Board of Selectmen

Officials: Trash Collector Charging New Canaan 30% More Than Neighboring Wilton

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New Canaan since July 1 has been working without a contract with a Stamford-based garbage and recycling collection company that’s charging the town about 30% more than neighboring Wilton for a similar service, officials said last week. The town had put its contract for pickup and disposal out to bid and City Carting was the only company that responded “and the prices went up from last time,” according to Department of Public Works Assistant Superintendent of Solid Waste Don Smith. “They are charging us $85 [per ton] right now, Wilton is being charged $65,” Smith told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held Nov. 19 at Town Hall. “The other towns have long-term [contracts] for different reasons so their prices may be better, or probably are better than ours.

Board of Selectmen

Selectmen Push for All-Way Stop at Weed and Elm

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Though police have said installing additional stop signs at Weed and Elm Streets would be dangerous, unnecessary and otherwise problematic, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved $6,000 for a study to determine the feasibility of doing so. In voicing support for installation of stop signs for northbound and southbound Weed Street motorists, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said the intersection has seen “a great deal of additional traffic” from pedestrians using a sidewalk that went in two springs ago connecting the top of Elm to Irwin Park and a “greenlink” footpath beyond the park that opened last summer. State Traffic Administration regulations developed under Connecticut law require that a proposed stop sign must be justified by a traffic engineering study in order to be installed a major street, and that stop signs never be used for speed control, among other provisions. Moynihan said that even if New Canaan weren’t required to commission such a study, “to me it is an obvious location for stop signs, not so much safety but regulating traffic because people don’t have the opportunity to alternate turns.”

“I’m not sure I know another intersection in town that is like this right now,” he said during the selectmen meeting, held at Town Hall. Moynihan added that Public Works Director Tiger Mann had relayed to him prior to the meeting that, under the federal document that informs state statute—the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices—municipalities must have a stop sign warranter’s or engineering study performed in order to put in a stop sign.

Animal 411

Selectmen Divided on Future of Animal Shelter in New Canaan 

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Members of the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voiced support for two different ways to move forward with the town’s Animal Control shelter, which long has been occupied in a former incinerator building at the dump. That brick structure soon will need a new roof, which two officials say would cost about $75,000 to $80,000 to replace. Selectman Nick Williams raised the issue recently, calling for New Canaan to find better quarters for the lost or abandoned animals that end up in the shelter. During the Board’s special meeting at Town Hall, Selectman Kit Devereaux said response to the issue has generated strong support from concerned residents, and that creation of a new shelter “would be a really great public-private partnership.”

“I want to know if there would be support for that,” Devereaux said. Williams said he agreed, and that he received several calls and emails from residents who want to help.

Board of Selectmen

Election 2019: NewCanaanite.com Endorsements for Selectmen

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[Note: Our endorsement for first selectman can be found here.]

In rising above party politics and at times checking New Canaan’s highest elected official to preserve a balance of power within the town government’s executive branch, Selectmen Kit Devereaux and Nick Williams each have earned re-election to the Board of Selectmen on Nov. 5. Williams, a career attorney, is a four-term incumbent Republican who had served previously on the Board of Education, including as chairman. Devereaux, a Democrat who retired from a career in finance, served for eight years apiece on the Town Council and Board of Finance, and after a shorter stint on the Parks & Recreation Commission challenged for the first selectman seat two years ago, falling just 33 votes short. She landed in a selectman seat and, as evident during last week’s Candidates Debate, Devereaux and Williams—though they don’t agree on every vote or matter that comes before the Board, for example, on moving forward on a possible sale of Vine Cottage or charging for disabled parking spaces at the train station—have forged a strong and effective working relationship.

News

Election 2019: Readers’ Letters of Endorsement

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The following letters of endorsement were submitted to NewCanaanite.com. ***

I urge the re-election of Brendan Hayes for the Board of Education. A Democrat with broad bipartisan support, Brendan was elected BOE Chairman last year by a 7-2 vote, including 4 of 6 Republicans. Brendan works hard, is a patient and thoughtful listener, and has the analytical skills one would expect of a highly successful investment banker. He’s a confident and effective advocate for New Canaan’s schools.