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.

Government

‘A Lot of Hooey’: Selectman Pans Those Claiming Town Hall Project Went Over Budget

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Though there are whispers around New Canaan that the Town Hall renovation and expansion project went over budget, that’s “a lot of hooey,” Selectman Nick Williams said this week. The $13 million construction project—$18 million with “soft costs” including placement of municipal employees in temporary space—is wrapping up now and nearly all municipal employees with offices there are expected to be moved back in by summer’s end. During Tuesday’s special meeting of the Board of Selectmen, Williams said he’s had some people come up to him asking whether the project stayed on budget, and it is “so I think we just need to make sure we get that out there.”

“People say, ‘Why do you need a new Town Hall? Because it was broken,” Williams said at the meeting, held in the Training Room of the New Canaan Police Department. “And it was a disaster.

Government

Carriage Barn Gets a New Roof; Lapham Next, Waveny House on Horizon

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Contractors are nearly finished re-roofing the 1895-built Carriage Barn at Waveny and soon will begin replacing the old slate roofing at Lapham Community Center, officials say. The town projects both are being paid out of the fiscal year 2015 capital budget, with the Carriage Barn job pegged at $225,000 and Lapham at $340,000 (see page 39 of the adopted budget here). The Lapham roof sections in need of replacement will get the same slate as the original, with identical colors and design, according to Bill Oestmann, superintendent of buildings with the New Canaan Department of Public Works. With a bid opening Thursday, the process of getting major capital repairs done at Waveny House also will begin, Oestmann said. The town for the current fiscal year approved $50,000 for an engineering and architectural renovation plan at the cherished town-owned structure.

Around Town

‘It’s Part of Why People Come to This Town’: Officials Discuss Future of New Canaan Playhouse

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Possibilities for New Canaan Playhouse include expanding its offerings to include live performances, shifting toward a classic and independent film venue under a public-private partnership or simply continuing as-is with the town footing the bill for sorely needed, high-cost capital improvements, a panel of local stakeholders said Wednesday night. No one in town government is interested in “having a developer come in and ‘mini-mall-ing’ the Playhouse or ‘Gap-ing’ ” the iconic 1923 structure, panelist First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said during a New Canaan League of Women Voters-sponsored discussion on the future of the building. “The idea is, quite frankly and I think legitimately, is we want to keep that an environment for entertainment, and my only hope is that stays as a Playhouse and provides Hollywood shows, or, ideally, it morphs into something much more exciting—a place that houses live entertainment, simulcast broadcasts from major venues across the world on arts and cultural programming, or that shows some more independent movies,” Mallozzi said at the panel discussion, held in the Sturgess Room at the New Canaan Nature Center. “But I think it is a real opportunity for this community to expand the offerings of that theater, and have it run by a private group instead of the town running it, so to speak.”

More than 50 people attended the 2-hour discussion, moderated by the League of Women Voters’ Kate Hurlock. In addition to Mallozzi, panelists included: George Maranis, who had been serving as town administrator when the town acquired the Playhouse for about $2.2 million in 2007; Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tucker Murphy, whose organization is located in the building; Department of Public Works Buildings Superintendent Bill Oestmann; and Jerry Miller, a New Canaan-based attorney and member of the New Canaan Kiwanis Club who is also a founding member of the Ridgefield Playhouse.

Government

Limestone Fireplace at Waveny House Poised for $17,500 Cleaning, Thanks to New Canaan Preservation Alliance

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The grand fireplace that welcomes visitors to Waveny House is getting a $17,500 brush-up and restoration, thanks to the local nonprofit group that advocated successfully for New Canaan to pursue listing the beloved mansion and park grounds on the National Register of Historic Places. No government funds, state or federal, will be used to restore the limestone fireplace in the Great Hall at Waveny. The New Canaan Preservation Alliance has donated to the town $27,830 that it raised during a 100-year anniversary celebration of the historic Waveny House in 2012, and the major portion of that money will be used to restore the fireplace, officials said Thursday. “I’m excited to get this thing going and it will be a real nice addition when you walk into that building to see that fireplace in good shape,” First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said as the Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 to allocate the funds, during a special meeting held in the Training Room at the New Canaan Police Department. Restoring the fireplace has been a goal of the NCPA since it began last spring navigating town approvals for a separate effort—the National Register listing.