New Canaan Panel Assigns Members to Study Pond Testing

Conservation · Meeting of July 9, 2026

New Canaan Conservation Commission assigns two members to study reviving lapsed Mead Park pond testing. Resident Christina Faggerstall, of 289 Weed Street, told the panel a heat-wave algae bloom went unaddressed after a Harbor Watch testing program, which sampled seven pond locations and cost about $3,800 a year, was cut from the budget as supposedly "redundant" with other town monitoring. DPW's Tiger said the pond gets no fertilizer runoff and has never had a major fish die-off, but backed resuming tests; commission members Tom and Susan will report back within 60 days on whether to seek roughly $4,000 in town funding.

Separately, Tiger detailed new three-year hauling contracts that cut the municipal solid waste rate to $110 a ton in year one, down from $111, while recycling and debris haul fees rise $5. Grant writer Greg Riley said the town is pursuing a $150,000 CT DEEP grant for invasive-species removal at Waveny Park.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,528 words

Source: the Conservation meeting of July 9, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

Agenda Amendment and Public Comment Protocol

The meeting opened with a procedural note: the commission's chair said a member had requested, before the agenda was posted, that a discussion of Mead Park pond water testing be added as a formal item, following weeks of resident emails on the subject. Commission member Tom moved to amend the agenda to add the item; commission member Sean seconded, and the motion passed by unanimous voice vote. The item was placed at 6C, under the transfer station update. The chair noted, with some acknowledgment of the delay, that the issue had not made it onto the May agenda. A resident who had signed up for public comment was told the commission would hold her remarks until the water-testing item came up later in the meeting rather than take comment immediately, and the chair confirmed the commission would need to bring speakers to a podium microphone so remote viewers could hear them.

Approval of Minutes

Members approved the minutes of their previous regular meeting without discussion, on a motion seconded by commission member Susan and passed by unanimous voice vote. The transcript identifies the prior meeting as having occurred "July 11th," which cannot be correct for a commission meeting held July 9; this is very likely a transcription artifact and the actual date of the minutes under review should be confirmed against town records.

South Avenue Tree Replacement

Background and stakes: The South Avenue tree-planting project, discussed at prior meetings, involved more than 130 trees planted along the corridor. The commission asked for a one-year survival update.

The question before the body: Whether the planting has succeeded and what the town's plan is for replacing any losses.

Substantive content: Tiger, a Department of Public Works official who works with the town's tree warden, reported that of more than 130 trees planted, nine did not survive: seven bur oaks, one single-stem American hornbeam and one white flowering dogwood. He said the tree warden could not pinpoint why the bur oaks in particular struggled, but recommended replacing them with a mix of red oak, pin oak and swamp white oak, sourced from the same nursery that supplied the original planting. Tiger said the replacement stock would be picked up by the end of the week — about a week behind the original schedule because of a storm — and planted the following week. He also described roughly 30 to 40 additional trees planted elsewhere in town, including on lower Farm Road near White Oak Shade, funded through the town's biennial capital tree-planting appropriation; a separate, smaller planting on Farm Road was funded by the Garden Club. One tree in that planting also failed and will be replaced.

The deliberation: A commission member asked whether the new stock could be planted immediately given dry conditions; Tiger said crews are already watering hanging baskets three times a week and trees twice a week and could increase watering if needed. He said the tree warden is not concerned about the survival rate. Another member asked whether the funding for the Farm Road plantings came from town capital funds or the Garden Club, and Tiger clarified the two funding sources: the biennial capital appropriation covered the broader townwide planting, while the Garden Club funded the additional Farm Road trees specifically.

"That's fantastic. Money well spent, in my opinion," a commission member said in response to hearing the town's capital tree-planting appropriation supported the additional plantings.

Procedural steps and outcome: No formal vote was required; this was a staff update. Replacement planting was described as already scheduled for the following week.

Implications and what is next: Residents along South Avenue and lower Farm Road should expect replacement plantings within days of the meeting, folded into the town's ongoing tree-maintenance rotation.

Bristow Sanctuary Gate Signage

Background and stakes: A neighbor contacted the commission asking whether "close the gate" signs could be installed on two gates near the baseball fields at Bristow Sanctuary, after observing the gates left open.

The question before the body: Whether to authorize installation of the signs, which had previously been purchased but held back from installation.

Substantive content: Commission member Robin reported that Bristow looked fine after a recent storm. Tiger said signage had already been purchased and one set installed near Route 106, but he had been told at some point to hold off on installing the remaining sets near the baseball fields, for reasons he could not recall — he guessed it was a concern about visual impact. The signs are small, roughly 4 inches by 6 inches, white lettering on green background.

