Conservation Commission Approves Minutes, Sets Up New Subcommittees

Conservation · Meeting of February 12, 2026

New Canaan Conservation Commission organizes new subcommittees and flags a $375,000 transfer station study. Members approved January 22 minutes unanimously and began sorting themselves into charter, land/open space, environmental sustainability, and communications subcommittees. A town official known as Tiger told the panel the transfer station's capital budget, headed to the Board of Finance that evening, includes $375,000 for a phase one environmental review of two former incinerator buildings, one from 1950 and one decommissioned in 1998, with eventual demolition estimated at "four, four and a half" million dollars.

Charter Review Commission member Jennifer Holme visited to explain a possible extension of commission terms from two to three years and a May 4 draft-report deadline. Commissioners agreed to submit one collective response rather than individual comments, and discussed a May well-water testing clinic with a $235 per-sample fee.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 805 words

Source: the Conservation meeting of February 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

NEW CANAAN — February 12, 2026 — The New Canaan Conservation Commission used a shortened lunchtime meeting Thursday to approve minutes, lay the groundwork for four new subcommittees, and hear that the town is proposing $375,000 to study environmental cleanup of two aging incinerator buildings at the transfer station.

All commission members were present, and the panel dispensed with a roll call. With a second meeting scheduled to use the room at 1 p.m., the chair opened by noting the commission would need to wrap up by 12:55 p.m., a constraint that shaped a compressed agenda focused largely on organizational business rather than formal votes.

The Full Story

The commission unanimously approved minutes from its January 22 special meeting, after a member identified as Tom Herman moved approval and a member identified as John seconded. Before the vote, members noted a line item mistakenly left on the agenda for two months running was removed.

A town official referred to throughout the meeting as Tiger gave the commission its regular Bristow preserve and transfer station updates. He said a resident, Robin Bates Mason, had sent photos of trees of concern, and that staff would inspect them once snow melts to check for erosion or trail damage. On South Avenue, plantings tied to a local beautification effort remain dormant, with commissioners saying they are waiting to see bloom colors once the weather warms.

The most concrete figure of the meeting came during the transfer station update. Tiger told the commission he was presenting the town's capital budget to the Board of Finance later that evening, including a $375,000 line item for a phase one environmental review of two incinerator buildings on the transfer station property: a brick structure built in 1950, and a second building, built in 1970 and decommissioned in 1998, that now houses the town's swap shop and salt storage. He estimated eventual demolition costs at roughly $4 million to $4.5 million. He said the buildings do not qualify for state brownfield grant money because the incinerator was a town-run program rather than a private prior use, though the town's grant writer, Greg Riley, continues to search for other funding. Separately, the Board of Selectmen has approved a contract for a full survey of the transfer station parcel, expected to begin once snow melts, as a foundation for a future master plan.

"It's $375,000 for the initial review, and then the takedown could be much more expensive." [HH:MM:SS] — Tiger, town official overseeing the transfer station

Much of the meeting was devoted to organizing the commission's work into subcommittees: a charter committee, a land and open space or preservation committee, an environmental sustainability committee combining transfer station, waste and pollution topics, and a communications committee. Commissioners agreed committees may include non-commission residents, cannot spend money or bind the commission on their own, and must bring recommendations back for a full commission vote.

Midway through the meeting, Jennifer Holme, a member of the town's Charter Review Commission, stopped in to explain that panel's process. She said the group reviewing the Conservation Commission's charter article is considering extending member terms from two to three years, that interviews with boards and commissions continue through early March, and that a draft report is due to the Town Council by May 4. Commissioners agreed to submit a single collective response rather than individual comments, to be assembled by the chair from members' written input.

"I think we need to get intend to do something that's involved." [HH:MM:SS] — Tom Herman, commission member

The commission also reviewed plans for a well-water testing clinic, with the state offering two possible Saturdays in May, the 2nd and the 9th. Members leaned toward May 2, keeping the 9th as a weather backup. Homeowners would pay a per-sample fee cited as $235; commissioners discussed asking Planet New Canaan to subsidize costs and promoting the clinic at Earth Month events in April.

Why It Matters

The $375,000 review is the first formal step toward deciding the fate of two decades-old, unused buildings at the transfer station, a site commissioners called one of the town's most pressing capital priorities. The outcome, still subject to Board of Finance approval, will shape whether the town spends millions more to demolish the structures or repurpose the site. Separately, the charter review process, with a state-mandated May 4 draft deadline and a September cutoff tied to ballot printing, will determine whether Conservation Commission members' terms are extended from two to three years, a change that would affect how the commission plans its own subcommittee work going forward.

Key Motions & Votes

- Vote: Approval of January 22 special meeting minutes Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Motion to adjourn Tally: Approved unanimously

Source

Town Of New Canaan: Conservation Commission meeting, February 12, 2026