Board of Selectmen

Public Works: Natural Gas Expansion on Hold

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The installation of natural gas in New Canaan, a widely anticipated project that this year enters the final piece of a three-year initial phase-in, is currently on hold, officials said Tuesday. All new natural gas services and installations are considered ‘nonessential’ as per the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, according to New Canaan Public Works Director Tiger Mann. The only work still moving forward is a “resiliency project on [Route] 123 from Little Brook and Lakeview, all the way down into Norwalk, that should be proceeding within the next couple of weeks,” Mann told the Board of Selectmen during its regular meeting, held via videoconference. 

“They have a contractor on board. We had a pre-construction meeting last week with the state, so that should be proceeding as normal since it is resiliency and not expansion. We are waiting for news on whether or not and when we can go forward with the rest of the work in town.

Board of Selectmen

First Selectman: ‘I Really Don’t Want To Have To Close the Parks’

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New Canaan’s highest elected official said Tuesday that he wants to keep public parks open for residents, though that could change if those using the open spaces violate health guidelines or if new guidance comes down regarding COVID-19. Town officials kept parks such as Waveny and Mead open “because the parks are such a vital resource, to be able to get out into the fresh air” according to First Selectman Kevin Moynihan. “It’s important that people have access to the parks, in my mind,” he said during a regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, held via videoconference. 

“They closed the parks in cities around us, Norwalk and Stamford. It’s very important—and we opened up the turf fields—it’s very important that the young people realize that they can get out and throw the ball around with a friend or two or three. But we cannot have any group activities, especially contact sports, something like basketball and things that put people too closely in touch with each other.

Government

Town Calls for Volunteers To Help New Canaan Seniors Stay Home During COVID-19 Emergency

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Town officials are calling for volunteers to help run errands for New Canaan residents 75-and-older so that those individuals most at-risk to COVID-19 are able to stay home. A list of some 1,434 residents in the age bracket has been pared down to about 900 after those already receiving care and services through local organizations such as Waveny LifeCare Network and Staying Put in New Canaan were removed, according to First Selectman Kevin Moynihan. 

Volunteers are needed to help “order meals from restaurants, get their groceries, pick up prescriptions at the pharmacies,” Moynihan said during a regular Board of Selectmen meeting held Tuesday via videoconference. 

“We would like to have a 1-on-1 relationship where a volunteer takes on a couple or a few seniors to be able to go to the grocery store instead of having them go,” he said. Many of the 900 people identified are “very active and vital people” who do not require assistance themselves, “but the key is they could stay home, given their age they are the most vulnerable, so ideally we want to get to a point where we get as many volunteers as possible.”

Those interested in volunteering should contact Interim Director of Human Services Bethany Zaro, Moynihan said. Her email is Bethany.Zaro@newcanaanct.gov, according to the municipal website. 

“All of our town employees and our volunteers are doing a terrific job,” Moynihan said. He said that Emergency Management Director Mike Handler and Health Director Jen Eielson especially have been doing “an absolutely tremendous job” during the COVID-19 emergency. 

Moynihan announced Sunday that Town Hall is closed to the public and that the “most essential” municipal workers are reachable via phone and email to respond as best they could.

Board of Selectmen

Selectmen Approve Contract for Additional Cleaning Services at Public Buildings 

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Town officials on Tuesday approved a $9,000 monthly agreement with a Fairfield-based cleaning company to provide additional services at public buildings including Town Hall, the Police Station, Lapham Center, Ambulance Corps, Train Station and former Outback Teen Center. The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 in favor of the contract with System4 Facility Services. First Selectmen Kevin Moynihan said he had already signed off on the agreement on an emergency basis but still needed approval from the selectmen. “The whole point is that it’s consistent with the what the schools are doing, and others,” Moynihan said during the Board’s regular meeting at Town Hall. 

“You really just want to increase your disinfecting of public spaces,” he said. 

Moynihan participated in the meeting by phone. 

The contract approval came as New Canaan braced for changes now materializing with the confirmed presence of COVID-19 in town. The public schools closed, turning to a learn-from-home program for students, and several organizations shut down entirely until further notice.

Board of Selectmen

Town Approves Easement Agreement with Property Developer

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Town officials on Tuesday approved an agreement with a private property developer that will give the public access to a 5-foot-wide sidewalk that will front townhouses planned for Forest Street just north of Locust Avenue. The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 in favor of an easement agreement with 42 Forest Street LLC, which is owned by Darien-based Silver Heights Development. The real estate investment and development company is creating a new, mixed-use building and adjoining row of townhouses at the northwest corner of Forest Street and Locust Avenue. Located next to the Post Office, it’s the former site of a brick Bank of America building. 

Public Works Director Tiger Mann told the selectmen at their regular meeting that the town and property owner “share a property line, so a portion of the project will have a sidewalk that will be on their property and then we will have a sidewalk on our property, so we are looking for a right or easement from 42 Forest Street [LLC] to have the public basically use the entire width of that sidewalk.”

“So they are granting us an easement to utilize that portion of their property for our public to walk back and forth,” Mann said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. “They will take care of the property.