The deliberation: Robin said the New Canaan Land Trust would be willing to purchase and install its own signs if the commission did not want to use the ones already on hand. A commission member said the signs' visual impact appeared minimal and that installation could be easily reversed if the commission changed its mind.

"I mean, my opinion is it can't hurt, and it's not that big of a negative visual impact," a commission member said, with another member agreeing.

Procedural steps and outcome: No formal vote; Tiger said he would have the remaining signs installed the next day.

Implications and what is next: The gates near the baseball fields at Bristow Sanctuary should have signage in place within days of the meeting.

Transfer Station: New Hauling Contracts and Sticker Kiosk

Background and stakes: The town's prior waste-hauling contracts for municipal solid waste, recycling, and brush and construction debris expired June 30, requiring new agreements after the Board of Selectmen's approval process.

The question before the body: An informational update on the new contract terms and on planned changes to how residents purchase transfer-station stickers.

Substantive content: Tiger reported the town secured three-year contracts despite vendor warnings that prices could rise 20 to 25 percent. For municipal solid waste, the town will pay $110 per ton in year one, $112 in year two and $114 in year three, compared with the $111 per ton it currently pays — a net savings in year one. Recycling costs hold flat at $65 per ton, though the per-pickup haul fee rises from $185 to $190. Brush waste ($50 per ton) and construction debris ($110 per ton) both carry the same $5 haul-fee increase, from $185 to $190 per haul, with per-ton rates unchanged from the prior contract. Tiger said the town largely retained its existing vendors, meaning no disruption in hauling operations.

Tiger also described a plan to install a self-service kiosk at the transfer station so residents can purchase dump stickers on-site, receive them immediately, and avoid the current online-registration-and-mail process, an idea he credited to the town's new DPW superintendent, identified in the transcript only as Lou. He said a DPW staffer identified as Anthony would assist residents at the kiosk once installed. Currently, residents needing help go through the DPW office, assisted by a coordinator identified as Christy. Asked whether mailed stickers include the Planet New Canaan educational flyer, Tiger said the practice would continue and that he would check with a contact identified as Katie Alley for an updated version, noting the practice had been maintained previously by a former superintendent identified as Donnie.

Tiger separately said the department plans to issue a request for proposals for food-scrap pickup service for the next fiscal year, given the current hauler's separate work with the schools. He also described how the department navigated the July Fourth parade, when the transfer station closed for roughly two and a half hours so DPW staff could cover traffic posts, later reopening and staying open late to accommodate residents who had been turned away.

The deliberation: A member asked how DPW communicates schedule and program changes to the public. Tiger described three channels: a variable message sign at the transfer station, the town's social-media platforms for closures and holiday-hours updates, and a DPW alert system that sends weekly text and email updates every Sunday at noon, supplemented this summer by nightly 7 p.m. updates during South Avenue and Farm Road construction work. He said residents can sign up for the alert through a link on the town website.

Procedural steps and outcome: No formal vote; contracts were already approved by the Board of Selectmen prior to the meeting.

Implications and what is next: Residents should expect modestly higher recycling and brush/debris haul fees beginning immediately, a kiosk-based sticker system at an unspecified future date, and a new RFP process for food-scrap hauling next fiscal year.

Mead Park Pond Water Testing: Public Comment and Commission Discussion

Background and stakes: A testing program that had monitored water quality connected to Bristow Sanctuary and Mead Park pond was cut from the town budget years ago. Resident emails in recent weeks, and a visible algae bloom during a July heat wave, prompted the commission to add this item to Thursday's agenda.

The question before the body: Whether the commission should recommend restoring dedicated water-quality testing near Mead Park pond, and if so, through what process and at what cost.

Substantive content: Christina Faggerstall, who identified herself as a longtime resident living at 289 Weed Street, told the commission she regularly walks the pond and woods at Mead Park and Bristow Sanctuary. She described a significant algae bloom coinciding with the recent heat wave, said she has observed people still trying to fish in the pond despite the bloom, and noted the pond supports birds, turtles and other aquatic life. She recalled the town previously spent what she described in media coverage as a considerable sum to dredge the pond due to sludge and runoff buildup, and warned that a lack of monitoring could lead to a repeat expense. She read from outside research on algae blooms, describing risks including oxygen depletion, toxin release and harm to pets, and asked whether any testing program remained in place. She said she was told a program had existed but had been cut from the budget, and asked whether the town might consider aeration, such as fountains, potentially through a public-private partnership.

