Town officials are looking into whether the organic material dredged from Mead and Mill Ponds—long piled near the southeast corner of Waveny, in an open area known as the “corn field”—could be treated and sold at a profit for municipal coffers.
It isn’t clear just how much of the approximately 30,000 total yards of material could be screened and sold—say, upwards of $15 per cubic yard—because some of it may be too “bony” (too many rocks) or too organic, said Tiger Mann, assistant director of the New Canaan Department of Public Works and senior engineer for the town.
The DPW is putting together a proposal that will include a cost-benefit analysis—how much would it cost to screen the dredged material (mostly decomposed leaves) and then how much could New Canaan fetch for it, Mann said.
When developed, the proposal would need backing from the Park & Recreation Commission and Board of Selectmen (approving the contract for the screener and revised cost of selling the material).
Park & Recreation Commissioner Doug Richardson at the group’s monthly meeting on Thursday said one contractor has been paying about $8 per yard for 4,000 yards of unscreened material.
The screening itself is complicated, Richardson said.
The dredged material may be “worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to the town, but it’s not a simple process,” he said at the meeting, held in Lapham Community Center.
Speaking of the corn field itself, Commission Chair Sally Campbell said the group should investigate whether it may be possible to establish a community garden there, perhaps for high school class use.
On Friday, June 13 Public Works cleared brush along the area extending from the Kiwanis Park sign all the way down to the Merrie Bee Cabin. This area has been neglected for decades and was, and still is, in much need of a “facelift”.
Monies are spent for Waveny, Mead and Irwin Parks but a fraction is spent on Kiwanis Park in comparison.
Kiwanis Park is an active park throughout the year. Among the thousands of visitors each year are: neighborhood children, NCCNS teachers, parents and students, camp programs, Girl Scouts and Brownies throughout Fairfield County, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Y summer camps, NCCNS campers, hundreds of people who purchase trees from the Exchange Club to support our local charities, dog walkers, joggers, and, of course, parents, grandparents and children who come to relax in the beach and play in the playground.
I invite the BOS, Town Council, Park + Rec Commission to stop by Kiwanis Park NOW and imagine what this little park could be.
How about tilling the newly cleared brushy area, use some of the material from the dredged ponds, if needed, and spread some grass seeds instead of letting the brush grow back year after year?
About 8 years ago, my then 10 year old son and I cleared brush, leveled, raked and spread grass seed along a large stretch of land where the summer campers are dropped off and picked up. Once covered with poison ivy and strewn with trash the area now looks like a park. It’s that wonderful “clean area” grassy area near the beach pavilion and Merrie Bee Cabin. It took months for the two of us to do it with our rakes (coupled with the fact that both of us severely allergic to poison ivy).
In just a few days Public Works with their commercial equipment, could transform this park. The results will last for generations to come and will enhance the appearance of this park.
When my son and I completed the job, lifeguards, campers, and visitors to Kiwanis Park remarked how beautiful the park looked. All thought the Town did a great job.
So, please, BOS, Park + Rec Commission, Public Works and New Canaan residents come visit Kiwanis Park and let’s see what we can do!