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The What

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut

The What is your look around southwest Connecticut for the week of August 14.

The What: This Week in Southwest Connecticut
Happy halfway through August! We can't believe it's almost time for school to start. (Photo by Kelly Prinz)

Monday, August 14

Happy Monday! This week we’re highlighting two infrastructure projects in Norwalk that also will have an effect on the rest of the region and we looked into a credit card audit in Fairfield that found some town employees were spending town money inappropriately.

Walk Bridge

We’ve previously covered the start of construction on the 127-year-old train bridge that runs over the Norwalk River and connects the Northeast Corridor through Metro North and Amtrak trains. In addition to the bridge work, there’s some smaller parts of the project taking place, including removing invasive species along the river and removing the former IMAX theater. Take a look at some of the work taking place or see our video on some of the projects.

Route 7/15

The Merritt Parkway (also known as Route 15) is one of the major roads that runs through southwest Connecticut and state officials are proposing an update to how Route 15 intersects with Route 7 and Main Avenue in Norwalk. This week there will be an open house and public hearing in Norwalk on Wednesday, August 16 at 6 p.m. Learn more about the proposed work.

Fairfield Credit Cards

In Fairfield, officials began reviewing a six-month investigation into purchases made by Fairfield employees using their town-issued credit cards from 2018 through 2022.

Cathleen Simpson, the town’s HR director, who led the investigation told the Board of Selectmen at a meeting on August 7 that she found no fraud, but “violations” of the town’s credit card policy.

Some of the findings included spending money on daily meals for staff, using the town’s Amazon account to make a personal purchase, and buying pain medication like Tylenol on the town card.

First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said that she appreciated the investigation and is using it to make additional improvements in town policy.

“There were loose policies in place before I came in, but there was no training so this actually was a good thing because we were able to write more stringent policies,” she said.

Still, some officials have concerns that this might be a signal of other issues.

“There are more internal audit reports like this, and if someone is reading these without recognizing what that means and how risky it is, then we have a serious systemic problem,” Board of Finance Chair Lori Charlton said.

Learn more about the credit card investigation.

Let’s see what else is happening around the region this week.

Stamford

The Planning Board will meet on Tuesday, August 15 at 6:30 p.m. and discuss and vote on plans from the city to sell two pieces of city-owned property—560 Atlantic Street and 13 Manhattan Street.

Other meetings this week include:

Norwalk

Residents are invited to the Route 7/15 Public Hearing on Wednesday, August 16 at 6 p.m. According to the report, the state is proposing moving forward with “Alternative 26,” which officials said “best meets the project’s purpose and need.” Learn more about the proposal ahead of the hearing.

Other meetings this week include:

Fairfield

Last week, the Board of Selectmen reviewed an investigation into how employees were using their town-issued credit cards. Learn more about the investigation's findings and what's next.

There will be a Water Pollution Control Authority public hearing on Wednesday, August 16 at 6:30 p.m. where the authority will discuss and vote on new sewer rates for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Other meetings this week include:

Greenwich

On Monday, August 14, there is a Community Forum in Glenville at 6 p.m. First Selectman Fred Camillo said that the forum will be an opportunity to update the residents on things taking place in their community, such as plans for a dog park, the potential future for the now vacant Stop & Shop location, and more. It will also be a chance for him and town officials to hear directly from residents about concerns or questions they have

Other meetings this week include:

Darien

Meetings this week:

Westport

The Board of Selectwomen will meet on Wednesday, August 16 at 9 a.m. and discuss and potentially vote on bringing back enforced, timed parking limits in the town, which were suspended since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The board will also vote on establishing uniform parking limits and times throughout the town-managed downtown parking lots, including Parker Harding Plaza, Sigrid Shultz Plaza, Baldwin, Bay Street, Jesup Road, and Taylor, and the Town roadways known as Main Street, Church Lane, Bay Street, and Taylor Place.

The proposal is to change the currently posted “1- and 2- hour parking” limits to “3-hour parking” limits and enforcement times to “8 a.m. to 6 p.m.” and to request permission from CT DOT to change the current parking term limits posted on Post Road East from “1- and 2- hour parking” to “3-hour parking.”

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

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