In-depth news for Southwest Connecticut
Subscribe
The What

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut

The What is your look around southwest Connecticut for the week of October 10.

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut
We can't believe it's already October 10! Feels like it was just summer. (Photo by Kelly Prinz)

Monday, October 10

Happy Monday! This week, we’ll be at the Family and Children’s Agency Community Block Party on Saturday, October 15. The nonprofit is celebrating 80 years of “providing programs for children, families, adults, and seniors that have impacted the lives of more than a million of our neighbors in need,” and we’re excited to be there as part of the day. Hope to see you there!

Here’s a recap of what happened this past week.

Let’s see what’s on tap for the week ahead.

Stamford

Mayor Caroline Simmons withdrew the city’s plans for the Glenbrook Community Center, CT Examiner reported last week. The future of the center was a contentious debate in the city for the past few weeks. The mayor had supported a plan to build affordable housing on the site, provide a few thousand square feet of community space, and renovate the historic structure.

However, members of the community and multiple members of the Board of Representatives opposed the plan and fought against the sale of the property in an effort to keep the property a community center. With the mayor withdrawing the plans, however, the future is uncertain. The center had been closed since around the start of the pandemic. There have been multiple ideas discussed for the site, but nothing is set for its future right now.

The Board of Finance will meet on Thursday, October 13 at 7 p.m. and review requests for funding, including a plan to use about $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for storm drains, catch basins and curbs; a plan to add an accountant for the school district to focus on the district’s school construction plans; and a proposal to distribute funds from the National Opioid Settlement to go toward youth prevention activities.  

Other meetings this week include:

Norwalk

Due to historically low levels of rainfall, Mayor Harry Rilling has declared a water emergency in the city and urged residents and businesses to curb their water usage.

"While we’ve received more rain recently, it has not been enough to replenish the water supplies we need,” Rilling said in a statement. “In July, I issued a Drought Advisory and asked everyone to do their part to conserve water given the lack of rainfall and your efforts made a noticeable difference. However, the persistent lack of rainfall has put our water resources in a precarious position. I am now issuing mandatory water conservation measures to prevent a much larger water crisis.”

On average, the city usually receives more than 55 inches of rain per year. As of September 30, just 30 inches of rain have fallen.

Rilling said the conservation measures are “necessary steps we must take to help our City preserve water supplies and mitigate potential harm.”

Learn more.

———

The city is conducting community outreach as a part of developing its Recreation and Parks master plan, to include what residents would like to see in their parks and recreational facilities. The first visioning workshop will take place on Thursday, October 13 at 5 p.m. at City Hall. The second will be on Saturday, October 15 at 10 a.m. at the Norwalk Senior Center.  

Other meetings this week include:

Fairfield

The Police Commission will meet on Wednesday, October 12 at 4:30 p.m. and discuss adding a licensed clinical social worker position that would be embedded in the Fairfield Police Department. This would be the third community in our region to add a social worker to the police force, with Stamford adding the position first, followed by Norwalk adding a position earlier this year.

Other meetings this week include:

Greenwich

The Planning & Zoning Commission will meet on Thursday, October 13 at 4 p.m. to gather public feedback and discuss the town’s proposed Open Space Plan. The commission will also consider a six-month moratorium on accessory dwelling units to “respond to community requests, and allow time for community input and to work on any necessary changes to the regulations.” See what other communities in the region are doing surrounding accessory dwelling units.

Other meetings this week include:

Darien

Darien was one of the hardest hit communities in Connecticut when the remnants of Hurricane Elsa and Ida came through last year, officials said. That’s part of why the town decided to host an emergency preparedness and response public information session to share with members of the public what they learned from those storms and advice for residents for future storms.

Storms that feature a large amount of rain in a short amount of time are increasing, according to Craig Flaherty, a professional engineer for Redniss and Mead, who works with the town on flooding-related issues. Flaherty also serves on the town’s Sewer Commission so he said he knows some of the challenges Darien and its systems face.

He highlighted data from the National Climate Assessment, which showed that heavy rainfalls have increased by 55% between 1958 and 2016, and are projected to increase another 40% in the years to come. This could have a big impact on towns and cities infrastructure, particularly their stormwater management systems.

In 2021, Darien, and the whole region, experienced two severe weather events that caused large amounts of flooding, property damage, and infrastructure issues. The remnants of Hurricane Elsa dropped 6.66 inches during a 24-hour period across the town in July.

Just over a month later, Darien received 6.92 inches of rain from Ida in a 24-hour period.

Learn more.

———

The Board of Education will meet on Tuesday, October 11 at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will feature a presentation from the Hindley, Holmes, and Royle Building Committee on schematic designs for the school buildings and a potential request to the Board of Selectmen to acquire the 32 Hoyt Street property, which is located next to Holmes Elementary School.

Other meetings this week include:

Westport

The Board of Finance will meet on Wednesday, October 12 at 7 p.m. and vote on a 40-year deed restriction for 124 Compo Road North—known as Susie’s House and used by Homes with Hope Inc. for Project Return—to create affordable housing. The Board will also hear a presentation from First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker and Superintendent of Schools Thomas Scarice on their 10-year capital project forecast.

Other meetings this week include:

Please note: All of these agendas and information here are current as of Sunday night. Meeting times and agendas may get adjusted throughout the week.

Thank you for reading!

If you are interested in being a part of our reporting or just want to share your thoughts, please reach out at coastalconnecticuttimes@gmail.com.

Have a great week,

Kelly Prinz

Founder, Reporter at Coastal Connecticut Times

Read next