Around Town

Year-Long Jelliff Mill Bridge Replacement Project To Start in September; Alternating One-Way Traffic

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Seven years after discussions started and four months after the state issued approval to solicit bids for the widely anticipated replacement of Jelliff Mill Bridge, town officials said this week that they’re poised to start work on the project. The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved a $3,256,467 —New Canaan will pay 20 percent or about $651,000 of that, with the state making up the balance—for Hudson, Mass.-based New England Infrastructure, Inc. to begin the work later this summer or early fall and wrap up in late-2017, according to officials from the Department of Public Works. “Construction will begin in 6-8 weeks,” Public Works Director Michael Pastore told NewCanaanite.com. “This will be towards the end of September.”

Because of the bridge’s susceptibility to erosion, changes are needed as soon as possible. Once construction is underway, motorists will face alternating one-way traffic at the bridge, DPW officials said.

Government

Selectmen Approve Installation of New Sound Barrier for Chillers at Town Hall

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The Board of Selectmen at its most recent meeting unanimously approved a request from the Department of Public Works that ultimately will reduce the noise levels created by the chiller sound barriers on the south side of Town Hall. New Canaan will enter contracts with Hoover Treated Wood Products and Gannon Rustic Fences at a total cost of $18,191. The sound barrier closes the loop on an ongoing dispute between the town and next-door neighbor Cody Real Estate. When Town Hall was renovated and expanded, the chillers were placed on the south side of the building, adjacent to commercial buildings owned by Cody. The company said that the noisiness of the chillers were prohibitively loud, especially if the commercial properties were to be developed to include second-floor residential units.

Around Town

Propane Tanks for Waveny Pool Water Heaters Approved; New Amenity On Track for Memorial Day Weekend Opening

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Town officials on Tuesday approved a plan to bury three propane tanks around Waveny Pool as a first step toward installing water heaters for the upcoming season—a widely anticipated amenity at the popular facility. The Board of Selectmen by a 3-0 vote approved a $15,000 contract between the New Canaan Department of Public Works and Danbury-based Mitchell Gas to install two 1,000-gallon tanks to serve the main pool at Waveny, and a 250-gallon tank for the kiddie pool, according to Joe Zagarenski, senior engineer with the DPW. The funds had been part of an allowance that came with the Waveny Pool’s original approval, he said. The heaters are to be delivered this week and the water should be heated in time for the Waveny Pool’s Memorial Day weekend opening, Recreation Director Steve Benko said during the selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall. Selectman Nick Williams called Waveny Pool a “real success story” and noted that Benko and the Park & Recreation Commission had run with a suggestion from the selectmen to re-examine its original economic model.

Government

Town Officials Appropriate $13,650 for Traffic Study in Advance of Locust Avenue Parking Deck Construction

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Town officials on Tuesday appropriated funds for a traffic study that’s expected to kickstart in earnest the creation of a widely anticipated parking deck at the Locust Avenue Lot. On a backburner for more than two years during the renovation and expansion of Town Hall, plans call for a parking tier accessible from Heritage Hill Road with a non-connected lower level that feeds onto Locust Avenue—a project that would add 89 overall spaces to the lot. There would be no connecting ramp between the two levels—installing one would cost the structure about 20 spaces—and the upper deck would meet a need for permitted parking for town employees and commuters, with the lower level serving downtown visitors, according to Joe Zagarenski, senior engineer in the Department of Public Works. The $13,650 appropriated this week—to Cheshire-based consulting firm Milone & MacBroom—will pay for an updated traffic study, First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said during the Board of Selectmen’s meeting, held at Town Hall. “One of the things we had heard was that the traffic study we had done in 2005-2006 was done at a certain time of the year” that did not capture downtown New Canaan during a realistically active time, Mallozzi said.

Government

Public Works: New Parking Deck at Locust Avenue Lot Could Be in Place by Thanksgiving 2016

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Town officials said Wednesday that they could start construction on a widely anticipated parking deck at the Locust Avenue Lot next summer with a plan to have it finished and open by Thanksgiving 2016. The new parking deck would add about 86 spaces to the now 150-space lot, and would be well-lit, with a pocket park up alongside it, good traffic flow and an aesthetically pleasing appearance, members of the New Canaan Department of Public Works told the Town Council at that group’s regular meeting. Conceptual plans have been drawn up for a structure that would cost about $3.75 million to build, a traffic study is in hand and the property presents no environmental issues, DPW Director Michael Pastore said at the meeting, held in the Sturgess Room at the New Canaan Nature Center. The structure would have two independent levels, with an at-grade level accessible by Locust Avenue and a deck that is fed by a leg coming off of Heritage Hill Road, Pastore said. “The big thing with structure is that it would be open, and the whole design is to keep with the P&Z Village District Guidelines for the aesthetics and appearance of this,” he said.