Government

Town Council Members Mull Using ‘Outback’ Building To House Alternative High School Program

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The superintendent of schools on Wednesday night presented a subcommittee of New Canaan’s legislative body with details of a proposal to create an “alternative high school” program for students with specific health challenges in New Canaan to be housed at the former Outback Teen Center behind Town Hall. Dr. Bryan Luizzi and Assistant Superintendent of Pupil and Family Services Darlene Pianka outlined their vision for a program to replace New Canaan High School’s current Afternoon Instructional Program, or ‘AIP,’ which is held in the school’s media center. AIP is currently only available to four to 10 upperclassmen at a time, while Luizzi’s proposal will potentially provide full- or half-day instruction for six to 12 students in grades 8-12 based on their educational and therapeutic needs, they told members of the Town Council’s Education Committee. The idea of locating the alternative high school at Outback had been broached with a town committee in November and the program itself was presented to the Board of Education on Monday as part of the approximately $90.7 million proposed budget for New Canaan Public Schools next year. Throughout Luizzi and Pianka’s presentation, Education Committee members Tom Butterworth, Rich Townsend, Joe Paladino and Christa Kenin raised questions about the potential costs of the program and the suitability of the Outback as the program’s physical site.

Government

Despite Calls To Slow Down, Town Council by 7-3 Vote Approves Redesign of ‘Parterre Garden’ at Waveny

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Thanking the volunteers who conceived of the plan and vowed to fund it—and despite opposition from some professional landscape architects—New Canaan’s legislative body on Wednesday night voted in favor of a redesign of a prominent garden at Waveny. The Town Council—New Canaan’s land use authority—at its special meeting voted 7-3 in favor of what some have called a “substantial redesign” of the parterre or “upper garden” at the beloved town park, though a national organization and prominent local landscape architect cautioned against a hasty approval. During an emotionally charged meeting at Town Hall, councilmen expressed regret that the two parties holding different opinions on what is best for the garden—the New Canaan Garden Club on one side with the redesign, and Keith Simpson Associates and a Washington, D.C.-based coalition on the other, advocating for a historic restoration—could not find a middle ground. Councilman Joe Paladino said he would like to see an “expanded dialogue” between the two sides—calling the Garden Club “an agency with decades and decades” of service to the town, and Simpson himself “an individual with hundreds and hundreds of hours that have benefitted our town.”

Yet a respectful exchange of ideas did not appear to be forthcoming, and the Town Council after some discussion approved the Garden Club’s plan. Those voting in favor included Chairman John Engel, Vice Chairmen Sven Englund and Rich Townsend, Steve Karl, Christa Kenin, Cristina A. Ross and Liz Donovan.

Government

Committee: 20 Percent of Space in Town-Owned Buildings Is Currently Unused

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About 20 percent of space in town-owned, non-district buildings is now unused, and another 25 percent need major repairs, officials said last week. Just what the town should do about that empty space, and what capital maintenance it should invest in, are major questions facing New Canaan, according to Amy Murphy Carroll. “I think everything jumps out to you with just the amount of square footage that is vacant,” Carroll, a co-chair of the Town Building Evaluation & Use Committee, said during the group’s Sept. 28 special meeting. “And I will throw this out: I mean if things are not needed—and ‘need’ is a relative thing—sometimes it costs money to own more and the cost to tear down is not going to go down,” she added at the meeting, held in Town Hall.

Government

‘I Have To Say It’s Disgusting’: Town Committee Member Slams Waveny Pool Locker Rooms

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The locker rooms at Waveny Pool are dirty, smelly and stuffy, and some of those who use the popular facility end up elsewhere as a result, a member of a town-appointed committee said Thursday. Their poor condition “has been brought up before,” according to Christa Kenin, a member of the Town Building Evaluation & Use Committee. “I have tons – having spent the last six summers there, pretty much every single day—have a lot of knowledge on this matter, and there is a general great dissatisfaction with the locker rooms,” Kenin said during the public meeting—the committee’s first in three months—held at Town Hall. “I have to say it’s disgusting,” she said during the two-hour meeting. “I hate to use that word.

Government

Republicans Back Moynihan, Williams at Caucus; Butterworth, Engel, Townsend and Young for Town Council [UPDATED]

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New Canaan Republicans by a 10-vote margin on Tuesday backed Kevin Moynihan for the town’s highest elected office, voting 612-602 in favor of the Town Council member with incumbent First Selectman Rob Mallozzi coming in second at the party’s caucus, while voting for a mix of established and new candidates in down-ballot races. Here’s a table breaking down the results of the caucus, held at New Canaan High School (story continues below):

 

Selectman Nick Williams, a three-term incumbent, won party backing over challenger Christa Kenin, elected two years ago to the Town Council. And among Republicans vying for seats on the Town Council, the top-four vote-getters were incumbents John Engel and Penny Young, as well as two newcomers to elected office, Tom Butterworth and Rich Townsend, who garnered more votes than anyone. Asked about the prospect of a primary in September, given the close margin, Mallozzi said: “I am going to sit back and think about things. The 10-vote swing is not a big swing, so clearly there is a lot of support for both candidates in town.