Chairmans View

Chairman’s View: Town inconsistent when partnering with private funding SEPTEMBER 13, 2018 BY NEW CANAAN ADVERTISER [UPDATED WITH CORRECTION Sept. 14.] Town councilman Bill Bach gave us the Bach amendment in 1997 (Article 2, Chap. 125 of the Town Code) outlining how New Canaan should think about capital projects. In short: “Take no donation that comes with an […]

Chairman’s View: Do the projects that do not increase debt AUGUST 23, 2018 BY NEW CANAAN TOWN COUNCIL CHAIRMAN JOHN ENGEL Affordable housing, senior housing, workforce housing are all needed in New Canaan. Should housing be a concern of the Town Council? Yes, repurposing old buildings as housing begins an intricate calculus getting the Town out of […]

Chairman’s View: Connecticut needs team of rivals to outrun the bear AUGUST 9, 2018 BY JOHN ENGEL. CHAIRMAN, TOWN COUNCIL To borrow from an old joke, “How fast do you need to run to survive a charging bear?”  Connecticut does not need to outrun the bear. We need to outrun New York and New Jersey. Signs of […]

Chairman’s View: Expect a high-density development on Pine Street JULY 12, 2018 BY JOHN ENGEL By John Engel Town Council Chairman The Beval Saddlery building at 50 Pine Street and two adjacent brick buildings may have been sold to a developer. My purpose is not to report on a rumor. But, if it has not sold then it will […]

Chairman’s View: Seeking more transparency from school leaders JUNE 6, 2018 BY BY JOHN ENGEL, TOWN COUNCIL CHAIRMAN, AND CRISTINA A. ROSS, TOWN COUNCIL When the Town Council met earlier this year to review the upcoming Board of Education budget for 2018-19, we paid great respect to the challenge they face in providing excellence within 2% guidance […]

Chairman’s View: Urging school board to resolve security camera issue MAY 24, 2018 BY NEW CANAAN TOWN COUNCIL CHAIRMAN JOHN ENGEL I wrote this column in February and pulled it before publication, because I thought we were making progress. Instead I wrote to the superintendent of schools on Feb. 27. I received no reply.  For the last […]

Chairman’s View: Yes to GreenLink; no to ‘sharp elbows’New APRIL 26, 2018 BY NEW CANAAN ADVERTISER “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” –John Muir (1912) Fifty New Canaan residents gathered yesterday (Sunday) to open a GreenLink trail more […]

Town Council faces buildings, Board of Education MARCH 21, 2018 BY JOHN ENGEL, CHAIRMAN, NEW CANAAN TOWN COUNCIL The Town Council choked over a $1 million “placeholder” in the budget to build a “bird-cage” elevator and improve bathrooms at Waveny House. Why was this request shut down so quickly when $500,000 for the Police Department has met […]

Moynihan, Engel pen letter to avoid 1802 Cobbler’s house’s demolition APRIL 13, 2018 BY GRACE DUFFIELD First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Town Council Chairman John Engel signed a letter to the First District Water Department formally expressing interest in the cobbler’s house at 1124 Valley Road.  The letter states its goal to encourage the owners, First District […]

“Somewhere along the line that’s too much, way too much” BOE Chairman Henry Coleman said on March 28, 1974 about the school budget of $8 million, now $90 million in 2019. That is a 5.65% compound annual growth rate. Inflation over the same period was 3.65%. The main reason for this is the compounding effect […]

Darien schools are requesting a budget increase of 2.34% (including the new tuba). Wilton’s school board is asking for 2.24%. Note, in the last 3 years Wilton has averaged less than a 1% per year. The Stamford public schools requested an increase of 1.48% after coming in last year at 2.2%. Stamford’s low increase was […]

Its getting harder and harder to find woods and meadows where a dog can roam off-leash. Under Article 6, Section 8 of the Town Charter, dogs aren’t allowed off-leash anywherein New Canaan public parks except in Spencer’s Run at Waveny. That includes the Bristow Bird Sanctuary, whose deed requires it “forever [be] maintained as a Bird Sanctuary and Wildwood Preserve […]

I’ll begin with 2018 New Year’s Resolutions from Town Council members: Penny Young wrote, “Keep an open-mind and listen, listen, listen… the path forward will become evident.I will be mindful of our responsibility to preserve, maintain, and address the physical and operational needs of one of our most valuable resources— our buildings.” Elizabeth Gores-Donovan said, “Top priority […]

By John Engel Town Council Chairman Christmas is behind us. Before the New Year’s excitement I’ll take this opportunity to thank some volunteers. Government To Bill Walbert and John Sheffield, departing chairmen of the Town Council and Board of Finance. Neither asked for the job of chairman. John is a fiscal conservative: voted against an […]