Government

‘This Is a Massive Building’: Neighbors Voice Concerns Over Proposed Athletic Facility at New Canaan Country School

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Saying a proposed new athletic facility at New Canaan Country School would loom too close to their property line as currently envisioned, neighbors of the private Frogtown Road institution are calling on officials to deny an application now before the town. To be located east and a bit further away from Frogtown Road from an existing and outdated facility that will be razed, the new structure would sit 40 feet from the eastern property line—a distance that, though it technically meets the setback requirement of 35 feet laid out in the New Canaan Zoning Regulations, is at “astonishingly close range” to the residential property that’s been in George Moore’s family since about 1938, he said. “We respectfully ask that the New Canaan Planning & Zoning board reject this proposal,” Moore told members of the P&Z Commission at their Jan. 30 regular meeting, held at Town Hall. “We feel like this is a real affront to our family’s property and property value.

Around Town

Eversource: New Canaan Residents Can Influence Natural Gas Expansion Plan In Out Years

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Following an initial roll-out of natural gas in New Canaan through 2020—a three-phase project starting next year that will see a trunk line come into town from Stamford, up South Avenue to the business district and then out to East School, with nearby residences along the way—property owners themselves can influence just where the utility brings natural gas, officials say. For Eversource—at least through 2024, under a state-backed expansion plan—the question of where in New Canaan the gas lines will go is in some ways a math equation, according to John Ferrelli, the company’s Waterbury-based supervisor of business account services: The cost of installation must be offset by the load delivered. “Customer demand will dictate the path of opportunity beyond the initial outline, as well as new construction and conversions,” Ferrelli told members of the Town Council at their regular meeting. “Future growth potential will be driven by customer interest, customer demand,” Ferrelli said at the July 19 meeting, held at Town Hall. “And that’s where the company will look to expand [starting in 2020].

Business

Oil Company: Rising Number of New Canaanites Are Reducing Emissions with ‘Bio-Fuel’ Heating

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An increasing number of New Canaanites are turning toward a more environmentally friendly type of home heating oil—a change that’s had a measurably positive impact on emissions, according to a company with local ties that offers the product. About 300 New Canaan customers of Westmore Fuel now are using bio-fuel, according to company officials. A blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent ultra-low conventional heating oil, the “BioHeat”-brand product is said by Westmore to be cleaner than natural gas and has the following environmental impact locally:

 

A Greenwich-based business that had been founded in Port Chester, N.Y. by the Bologna family, Westmore began as an ice and coal provider. This year, 2017, marks Westmore’s 70th year offering fuel oil and in the last decade it has transitioned to bio-fuel exclusively—a singular commitment to the earth-friendly product that the company’s oil delivery manager, New Canaan resident Sean Lytle, said reflects the company’s pursuit of “the latest and greatest [products] out there.”

“We are less reliant on foreign oil and the biggest thing is that we are figuring out how to make an environmental impact,” Lytle told NewCanaanite.com on a recent morning. “The biggest competitor [to bio-fuel] is natural gas, and when you factor in BioHeat and ultra-low sulfur diesel, it [bio-fuel] burns much cleaner and much safer.”

Westmore has its own 1.2 million-gallon terminal with BioHeat fuel in Westchester, and offers the product at a 20 cent-per-gallon tax incentive in New York State.

News

New Canaan Country School Holds Closing Ceremonies for 47 Graduating Ninth-Graders

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On a picture-perfect Wednesday morning, 47 ninth-grade graduates walked across a stage at New Canaan Country School to receive their diplomas during the 1916-founded private school’s annual closing exercises. Peter O’Neill, Interim Head of School at NCCS, told the students, relatives and friends gathered for the Frogtown Road school’s annual ceremony that “there are so many superlatives [he] could put out there [to describe the class of 2015], but let it just be said that [he] considers them [his] rock stars.”

Two students of the class of 2015, Ian Murphy of Wilton and Avery York of Norwalk, addressed the class with a class salutation and reflection, respectively. Murphy, who has been attending the school since kindergarten, is an athlete of the soccer field, a cross country runner and member of the school’s Leadership Council and Discipline Committee. “It’s truly an honor to be up here right now and to be part of such an amazing class and of course we all couldn’t be up here without the help and guidance of our teachers, parents, grandparents, and anyone else deserving recognition,” Murphy said in his speech. “We thank you dearly for all you have done.

Business

Here are 28 Current New Canaan Chamber Member Businesses That Also Belonged in Back in ’82

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Here’s a short list of sweeping economic crises that have affected, directly or indirectly, every U.S. business since 1982: Black Monday, savings and loan crisis, subprime mortgage crisis and Great Recession. Locally, success in business involves nimbleness and acumen, and far more than that—interpersonal skills, involvement, diligence and imagination. Recently, the head of an organization that’s central for many local businesses, the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, came by chance across a list of 28 current members that also were members back in 1982. “They’ve supported the chamber, supported the town and been here for a long, long time,” Executive Director Tucker Murphy said. “We want to congratulate them on that.”

Here’s the list, in alphabetical order (not every single business has been a continuous member of the chamber, though many—including Bob’s Sports, Karl Chevrolet, Walter Stewart’s and Stewart’s Spirits—have been):

Ann Taylor
Baskin Robbins
Bob’s Sports
Brotherhood & Higley
Congregational Church
Family Britches
Franco’s Wine
Healthfare
Hersam Acorn- New Canaan Advertiser
Hoyt Funeral Home
Hutchinson Tree Company

Karl Chevrolet
League of Women Voters
Merrill Lynch
New Canaan Board of Realtors
New Canaan Community Nursery School
New Canaan Country School
New Canaan Library
New Canaan Nature Center
Pennyweights
Roger Sherman Inn
Silvermine Arts Guild
Stewart’s Spirits
Taylor’s Luggage
Visiting Nurse Association of New Canaan
Walter Stewart’s
Waveny Care Center
Whitney Shop

Ties to the local chamber run very deep for businesses such as Walter Stewart’s, recently recognized as Business of the Year.