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

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.

Town Council Approves 2 Percent Increase to Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2016

After some final trimming in some areas—notably, increases in police overtime and money for the schools—the Town Council on Wednesday voted to approve an operating budget of $141,211,088 for fiscal year 2016. The figure represents a 2 percent overall year-over-year increase in spending, including a 2.8 percent increase for the Board of Education. Calling this budget season the smoothest in recent memory—thanks in large part to the group’s leadership in Chairman Bill Walbert, Vice Chair Steve Karl and Secretary Kathleen Corbet, as well as Budget Director Jennifer Charneski and Finance Director Dawn Norton—councilmen also praised district officials for the granular level of insight they provided into spending on the schools. Even so, among themselves some debate emerged prior to the vote about a proposal to remove $100,000 from the district’s operating increase (which went through by a 7-4 vote). Calling it “intellectually unsatisfying” to have the funds removed arbitrarily with no explanation, particularly after so many months with multiple town bodies studying the budget, Councilman John Engel sought to preserve the school’s operating budget as it had been.

Town Council Eyes Narrower Scope to Listing of Waveny on National Historic Register

Raising questions about the exact scope of a proposal to list Waveny Park on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as some concerns about just what might follow from the designation, the Town Council on Wednesday night decided to postpone a vote for at least one more month. At one time, an effort led by the nonprofit New Canaan Preservation Alliance focused on listing just Waveny House and that century-old structure’s immediate environs on the National Register, though—with the thought that the park’s outbuildings and grounds, too, could benefit from an opportunity to get matching grants from the state for capital projects—the proposal has since expanded to include the entire park. But just what encompasses the “entire park” among the five contiguous parcels that form Waveny (see image at right) and whether New Canaan should seek to list all of it on the National Register in one shot are open questions, Town Council members said at their regular meeting, held in the Sturgess Room at the New Canaan Nature Center. Town Council member Kevin Moynihan said he was concerned about “potential negatives” of the listing, such as limiting what could be done on properties abutting Waveny if the designation was granted. “I recall that if you were following the Connecticut Siting Council’s approval of the Armory location for cell towers and the state historic preservation office used the Merritt Parkway’s designation on the National Register of Historic Places as a basis for restricting what could be done on state property adjacent to the National Historic place,” Moynihan said.

Did You Hear … ?

We heard that a New Canaan woman who learned last Monday (the eve of Election Day) that she needed to have open-heart surgery felt her vote was important enough that she arranged to cast an emergency absentee ballot. ***

Though about a dozen New Canaan constituents entered “write-in” candidates on their ballots, just one of the names put down on Election Day counted (write-in candidates must register ahead of time with the Secretary of the State). Apparently, two or three New Canaanites put down “None of the Above” in the governor’s category. ***

Word is that the owner of the Great Dane who on the morning of Sept. 17 broke free from its leash and attacked a far smaller dog (Cocker mix) on Elm Street is refusing to pay for the Cocker’s vet bill.