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Vote Yes On The Referendum

A letter from Karen and Scott Mackle, Chairs of the New Canaan Citizens for Responsible Spending

No one can argue that our roads in New Canaan are in horrendous condition.   It seems like every road in New Canaan has pot holes, cracks, and is in desperate need of repair or repaving. 

As Tiger Mann has documented in the Town of New Canaan Pavement and Improvement Program and has stated publicly, the plan for 2011 will cost $2,030,000, the plan for 2012 will cost $2,000,000 and the backlog list will cost $993,000.  It is a total cost of $5,023,000 needed for 2011-2012 and we are only issuing a bond for $4,000,000.  

Tiger Mann also documented on this program and at the Town Council meeting that the cost of the sidewalks on Old Norwalk Road and Main Street are NOT INCLUDED in the $5,023,000 needed for road repair, road repaving and repair of existing sidewalks. Please review all the facts and VOTE YES at the referendum on Wednesday, April 27 at New Canaan High School from 6 a.m. – 8 p.m. Absentee ballots are available on the town website and contact the Town Clerk with any questions as soon as possible.  Check out our website here or e-mail us at ncresponsiblespending@gmail.com.

Vote yes for the $4 million dollars to be spent exclusively on road repair, repaving and repairing our existing sidewalks. Fix our roads first! Vote yes!
                       

