at Town Hall. “Do we want it to have 150 weddings a year and be a revenue generator?”

The comments came as the selectmen voted 3-0 to approve a $37,500 contract with a White Plains, N.Y.-based architectural firm to prepare for the first phase of capital work at Waveny. The architectural services from KSQ Architects will be based on a 2010 capital facilities plan that encompassed 16 structures in New Canaan (see page 35 of the Executive Summary and page 503 for detailed line items). That plan calls for roof replacement as well as ADA ramps and toilets at Waveny House, a kitchen rebuild and new boiler and piping, among other projects.

Around Town

New Foosball, Ping Pong Tables Popular at ‘Hot Spot’ Waveny Pool

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Many New Canaanites spend their summer relaxing by the pool—especially one in particular: Waveny pool. An increasingly popular Dog Days destination, especially during the sustained hot days that New Canaan is seeing this week, the Waveny pool through the summer hosts a whole range of activities: The Waveny Gators teams welcome children ages 7  to 17 to participate in swimming and diving teams, and children 10 to 13 to be a part of the water polo team. During their season, the teams practice each morning, and participate in meets against the Roxbury Club, Rocky Point Club, Roton Point Club, Middlesex Club, Shore & Country Club—the Gators finished up recently with a meet against Newfield Swim Club (summer home of NCHS math teacher David Fine). Kids’ athletics are held in the morning and the pool tends to get busier for visitors in the afternoons, according to Recreation Director Steve Benko. “The best time [to go to the pool] is probably in the afternoon, around 2 o’clock.