Town Council to Hold Special Meeting Thursday

For the second time in eight days, the will hold a special meeting to hear a presentation from the Long Range Planning Committee. The meeting, which will be held Thursday, March 31, was scheduled in response to a  that not enough public notice was given before a meeting held last Wednesday, March 23.

The LRPC, which is asking for a special appropriation of $175,000, was originally scheduled to present to the council on March 16, but chair Mark DeWaele removed it from the schedule because, he said, the agenda was too lengthy. On Monday, March 21, notice was posted on the town website that the presentation had been rescheduled for the 23rd.

 “The rationale of postponing the long range planning was that it was going to go on at 10 p.m at night,” DeWaele said at the March 23 meeting. “It would not be fair to the Town Council to go on at 10 at night and not fair to the presenters to go on at 10 at night and not fair to the public.”

Before Wagner spoke, council member John Emert moved that “the presentation be postponed and rescheduled to a date when an adequate notice of the presentation can be given to the people of New Canaan and the meeting can be combined with a public meeting.”

After discussion, Emert withdrew his motion. Before he did, council member Beth Jones addressed the strong negative reactions of some residents to the late notice.

“The problem is because we are in the middle of so many sensitive issues,” she said. “Not allowing the public to be heard leads to these conspiracy theories. The way to disperse that is with sunlight.

Council member Steve Karl said he was ready for the process to move forward.

“I’m getting weary sitting through these task forces and I’m anxious to see this road map,” he said.

Christine Wagner told Patch Monday that she is looking forward to hearing from residents.

 “We’re going to have a public session on Thursday night, we’re going to go through the presentation. If people have questions we want to hear them, we’re going to address them. We’ve had two dozen meetings. We take public comment and I’m happy to address questions. I don’t want people to leave with the wrong information. I would rather see correct information out there,” she said.

Wagner does not accept the argument that objections to the appropriation are about the money.  She said the number is too small, compared to the town’s operating budget of $122 million. 

“It’s a little difficult for me to believe it’s about the money,” she said. “I think if people are concerned about the dollars, it makes it more important to do the planning, the needs are there whether you want to ignore them or not.

Wagner said the town has an obligation to spend taxpayers’ money wisely, and a long range plan, formulated with input from residents will provide long overdue guidance. 

“This should have happened years ago and I think New Canaan should be planning,” she said. “You should have master planning, comprehensive planning and every once in a while stop and assess where you are.”

Wagner said the entire planning process will cost no more than $200,000. In August, the LRPC was given $25,000 to fund the first phase of its work.

And if the Town Council votes against the appropriation request?

“It will be a lost opportunity,” Wagner said. “We should have done this 20 years ago. If it doesn’t happen, it will be up to the First Selectman and town boards to figure out how to spend the money. Without public input and without a process and they’ll do whatever they do.”

 DeWaele said the council is scheduled to vote on the committee’s request  at its regular meeting on April 13.

The special meeting of the Town Council will be held Thursday, March 31, at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium. The meeting will also be televised on Channel 79.