Jon S. April 19, 2011 at 01:15 am
Did you even read this letter? Your "reply" makes me think you didn't. No one's asking to fix all the roads at once. And your suggestion that any citizens would ever need to reimburse the Town for "time and delay" on a project that was controversial enough to qualify for a referendum is just flat out wrong.
ncgadfly2 April 19, 2011 at 01:18 am
It's time for various people (and many chickens who won't use their real names) to stop villifying Tiger Mann for many of the problems and contencious issues that the Town is facing. He is a dedicated, honest, decent civil employee who has to follow orders from above to keep his job! If you have a problem with what Tiger does then send the blame and bile towards Jeb Walker, Republican first selectman who tells Tiger and everyone else in Town Hall what to do.
Jon S. April 19, 2011 at 01:23 am
No one in this thread is vilifying Tiger Mann. The authors of the letter point to his statements and work to support their point of view.
NCMom April 19, 2011 at 03:57 am
By voting YES you are saying that you have no confidence in the Town Council's (whom you voted in) ability to make these decisions. Talk about over micro-managing! Oh and referendum makers, thanks for delaying the road repavements that would have already been completed if not for this referendum delaying them (Crystal, Grace, etc). By the way, the sidewalks will be on Town land, so those of you who think its your property, get over it. Makes total sense to do this small safety-needed sidewalk extension at the same time as the road repaving there so as to save $ and reduce inconvenience.
Elmcrest April 19, 2011 at 04:12 am
Small safety-needed sidewalk extension?" Are you serious? Don't minimize your pet project. It's about a mile of all new sidewalk on an old, residential road that will require a lot of modifications to accommodate a sidewalk that is still unlikely to get much use. The delay is the result of the pro-sidewalk cabal lobbying behind their neighbors' backs to get its controversial funding attached to work that everyone agrees on: road repairs. By the way, if it's town land that the sidewalks will take, and the survey isn't complete yet for you to make that absolute guarantee, then I urge everyone to take their "vote no" yard signs and get them off of town-owned land and back into your own yards where they belong. You can't have it both ways. If it's not your property for a sidewalk, then it's not your property to post signs on.
Matt Stichnoth April 19, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Here's a link to a 5-minute slide show that lays out the Fix-Our-Roads-First position pretty clearly:
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/vlad11-957346-repave/
Serenity Now! April 19, 2011 at 12:29 pm
$600,000 or 30% of the 2011 paving budget of $2 million will go to the installation of sidewalks? Considering the terrible state of the roads, the sidewalk should be tabled until we repair the roads and the overall economy improves.
Ian Hobbs April 19, 2011 at 12:57 pm
For anyone interested in well researched facts regarding the sidewalks, please click on the below link:
http://ncsafestreetsandsidewalks.wordpress.com/
NC Skeptic April 19, 2011 at 01:26 pm
Ian--
Nice flow chart! And so clear and easy to understand. If that doesn't change a lot of minds I can't imagine what will.
ncgadfly2 April 19, 2011 at 01:49 pm
Enviromn: wake up and smell the coffee. Many people in Town don't have confidence in the Town Council, or the board of selectmen either (excluding Rob Mallozzi who speaks the truth). These people are politicians first, and concerned about taxpayers last.
JL April 19, 2011 at 02:37 pm
Who has said anything about anyone being a Tea Party follower? all we want is responsible leadership who spends the money raised to fix the roads on actually fixing the roads, not a new project. No need for the name calling. If we want more sidewalks, let's raise the money for building a sidewalk, not taking the money from other projects.
NCMom April 19, 2011 at 04:23 pm
Try $400K of the FOUR million.
Nancy Helle April 19, 2011 at 04:25 pm
Eugenie Diserio's Monday story on the Alliance of Business Professionals certainly captured the essence and the spirit of the organization. I always enjoy her stories regardless of the topic because she packs in a lot of information into very lively prose that's a pleasure to read. She is not only a good writer, but an excellent editor in these days when fewer and fewer people want to read a long article.
Nancy Helle
NCMom April 19, 2011 at 04:32 pm
Must be nice to be prescient "a sidewalk that is unlikely to get much use." It's a "MAIN" road into town, to schools, the library, etc. Judging buy the heavy pedestrain use South Avenue sidewalks get, once we can navigate Main St without risking getting hit by a car and KILLED, it's usage will likely be similar.
The sidewalk will connect a whole new underserved part of Town to downtown, the library, 4 schools, etc -- the Kiwanis park area, The NC Nursery School, Old Norwalk Rd (where people have DIED due to no sidewalks!), Holly, Old Kings, Marvin Ridge, Lincoln, Birchwood, Willowbrook, Cecil, roads backing up to the Transfer Station, as well as White Oak Shade and the roads off of that. Oh and perhaps you should get your YES signs off Town Property first!
NC Skeptic April 19, 2011 at 06:39 pm
Virtually the entire bottom end of Main Street is black Yes signs.
Richard P Vachula April 19, 2011 at 06:57 pm
ARE YOU FOR REAL -- NO ONE PAVES ROAD IN APRIL IT'S TO COLD -- SO HOW COULD IT BE DONE ALREADY - CHECK WITH YOUR MOM AND DAD THEY KNOW HOW THE REAL WORLD WORKS
NC Skeptic April 19, 2011 at 07:00 pm
Grading has begun on other streets, and new storms drains installed. That could be happening on Main Street too if not for these cussed sidewalks. Asphalt available on April 18.
NC Skeptic April 19, 2011 at 07:40 pm
G.A.S.:
No, they're on several properties, on both sides of street. And no fair complaining about sign-packing! The Hobbs's, near top of hill, looks like a gosh-darn shrine to No. Nay, the nays have it not!
marilyn April 19, 2011 at 09:06 pm
Don't be so fooled by the signs that are up. Yes, they are clustered here and there... but I know of one person who placed "NO" signs on unoccupied houses.
I am voting yes! A yes vote because I have no confidence in the town leadership, a yes vote because a sidewalk is a "nice" thing to do in a better economy, but not now. A yes vote because any way I look at it the sidewalk proposal will cost more that they are saying it will. We are all watching our spending carefully and we wish our elected leaders would do so too.
chris April 19, 2011 at 09:30 pm
A street divided .........Neighbor v neighbor.....main st looks rediculous.... doesnt look too friendly down there on Main St! Glad I dont live there. I thought I saw a blimp floating by with support sidewalks vote yes!
Alan Breslow April 19, 2011 at 10:33 pm
I am proud that people on both sides of this discussions are passionate and showing support for their cause. Whether it is 5 Nos or 5 Yes signs on their lawns, that is the beauty that the founding fathers placed in the constitution as free speech and democracy. The people in town have the right through referendum to ask for a special vote and have used the right granted to them. I believe it is called checks and balances.
I looked at the map that is linked above and it is a well done rendition. I subsequently drove down Main to see how disruptive it would be. What I saw was one major battle after another and that would significantly delay the repaving. As much as the connecting sidewalks look good on paper and on the web site, I just do not see that turning into a reasonable reality from the terrain it would need to cover. I still vote YES!!!
NCMom April 19, 2011 at 10:48 pm
"and many chickens who won't use their real names: ... um... "NCGadFly2" is your real name?
Cobie Graber April 26, 2011 at 07:55 pm
This is not a "slush fund" project - this is a cost-effective opportunity to invest in the infrastructure of our town and the safety of pedestrians. It is irresponsible to wait for a serious injury or death before addressing the dangerous situation on MAIN Street.
It is a slippery slope we are going down now that we know how easily one can force a $12,800 referendum (in the name of responsible spending) to get a do-over. The Board of Finance, Town Council and numerous citizens have invested countless hours weighing the facts before deciding to EXPLORE the option to extend the sidewalk. If you do not support the Town Council, please vote for change in the next election. Do not make the sidewalk a scapegoat by using the referendum to push a different agenda. Vote "No" because it is the best interest of the town as a whole.
Gregory A Smith April 26, 2011 at 08:07 pm
Well said Cobie!
G

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