Around Town

‘No One Is Forgotten’: Officials Unveil Plaques Honoring Korean, Vietnam, Gulf Wars and War on Terror Veterans at Town Hall

By |

[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”filmstrip” title=”true” desc=”false” img_in_row=”3″ display=”all” sort_by=”random” animation_effect=”bounce” image_width=”600″ album_title=”true” album_id=”37″]

During the Vietnam War, Peter Langenus had what he recalled on Saturday morning as “the honor and privilege” of commanding a rifle company. The Third Battalion, Seventh Infantry, 199th Light Infantry Brigade was, the New Canaan man said, “200 18- and 19-year-old kids with rifles, machine guns and grenades.”

“They are the soldiers that carry the burden,” Langenus, commander of VFW Post 653, told about 100 residents gathered in the new northern entrance to Town Hall for a special dedication following New Canaan’s annual Veterans Day ceremony at God’s Acre. “The grunts. The war fighters. The gunslingers.

Government
Talmadge Hill Railroad Crossing

Town To Seek State Funding for Planned New Sidewalk for Talmadge Hill Commuters

By |

Town officials are seeking state funds to pursue a long-sought sidewalk installation at Talmadge Hill that’s designed to improve pedestrian safety for rail commuters. The estimated $350,000 project would see a new, five-foot-wide concrete sidewalk and granite curb run along the northern edge of Talmadge Hill Road from Route 106 up to and past the highest parking tier above the heavily used railroad station, according to Public Works Director Tiger Man. It would replace and extend what’s there now, a blacktop sidewalk with a blacktop curb, Mann told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting Wednesday. “This has been an area that people have asked for for a number of years,” Mann said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. Before and after work, scores of rail commuters make their way to and from the platform at Talmadge Hill, between cars parked in the lots as well as idling cars that pull over on the narrow road to drop them off and pick them up.

Government

‘An Amazing, Amazing Six Years’: Emotional Farewell for Board of Selectmen at Final Meeting

By |

Wednesday morning’s Board of Selectmen meeting—typically a workmanlike affair, with approvals of tree removal contracts and reviews of how the pavement is faring on local roads—saw multiple department heads offering heartfelt thanks to the three town officials gathered at the dais for the final time. This week’s election signaled the end of the board composed for six years of First Selectman Rob Mallozzi and Selectmen Beth Jones and Nick Williams.

“Yours was my fourth administration and for the past six years, I have found your board to be the most collegial, congenial and decent one yet,” Public Works Director Tiger Mann said after the selectmen approved the purchase of a pickup truck from Karl Chevrolet. “Things won’t be the same. It has been a pleasure.”

During the meeting, held at Town Hall, Human Resources Director Cheryl Pickering-Jones thanked the board for “a great few years” and Parks Superintendent John Howe said, “Thank you for six years of wonderful cooperation.”

Jones and Mallozzi did not seek re-election, he after a narrow loss at the Republican caucus in July. Williams earned 3,827 votes on Tuesday and will join Kevin Moynihan and Kit Devereaux on a newly configured board, as first selectman and selectman, respectively.

News

Letter: Selectman Beth Jones Endorses Kit Devereaux

By |

Editor, New Canaanite:

I urge my fellow New Canaanites to go the polls on November 7 and vote for Kit Devereaux for First Selectwoman. I have been a member of the Board of Selectmen for the past six years and have an insider’s view of what the job takes. Kit’s deep understanding of New Canaan, her keen intellect and her financial expertise, coupled with her kindness and humility are the recipe for a perfect First Selectman. Every vote will count. Please cast yours for Kit Devereaux.

Government

Cell Service: Town Hires Consulting Firm To Help Draft Updated Telecom Regulations

By |

Saying expert help is needed, officials on Tuesday approved a $7,500 allocation to hire an Simsbury-based consulting firm to help New Canaan review and revise the telecommunications section of its zoning regulations. The Board of Selectmen by a 3-0 vote approved the request from Interim Town Planner Keisha Fink during its regular meeting. According to Fink, Planning & Zoning Commission Chairman John Goodwin had recommended hiring Planimetrics since the town had “identified a need to be proactive in updating” the relevant section of the regulations. “Myself and other members of the Planning & Zoning Commission have reviewed the current telecommunications zoning regulations and feel it is prudent that the town have in place standards that should address any future applications affecting the siting of antenna facilities in town,” Fink said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. “We believe that the Hiring of Planimetrics is the most efficient use of the town’s time and resources in order to bring forth a more comprehensive telecommunications regulations.”

Selectman Beth Jones said the general consensus is that “everyone wants to move ahead with this as quickly as possible, so we can get some professional help from people who have dealt with this before.”

Jones, First Selectman Rob Mallozzi and Selectman Nick Williams voted in favor of the allocation for Planimetrics.