Where John Engel sees potential historic value, Mike Farrell sees an oil building that needs to be demolished.
The two men were among several residents who spoke Tuesday morning to the Board of Selectmen, hoping town officials would either reconsider their plans to raze the old town garage on Richmond Hill Road or stay the course and clear more space at Mead Park.
The town's top board will not make an immediate decision. It tabled a resolution to demolish the building after the company chosen by the public works department withdrew its bid.
Engel hopes town officials will consider allowing a 90-day delay to further investigate the garage's historical value and develop a plan for its future use. "Even in its most tacit form, a mere skeleton of a brick building, perhaps it could be a potential benefit to the town and the neighborhood," he said.
Stephen Rowley said the building has value and can still be useful. "The cost (of renovation) isn't that great," he said.
But several Richmond Hill Road residents implored the town to get rid of the garage once and for all. Farrell said that those who call the building a carriage barn are exaggerating.
"A carriage barn the old oil depot in Mead Park ain't, and it never was, and it never can be," he said. "We should not be misled by an attempt to characterize a building for something other than it is and consider the importance to New Canaan of Mead Park as it is."
Jack Flinn agreed that it's time for the garage to come down. "What we have here is an oil building in a residential area," Flinn said. Keeping the building there "is an unfair burden for people living on Richmond Hill Road."
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