Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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It’s Spirit Week at New Canaan High School, and Tuesday was “Costume Day.” The photos above were snapped at ABC House of New Canaan Tuesday morning (thanks, John). ABC House is set to hold its 42 annual fundraiser at the Country Club of New Canaan. The gala will include a live auction and raffle, and will be attended by ABC scholars, their families and host families. Here’s more information on the event and how to get tickets. ***

Boston, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, Tulsa, Detroit … New Canaan.

Government

Officials Dedicate ‘New’ Town Hall with Ribbon-Cutting, Tours [VIDEO]

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1st Selectman Rob Mallozzi Cuts Ribbon on New Town Hall 9 12 15
Uploaded by Michael Dinan on 2015-09-12. Scores of New Canaanites ventured downtown Saturday to attend an official dedication of the newly renovated and expanded Town Hall, a widely anticipated project totaling about $18 million that in recent weeks has seen municipal departments reassemble under a single roof for the first time in nearly two years. Members of the volunteer group that steered and oversaw the project to its completion, Town Hall Building Committee III—Michael Anthony, Chairman (and new father-in-law) Michael Avgerinos, Neil Budnick, Kathleen Corbet, John Goodwin, Vice Chairman Randy Salvatore and Rob Mallozzi—officially welcomed the community to its spick-and-span government building with a ribbon-cutting out front. Mallozzi, New Canaan’s first selectman, called it a “fabulous day for our community.”

“Lots of smiles on display,” Mallozzi said. “The celebration of the preservation and addition to our Town Hall will be a special memory for all of us.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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Scroll through the gallery above to view five new signs and awnings that soon will appear in downtown New Canaan, following approval Tuesday night by the Planning & Zoning Commission. ***

“I’m for toilet equality.”—That’s what Town Hall Building Committee member Kathleen Corbet had to say about a matter that came to the forefront in the weeks after Town Hall reopened following an $18 million renovation and expansion. The architects on the project created two water closets but no urinals in the men’s rooms, citing space and compliance issues. For the record, fellow committee member Neil Budnick said: “I don’t see what the big deal is.”

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A mixed-breed dog struck by a car near the intersection of Oenoke Ridge and Country Club Roads last Wednesday around 2:15 p.m. appears to be faring OK after the animal was brought to Cornell Veterinary Hospital in Stamford. ***

This week, 31 New Canaan kids attended a basketball camp in Stroudsburg, Pa.

Government

TABLE: Town Hall Building Project To Come In about $100,000 Under Budget

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Officials say the Town Hall renovation and expansion work now wrapping up is on track to come in about $100,000 under the $18 million total budgeted for construction and soft costs. As of June 30, the volunteer committee of residents and town officials overseeing the project say about $156,000 was left to spend from what New Canaan had bonded two years ago. With some final “punch-list” and other items (such as a $21,000 table for the large meeting room) still to be counted against that figure, best estimates as of Monday night were that the project will finish about $100,000 under budget, according to Michael Pastore, director of the New Canaan Department of Public Works. “Every dollar that has been spent is accounted for,” Pastore said at a meeting of the Town Hall Building Committee, held in the Lamb Room at New Canaan Library. Here’s a table that breaks down the budgeted and estimated final costs by major line items:

 

Kathleen Corbet, a member of the committee who serves at secretary on the Town Council, commended Pastore for his diligence.

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.