Commission members and Tiger responded. A commission member said testing remains important given regional algae concerns, but noted the pond has both inflow and outflow, meaning some chemical treatments used to kill algae could harm other aquatic life; that member suggested aeration as a possible solution. Tiger explained the town's separate, mandated stormwater testing program, tied to its municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) permit, which samples roughly 173 to 174 outfalls townwide for ammonia, chlorine, conductivity, salinity, E. coli, surfactants and other pollutants, with a particular focus on detecting and eliminating illicit discharges. He distinguished that program from the discontinued Harbor Watch-run testing specific to Bristow and Mead Park pond, which sampled seven locations twice monthly during June, August and October, once each in dry and wet conditions, testing for water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and nitrogen and phosphorus levels, with New Canaan High School students assisting in lab analysis. Tiger said the town has observed an annual algae bloom at Mead Park pond for years but has not documented a substantial fish die-off, attributing this partly to Mead being a warm-water body stocked only with bass and sunfish rather than the cold-water trout stocked in the Mill River. He said DPW manages the pond's water level using a weir, lowering it during major storms for flood-storage purposes, which also helps clear algae downstream, then raising it afterward to maintain pond levels; he said the current stagnation stems from insufficient storm-driven flow-through during hot, dry stretches. He estimated that effective aeration might require as many as three fountain units, given the pond's island, though he had no cost estimate, and said any aeration or chemical-treatment proposal would require review and approval from the town's Inland Wetlands agency.

Commission member Tom asked directly whether the testing program had been cut from the budget and, if so, what authority the commission had to seek its restoration. Members recalled the line item was eliminated around the time of a visit from the town's first selectman, amid discussion that it was viewed as redundant with another agency's testing — a characterization members said they would need to confirm against minutes from that meeting. Members further recalled the prior program was administered through Harbor Watch at a recent annual cost of about $3,800, run for roughly three to four years, with commission member Linda Andros credited as having led the town's contact with Harbor Watch.

"I think testing is important... I think aeration might be a good solution. It's been used in a lot of places. It's actually quite lovely," a commission member said in response to Faggerstall's comments.

"I'm not sure the algae, while it's not particularly attractive, is not a recurring issue because when it's hot and still, it comes and then it goes," the chair said, cautioning that the commission should frame any recommendation around Mead Park's role as recreational space rather than strictly as a pollution question.

Procedural steps and outcome: No formal vote was taken. The chair said the commission needed a member to take ownership of the issue and return with research, cost information and a recommendation, warning that without an assigned owner "nothing really is going to happen." Tom volunteered to lead the effort; Susan agreed to assist. The two agreed to report back to the full commission within 60 days — by roughly early September 2026 — with a recommendation on next steps, which the chair said could range from a request for approximately $4,000 in the town budget process to continue testing, to a finding that adequate testing already occurs elsewhere and no action is needed. A commission member also offered to check with the town's Inland Wetlands contact, identified in the transcript alternately as "Kathy Allen" and "Kathleen," about whether that agency is separately monitoring the issue.

Implications and what is next: Any funding request tied to Mead Park pond testing would need to clear the town budget process; residents should expect the commission to revisit the topic with a substantive recommendation around its scheduled September 10 meeting.

Grant Writing With the Town's New Grant Writer

Background and stakes: The commission invited Greg Riley, who recently began working with the town as a grant writer in the office of the first selectman, to explain how municipal grant applications are developed and approved.

The question before the body: An informational briefing on the town's grant process and available funding opportunities relevant to conservation projects.

Substantive content: Riley, who said he previously spent about a decade as editor and publisher of the New Canaan Advertiser before training as a grant writer starting around 2020, described grant-seeking as a collaborative process between a grant writer, a town department or body, and the office of the first selectman. He said any grant-application work must first be approved by the first selectman, who typically weighs whether a project is a town priority, whether matching funds are required (often 20 to 50 percent of project cost), whether the grant carries usage restrictions, and whether it creates recurring costs after funding ends. Only the first selectman may sign grant applications and contracts on the town's behalf, per town grant policy adopted last year and posted on the town website's employee portal.

