Meet the Master Plan Committee

The town’s new “master plan” for building projects in the Main Street area continues to move forward. At their most recent meeting, the Board of Selectmen selected the first four members of the Town Center Planning Group. They chose Jim Beall, Mike Hobbs, Christine Wagner and Neil Budnick, all of whom have experience with large building projects.

Beall served as chair of the Police and EMS Building Committee from 2005 to 2009. In the process, he helped plan the renovations to the Police Department’s headquarters and the construction of New Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps’ building. He has also recently worked with the Fire Commision on plans for renovations to the town’s firehouse, which may now be included in the town center planning.

Hobbs also served on the Police and EMS Building Committee. He also ran his own local construction company, Hobbs, Inc., which he has since passed on to his sons.

Wagner, a member of the Board of Finance, was a part of the High School Building Committee. As such, she helped oversee the complex process of renovating NCHS, and helped to do so on time and without going over budget.

Budnick is also a Board of Finance member. He acted as the board’s liaison to the Fire Commission, and  he also helped with early planning for the firehouse’s renovations. He is also the former president and CFO of MBIA, Inc., which helped finance the building of the Chunnel, the underwater train line connecting Great Britain with mainland Europe.

The Board of Selectman still has to approve the group’s charter, which they will draft in the coming weeks. The charter will outline exactly what tasks the committee will handle.

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