News

‘Let’s All Pull Together As a Community’: Town Council Public Hearing on Saxe

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One seventh-grader and two grandparents on Wednesday night joined dozens of fellow New Canaanites, most of whom identified themselves as tax-paying parents, in voicing support for a proposed renovation and expansion of Saxe Middle School during a public hearing at Town Hall. More than 200 residents packed into a standing-room-only meeting room to address the Town Council, applauding fellow supporters who took to the podium (see a list of sound bites below) to urge the legislative body to approve a proposed $18.6 million project. During a regular meeting that followed the hearing, the Town Council received an updated presentation from the Saxe Building Committee—including enrollment projections that are driving a space crunch at the middle school, and reasons for doing the full project now rather than in pieces—and four councilmen came out publicly in favor of it. Councilmen asked just how much the full project would cost individual taxpayers annually (a $148-per-taxable-account figure, based on a bond issuance at 3 percent interest over 20 years, is different from figures released earlier this year), whether the proposed build-out addresses future Special Ed space needs (yes, though a compromise will need to be found elsewhere within Saxe), whether long-term enrollment is expected to dip again (enrollment in grades 5 to 8 is expected to exceed 1,300 even 10 years from now) and how a request for plans on phased-in building project would affect the agreement with the architects (there will be additional costs) as well as the overall project’s cost. Building Committee Chairman Penny Rashin said if just the auditorium was renovated now, it would cost $2.1 million more in the short term to finish the other pieces, and $3.5 million more if the town waited three years (though the second figure could qualify New Canaan for higher state reimbursement).

Government

‘It Will Get Tight’: Town Hall Parking Spaces 6 Inches Narrower Than Usual

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The parking spaces at the new Town Hall came out about six inches narrower than others in New Canaan, officials say. Asked by the Town Council about the spaces at Wednesday night’s regular meeting, Department of Public Works Director Michael Pastore said he wasn’t sure just how they came out narrower than usual but that there’s room to expand them toward the access road that runs past the addition. “It’s something we’re going to have to address,” Pastore said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. “Parking is still something that has got to be resolved. Day-to-day, so far, it hasn’t been a problem.

Government

Banning Dogs from Bristow: Town Council To Seek Legal Opinion on 1934 Deed

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Faced with a renewed effort to ban dogs from a wooded 17-acre property that adjoins Mead Park, officials said Wednesday night that they will seek a legal opinion to help interpret an 81-year-old deed that restricts its use. Town Council members said during a special meeting that more investigation is needed to determine whether, taken together, two restrictions in the deed for the 17-acre parcel known as ‘Bristow Bird Sanctuary’ amount to a ban even on leashed dogs. While the deed says that Bristow “shall be forever maintained as a Bird Sanctuary and Wildwood Preserve, and used for no other purpose whatsoever,” it also specifies “that the public shall enjoy the free use of the property consistent with the purpose described in these conditions.”

“I am not sure dog-walking is not consistent with a ‘free use of the property,’ ” Councilman Kevin Moynihan, a lawyer, said during the meeting, held in the Community Room at the New Canaan Nature Center. Town Council Chairman Bill Walbert agreed, saying of the condition cited by Moynihan: “That statement creates more gray than just the initial look at the deed.”

“As a layman reads the deed, it’s hard not to say, ‘No dogs.’ And it’s hard as a legislative body to ignore the rules. But we are layman reading this deed.

Government

Town Council: New Outback Board ‘Likely To Happen’; Facility, Nonprofit Status To Transition

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The Outback Teen Center soon will operate under a new board of directors that will include some founding members of the organization, officials said Wednesday night. Thanking the current Outback directors for their “efforts and hard work and dedication,” Town Council Chairman Bill Walbert said during a special meeting that the organization long has been “playing a game where the rules [make it] difficult for you to win” and “can be very frustrating.”

Recently, Wallbert said, the existing board verbally approved a change that will see New Canaan’s Bob Albus and Catharine Sturgess come on with some others, then for the “existing board members to resign, creating what in essence is a temporary—not a temporary, but a transitional board, if you will—that will maintain, most importantly, the 501(c)(3) so that does not go away.”

“And then negotiate on behalf of the building with other organizations in town, potentially the town itself, but basically have a group of people who are not burdened by the existing rules, do not have to worry about the programming and such today but can act on the best behalf of that 501(c)(3) and act on the best behalf of that building and transition the Teen Center to its next use to serve the youth in the community,” Walbert said at the meeting, held in the Community Room at the New Canaan Nature Center. “So we worked aggressively toward that, we think that is going to happen, and I want to report to you that that is likely to happen.”

With a lease termination proposal in hand from the Outback board, First Selectman Rob Mallozzi last week indicated that the change could come soon. It will close one chapter for the Outback and start another. Facing a far different atmosphere today than it did when starting out 15 years ago—both in terms of programs offered to New Canaan youth and private funding—the Outback’s leadership had sought to forge a partnership with the town that would see New Canaan subsidize and staff the facility.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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Town officials on Tuesday night approved plans for a new business’s sign and awning at 31 Vitti St.—known for two years as the home of Eclectic, which recently closed (locals may recall chef Robert Milano’s delicious cheesesteak, which recently made our Top-10 New Canaan Sandwiches list). With a planned launch about two weeks away, the new business at 31 Vitti, Good2Gourmet, according to its website, will offer convenient home delivery and curbside pickup from foods on its “tantalizing menu providing maxim flavors with minimum sodium and no additives.” Led by a renowned chef and founded by a mother of four, Good2Gourmet has joined the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce and defines its mission as providing “a variety of healthy and delicious dishes for the entire family.” Read more about the company here. ***

The male Maltese mix found on the night of June 15 on Lakeview Avenue is up for adoption as of Wednesday, June 24 through New Canaan Animal Control. He’s about two years old and Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt said she’s calling him ‘Finnegan.’ “Finn for short,” Kleinschmitt told NewCanaanite.com. “He is so cute.”

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The New Canaan Board of Education on Monday night bid farewell to two administrators who earned high praise at their final school board meetings.