Government

Local Tree Company To Address Pines That Pose Safety Concern along Irwin Park

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Members of the Board of Selectmen at their most recent meeting voted unanimously to approve a contract with a well-established, local tree care company to address what officials say has become a safety concern along a heavily used road and public park. Hutchinson Tree Care Specialists Inc. will prune a long row of tall pine trees fronting Irwin Park along Wahackme Road following a 3-0 vote at the board’s Jan. 23 meeting. Bob Horan told the board that he’s been watching the trees “for a while.”

“The trees are loaded with dead and broken branches and more importantly there are a lot of invasive vines growing up in the crowns of the trees,” Horan said at the meeting, held in Town Hall. “For safety, for the future health of the trees and aesthetically, it’s a project that I have been kind of keeping an eye on.”

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kit Devereaux and Nick Williams approved the $9,100 contract.

Government

Selectman Urges Town To Ensure Competitive Bids Are Sought for Tree-Pruning Job At Irwin

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One of New Canaan’s highest elected officials on Tuesday opened a discussion about whether the town secures multiple bids for work prior to approving contracts. Selectman Kit Devereaux prior to voting in favor of a $4,420 contract with a Norwalk-based company to prune apple trees on the front lawn of Irwin Park asked during a regular Board of Selectmen meeting: “When something is that large, do we get a second opinion? Second bid?”

Tree Warden Bob Horan was not in attendance at the meeting, held in Town Hall. The town’s administrative officer, Tom Stadler, said other tree work typically is bid but that he didn’t know whether this particular item had been. It’s possible that the company, called The Care of Trees, are specialists, Stadler said.

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

New Canaan Woman Proposes Bocce Courts for Irwin Park, Seeks To Convince Garden Club

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About one year after a similar citizen-led effort at Mead Park stalled for lack of funds, a New Canaan woman on Wednesday night proposed to town officials that bocce courts be installed at Irwin. Liz Orteig told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission at their regular meeting that creating a place for the popular game would speak to New Canaan’s significant Italian heritage and that those opposed to the concept may be won over by a unique design. “I have actually talked to some of the Garden Club ladies—they seem very resistant to the idea,” Orteig said at the meeting, held in Lapham Community Center. “I would like a bocce court and I also thought that I could possibly get the Garden Club ladies on board by proposing that they design something very, very unique and special because they are really into the landscape and if we make a real feature out of it, they may be able to be persuaded. That is my whole contention.

Around Town

‘Enjoy the Fruits of New Canaan’: High Marks for New Sidewalk Connecting Elm Street to Irwin Park (That Sign, Though)

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New Canaan residents say they’re pleased with the town’s efforts and believe that it is an improvement over the narrow grass verge that had paralleled Weed Street in terms of aesthetics, use and safety. New Canaan resident Kristin Redaelli, while pushing her child in a stroller on Wednesday morning, said that the sidewalk is a major improvement. “It’s very convenient, safe for kids, and great to get to town now,” she said. “[On the grass], it was harder to push a stroller. Often times, I would have to jump on the road, and then I was a little nervous with the cars because they were going pretty fast.”

Kelly Leather, who was walking her dog, said that the sidewalk allows her to feel safer.