Government

First Selectman: Solarize New Canaan ‘Very Successful’

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[Editor’s Note: The following press release was issued by the Office of the First Selectman of New Canaan.]

First Selectman Rob Mallozzi announced today that the Solarize New Canaan program, which began in December and will end on Earth Day, April 22, has been very successful, more than doubling the amount of solar panel kilowatts in the town from 223 kW to 483 kW. He also noted that PurePoint Energy, the Norwalk-based solar provider, had just announced that, based on 250kW of solar panels to be installed under the program, New Canaan had achieved Tier 3 maximum savings are based on the kW of the particular installation but for the average size system there would be additional bonus savings of $2,200 from the already discounted pricing. Similar savings will go to everyone that committed during the program. In addition, activities associated with the program have educated numerous residents about both solar power and energy efficiency audits. The First Selectman stated, “I was very impressed by how Solarize New Canaan involved so many different groups in looking at ways to become more energy efficient.” In that regard he wanted to thank New Canaan High School, which was the venue for the launch of the program in December, as well as the New Canaan Nature Center and the New Canaan Library for providing venues for later events.

Government

Cellular Coverage Study Completed, To Be Released Tuesday; Gaps Identified, New Sites Proposed

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Based on a widely anticipated report that identifies where cell coverage in New Canaan is “substantially absent,” officials are recommending that the town turn down AT&T’s proposal for a tower at the Transfer Station until it’s clear how service improves with the activation of a cell site at the Norwalk Armory. The Utilities Commission on Monday night in formally approving and endorsing the findings of the “Wireless Market Study for the Town of New Canaan”—a report that should be available on the town’s municipal website some time on Tuesday—also is recommending that the town government “consider using municipal property, municipal rights-of-way, and/or encourage the use of appropriate, selected private properties and properties held in trust for the location of future cell sites in order to expeditiously address the coverage gaps located in the west, northwest, northeast and eastern parts of town.”

In reading from its formal resolution, the commission during its regular monthly meeting, held in the Brooks Room at the New Canaan Nature Center, underscored that any access to public property for a wireless carrier must follow a design that’s “minimally obtrusive and/or employs stealth cell site designs or technology.”

The resolution, endorsed 6-0 by the all-volunteer commission, follows a “drive test” that saw radio-engineering firm Centerline Solutions track cell coverage street-by-street in New Canaan in order to determine signal strength on a granular level—and make some estimates about how much cell service additionally will improve once towers at Silver Hill Hospital and the armory go live. (In fact, Centerline will perform an additional drive test in the eastern part of New Canaan once Silver Hill cell site is active—it will carry AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.)

Led by Commissioner Tom Tesluk, who earned praise on Monday from his colleagues in the group, the months-long effort positions New Canaan well to decide exactly where service is most lacking—a shortfall that the town should try to address, officials say, for public safety as well as quality of life. The commission in its resolution acknowledges that “proposals for erecting tall, obtrusive and visually destructive cell towers in residential neighborhoods are widely unpopular with residents.”

As noted below, the Centerline report evaluates 50 pieces of private and public land that, based on the company’s analysis, could best address gaps in cellular service coverage in New Canaan. According to Centerline’s report, cell coverage is “substantially absent”:

In the area west of Route 124 from Frogtown Road up to the state line with Pound Ridge;
Northwest, north and northeast of Country Club Road between Wydendown Road and the state line and the Wilton town line;
and on Valley Road and the eastern border of the town, stretching from the Merritt Parkway up to the state line at Vista.

Government

Cell Tower at Silver Hill Hospital to Go Live in Early 2015, Officials Estimate

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Cell service on the eastern side of New Canaan stands to improve in early 2015, officials say. The tower installed on Silver Hill Hospital’s campus likely will go live in the first quarter of next year, “at least according to AT&T,” Utilities Commission member Tom Tesluk said at the group’s meeting Monday night, held in the Sturgess Room at the New Canaan Nature Center. The timing at Silver Hill is important to the commission, in part, because the group is overseeing data collection through a “drive test” of town roads that has seen a specially outfitted vehicle record cell strength on a street-by-street basis, providing New Canaan with site-specific data that it’s never had before. That test is essentially finished and a draft map is in the works, Tesluk said, though there’s an open question about whether some areas—the south, southeast and perhaps northeast parts of town—ought to be re-tested once the tower at Silver Hill and a second planned tower, for the Norwalk Armory site, go live. Tesluk cautioned that it may take a while for the Armory tower to go up.

Government

Utilities Commission: Yankee Gas’ New Plan ‘Worse Than Before’

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The latest proposal from Yankee Gas is to expand into New Canaan through Ponus Ridge and Jelliff Mill Road—the third plan that the utility has proposed—to serve New Canaan High School, South School and Saxe Middle School as well as the YMCA and an estimated additional 120 customers along the route who would also have access to the gas, town officials said Monday. Yankee Gas might also serve Waveny Care Center and the Mormon church on South Avenue, members of the Utilities Commission said at their regular monthly meeting, held at the New Canaan Nature Center. The proposal is far smaller than what had been proposed initially, and doesn’t include running the line into downtown New Canaan until potentially in a later phase—an expansion that New Canaan’s highest elected official has called an absolute requirement. Commissioner Scott LaShelle said at the meeting that in three years of discussion, Yankee Gas “has yet to show a cost proposal to the town.” “They say things like, ‘Natural gas can save you 50 percent compared to oil.’ They’ve never given an actual proposal to say ‘Your cost with oil is X, and if based on a contract with us, you can get gas for this.’ They can’t guarantee the commodity price of gas,” he said.

Government

Town Officials on Yankee Gas: ‘The Whole Thing Just Smacks of Bait and Switch’

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Saying Yankee Gas hasn’t played straight with New Canaan, town officials on Monday night opened the possibility of restarting its negotiations—possibly with a different utility—to get natural gas not just to large municipal or commercial buildings but also to residents who want it. It’s been nearly four months since Yankee Gas declared itself “fully committed” to bringing natural gas to New Canaan this fall, and nearly three months since local government and business leaders at a public forum urged the utility to get residents more specific numbers and a timetable for conversion. Yet no concrete plan is in sight. Now, the utility is proposing to town officials a project far smaller in scope that seemingly could leave out private homes, members of the New Canaan Utilities Commission said at their regular meeting Monday night. “I just think we need a plan that reflects a commitment by a company, an energy solution that gives the town the best long-term value,” Commissioner Dan Welch said at the meeting, held in the Brooks Room of the New Canaan Nature Center.