New Canaan conservation commissioners form four working committees, plan charter input

The New Canaan Conservation Commission on Feb. 12 organized four working committees to carry out substantive tasks outside monthly meetings and agreed to prepare a coordinated submission to the town's Charter Review Commission.

Chair (unnamed in the transcript) opened the meeting and urged commissioners to use committee work to prepare recommendations in advance of the CRC's deadlines. He said committees will review material between meetings and return committee templates for approval at a future meeting. "We get work done at the committee level, and then we bring it to these meetings," the chair said.

Commissioners proposed committees focused on open-space/preservation, environmental/transfer-station and waste, communications/education, and a charter-revision committee. Tom (referenced as Thomas/Tom Herman in the minutes) was named to lead the charter work; other members volunteered for environmental and land-conservation roles. The chair said a committee should have at least two commission members willing to work together and emphasized that committees have no authority to spend money or take actions outside the full commission.

Members discussed including nonresident experts on committees in an advisory capacity but noted nonresidents would not receive commission pay. Commissioners also agreed to collect one-on-one input from members and asked the chair and a second commissioner to draft a letter outlining the commission's intentions to the Charter Review Commission so the commission's views would be on record.

Why it matters: The charter-review cycle influences the commission's statutory charge and the town's governance framework; the CRC expects commission drafts and input in spring, and final work must be completed to feed ballot language in time for fall election deadlines.

Next steps: Commissioners will draft committee charters/templates, submit individual input to the committee lead, and bring a consolidated template back for a vote at a subsequent meeting. The commission plans to submit a formal, signed letter to the Charter Review Commission and to consider attending CRC group interviews or submitting written input as a commission.

The commission set its next regular meeting for March 12.