Riley said he is currently working on a grant application tied to Waveny Park, in collaboration with Tiger's department, the town's tree warden, and the Waveny Park Conservancy, which has a 10-year stewardship plan focused partly on eradicating invasive species. The application targets a Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection program for resilient forest practices, covering invasive-species removal, including trees, and replanting; Riley said the maximum award is $150,000 with no local match required, structured as a roughly two-year project, and that state reviewers had praised the conservancy's progress over the past decade. He said the grant does not cover ongoing monitoring costs. He listed other funding sources he tracks, including the federal grants.gov clearinghouse, Connecticut DEEP programs, the Connecticut Urban Forestry program, the glass recycling foundation, the Long Island Sound Ecosystem Grant, Long Island Sound Stewardship funding, and the state's Open Space and Watershed Acquisition Grant, which he said carries a local match requirement in the range of 30 to 35 percent.

The deliberation: A member asked whether Riley could pursue private foundation funding in addition to state and federal sources; he said that would require the first selectman's approval to solicit a private foundation. Asked whether grant funding might be available for invasive-species or open-space monitoring generally, Riley said no current program covers ongoing monitoring, though he would research it if the commission identified a specific project. Asked about typical timelines, Riley said roughly two months typically elapse between a funding notice and an application deadline, not including the months of preparatory coordination beforehand. Asked whether there is a "sweet spot" in award size he prioritizes, Riley said larger awards generally receive more attention given the first selectman's limited time, citing an unsuccessful 2023 application he worked on with commission member Susan for Bristow Sanctuary through the Long Island Sound Stewardship program, seeking about $15,000, against a current town request of $1.5 million elsewhere and other awards in the $300,000 range.

"The little grant that we tried to get for Bristow three years ago was, I think, just $15,000. Right now we have a request out for a million and a half," Riley said.

A commission member asked who is responsible for reporting results back to funders after an award. Riley said he takes responsibility for ensuring grant-management and reporting deadlines are met, whether he performs that work himself or shares it with department staff or commission members.

Procedural steps and outcome: No formal vote; this was a briefing. Members thanked Riley and asked for his town email contact for future project ideas.

Implications and what is next: The Waveny Park invasive-species grant application, up to $150,000, remains active; commission members were invited to bring Riley additional project ideas suited to state or federal funding, subject to first selectman approval before any application work begins.

New Business and General Information

No new business was raised. Members confirmed the commission will not meet in August, consistent with a decision at a prior meeting, with a special meeting available if needed. A member said proposed ordinance language the commission has been developing should be circulated to the full commission as soon as possible, rather than waiting until September; the group agreed the member would share the draft ordinances with commission member Tom, who would in turn distribute them to the full commission after the meeting, with comments routed back through Tom. Members confirmed their next regular meeting is scheduled for September 10, 2026.

Adjournment

The chair called for a motion to adjourn. The transcript records the motion and second in a garbled passage, with a name transcribed as John apparently moving and Tom seconding; the vote to adjourn passed unanimously by voice vote.

Commission members present, roles not specified in the available sources: Tom (took lead role on Mead Park water-testing follow-up); Susan (assisting on water-testing follow-up); Sean (seconded agenda amendment); Robin (gave Bristow Sanctuary update). A member referred to only as "John" appears once in connection with the adjournment motion. The commission's chair presided throughout but is not named in the transcript. No roster, agenda or minutes document was supplied for this meeting to confirm full names, exact titles or any members absent.

Staff in attendance: Tiger, a Department of Public Works official overseeing the town's tree program and transfer station operations (exact title not stated in the transcript).

Public commenters: Christina Faggerstall, who identified herself as a longtime resident living at 289 Weed Street, spoke on Mead Park pond water quality.

Outside parties: Greg Riley, the town's grant writer in the office of the first selectman, presented on the municipal grant-application process at the commission's invitation.

Harbor Watch — the outside organization that previously ran the commission's Bristow/Mead Park water-testing program, discontinued when the budget line item was cut.

New Canaan Land Trust — offered to purchase and install "close the gate" signage at Bristow Sanctuary if the commission preferred not to use its existing signs.

Waveny Park Conservancy — partnering with the town's grant writer, DPW and tree warden on a pending state invasive-species grant application for Waveny Park.

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) — administers the resilient forest practices grant program cited for the Waveny Park invasive-species application, as well as other conservation funding programs referenced by Greg Riley.

Long Island Sound Stewardship program — funder of a 2023 grant application for Bristow Sanctuary that was ultimately unsuccessful.

Inland Wetlands (town agency, contact referenced as "Kathy Allen"/"Kathleen") — cited as the agency that would need to review and approve any aeration or chemical-treatment proposal for Mead Park pond.

Planet New Canaan — local group whose informational flyer has historically been included with mailed transfer-station stickers.

Grants.gov — the federal grant clearinghouse referenced by Greg Riley as a research resource.