Writer & Journalist
New Canaan Patch
New Canaan Patch, newcanaan.patch.com
Contributing Writer and Photographer
Tighter Budgets Mean New Canaan Police Driving Older Vehicles
by Annie McCarthy Dance
New Canaan Patch
http://newcanaan.patch.com/articles/tighter-budgets-mean-new-canaan-police-driving-older-vehicles
New Canaan Patch
http://newcanaan.patch.com/articles/tighter-budgets-mean-new-canaan-police-driving-older-vehicles
New Canaan's police department needs new patrol vehicles. The department's current fleet of 17 vehicles is comprised of Ford Explorers, Expeditions and Crown Victoria sedans. There's also one motorcycle and a 1988 Chevy truck that is used as a maintenance vehicle.
It might be okay for a family car to have more than 68,000 miles on the speedometer, but for an emergency vehicle that's high. When a police vehicle reaches 70,000-75,000 miles it's usually taken out of service, said Capt. Leon Krolikowski, who is in charge of Operations and Staff Services. "Three department vehicles are currently over that and a couple of vehicles are approaching that mileage mark."
There used to be a normal replacement schedule for new patrol vehicles, but tight budgets have thrown off the rotation. A couple of the Crown Victoria sedans are from model year 2003, said Krolikowski. "In years past we'd purchase between two to four vehicles a year," he said. "The past two years, because we've been cognizant of budget constraints, we purchased one new vehicle."
Purchasing a new car for the police department is complicated. "These aren't vehicles that the normal public drives," Krolikowski said. "They're always on the road.” The vehicles serve as mobile offices, and are in constant use. "The most critical thing to remember is that in case of emergencies, like what happened on Ponus Ridge, sometimes our officers don't have enough vehicles. There are three different shifts and an oncoming shift may have to wait for a vehicle."
Krolikowski does not think the age of the fleet compromises officers' or the public's safety. "Our emergency vehicles are on the road 24 hours a day, but our fleet is very safe and our officers are very safe," he said.
The model of choice for the department is the Ford Crown Victoria."There are other brands out there, but we haven't found any as reliable or efficient," Krolikowski said. He is open to exploring other options. It's just that there's a lot to consider when looking for a new patrol car.
"We test drove a Dodge Charger, but if we change a brand not all of the existing equipment will fit into the vehicle, which would be an additional expense," Krolikowski said.
Weather is another consideration when choosing a vehicle. Krolikowski said he's satisfied with the performance of the department's Ford Explorers on New Canaan's winter roads.
Like other people shopping for personal transportation, Krolikowski is exploring alternatives to traditional gas-powered vehicles. "In the future we may look at electric vehicles, or more fuel efficient, environmentally friendly [vehicles]," he said, "but they may not be adequate electrically to run our lights and equipment."
Krolikowski will begin looking at numbers and create a budget in the fall. Then he'll start making presentations to the various town committees that will decide what New Canaan taxpayers can and can't afford. It's a familiar story in this slow economy -- with a few extra bells and whistles.
Dog Days of Summer event in New Canaan
Dog Days of Summer, held on August 29, 2010 was a howling success
Photos published on New Canaan Patch August 30, 2010
http://newcanaan.patch.com/articles/canines-flock-to-new-canaan-for-dog-days-of-summer
Photos published on New Canaan Patch August 30, 2010
http://newcanaan.patch.com/articles/canines-flock-to-new-canaan-for-dog-days-of-summer
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New Canaan's Animal Shelter is Homeless Itself
by Annie McCarthy Dance
New Canaan Patch
http://newcanaan.patch.com/articles/new-canaans-animal-shelter-is-homeless-itself
Strays and Others struggles to manage without a permanent home of its own
For every pet in New Canaan that has a loving family, there are plenty more that are homeless. And, while it continues to seek homes for the unfortunate animals, New Canaan's Strays and Others is also looking for a permanent home for itself. "We desperately need to find, at the very least, a location to store our supplies and set up a small office," said Claudia Weber, the organization's founder. "Right now we don't have that."
As one of the oldest rescue groups in Fairfield County, Strays and Others, a no-kill shelter, has a long history. The organization is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. "Our organization was created as an indirect result of a fire in New Canaan in 1983 where two elderly people perished along with 20 of their 40 cats," said Weber, who relies solely on volunteers to run the group. "We receive no financial support from the town, nor does the town offer us any physical space to operate from," Weber said. "This has become increasingly difficult because the demand for our services has grown so much that our resources have been stretched sometimes beyond what we can handle."
Weber said cats and dogs aren't the only animals Strays and Others help. They also have aided species from birds to horses. One of the biggest challenges for her organization is housing the stray animals until they find permanent homes. "There are so many ways people can help," said Weber. "Become a foster home, adopt a pet, make a financial donation, volunteer time, organize a fundraiser [or] encourage your veterinarian to donate some of their services and time."
Despite Strays and Others' proactive steps toward helping animals without a home, the organization continues to be stymied by their own homelessness. "Right now our greatest need is for serious fundraising and finding a permanent home of our own," said Weber.
On Sunday, August 29, Strays and Others will host a "fun-raiser" at New Canaan's Dog Days of Summer, to raise funds for the shelter as well as provide information about how to help or adopt stray animals.
Despite the challenges she's facing, Weber is encouraged by one trend: increasingly, residents are registering rescue dogs as well as purebred pets. "The Labrador Retriever is top dog in New Canaan, with it being almost evenly split between black and yellow Labradors," Weber said. "Happily, we are seeing more and more rescue dogs being licensed by new adoptive owners. It's really great."
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Having Fun at Irwin Park is About to Get Easier
by Annie McCarthy Dance
New Canaan Patch
http://newcanaan.patch.com/articles/having-fun-at-irwin-park-is-about-to-get-easier
The Parks and Recreation Commission approved a special permit to expedite the process of hosting events at Irwin Park.
Town residents wanting to host recreational events at Irwin Park, such as picnics and wiffle ball games, will have a much easier time if the Parks and Recreation Commission get their way. The commission approved a special permit for Irwin Park Wednesday evening, a measure that will eliminate the difficult, multi-step process required by residents in the past. "The special permit process is supposed to be less arduous," said Parks and Recreation Chairman Scott Gress. "[It will] streamline the ability to have events in the park."
Irwin Park tends to be a misnomer, as the park is still zoned as a residential area. This classification makes hosting recreational events require special permission from both the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Planning & Zoning Commission. The process of obtaining permits from both departments can be lengthy and inconvenient, according to Parks and Recreation.
Other issues discussed at Wednesday evening's meeting, were concerns about tree coverage, baseball backstops, size of bleachers, lighting and signage at Irwin Park. "The deed to the property has restrictions to the number of signs at the park," explained town attorney Chris Jarboe. "Baseball backstops will be no higher than 10 feet… The town installed 34 trees to mitigate neighbors' views of the backstops."
Some residents feel there should be no bleachers. But for kids' baseball games, when many grandparents attend, seasonal bleachers with three levels of seats will be brought in. Five-level bleacher seats will not be used since they would require fencing to ensure no one falls off.
Neighbors have also taken issue with the level of shrubs, tree screening and the brightness of outdoor lights at Irwin Park. All of which are issues that go hand-in-hand with having a park, explained members of the Parks and Recreation Commission. The next step for the special permit is to be discussed by the Town Council and open it up for public hearings in September.
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