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

Letter: Re-Elect Moynihan-Williams

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Editor, New Canaanite,

We all love New Canaan and want to preserve its rich heritage and historical charm. We have worked hard to provide a top-ranked educational system, an abundance of organizations, activities and amenities for people of all ages. Continuing pressures from Hartford have placed us in a precarious situation. Efforts to remedy the financial distress have resulted in increased taxes making it even more difficult for businesses to expand. Companies, jobs and retirees have all left for more tax-friendly states.

Board of Selectmen

Selectmen Approve Plan for Security Cameras at Waveny

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Acceding to a grassroots push to install cameras at Waveny as per a police recommendation, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voted 3-0 to solicit proposals for updating security systems in New Canaan. Responses to a RFP likely would come back in December or January, officials said, giving the town an idea of costs as New Canaan sets its spending plan for next fiscal year. The local mom and attorney behind an online petition this summer that kickstarted the town’s efforts, Hilary Ormond, said during an interview after the Board meeting that she was “cautiously optimistic” about the progress. “I want to see this through,” said Ormond, who attended the meeting at Town Hall as a guest. “I want to see it actually happen.

Board of Selectmen

‘A Dump Within a Dump’: Selectman Williams Calls for Improved Animal Shelter

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The town’s Animal Control shelter—which occupies about 800 square feet in a non-insulated former incinerator building at the dump—is not suitable to house dogs and other animals, Selectman Nick Williams said Tuesday. Given that the shelter soon will need a new roof, which officials estimate will cost $75,000 to $80,000, New Canaan should plan for an improved future facility or to outsource the care of lost or dumped animals, Williams said during the Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting. “To be clear, we are talking about maybe 50, 60, 70 animals a year going in there—it’s not high usage but it’s also not a great place to keep animals,” Williams said. The building’s “only use is as an animal shelter, which is a dump,” he said. “A dump within a dump—I’m sorry, a dump within a ‘Transfer Station,’ ” Williams said.

Election 2019

Letter: Former Resident Endorses Moynihan-Williams

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To the Editor:

As a former 30-year resident of New Canaan who served nine years on the Parks and Recreation Commission (including three years as chairman), I write to support the re-election of Kevin Moynihan for first selectman and Nick Williams for selectman. I knew Kevin and Nick for many years and I am familiar with their many years of community service on nonprofit boards and as members of the Town Council and Board of Education, respectively, and on the Board of Selectmen. Kevin and Nick followed the New Canaan tradition of serving the community with years of service before stepping up to higher office. Viewing the campaign from afar, it strikes me as odd that Kevin’s Democrat opponent has no record of prior community or government service in New Canaan. My understanding is that he moved to New Canaan only within the last five years and that he still works as a college professor in New Jersey.