Bea Watkins

‘It’s Something Different’: Activity and Attendance Up at Kiwanis Park, Officials Say

By |

Though no formal numbers are available, officials say Kiwanis Park is seeing a higher level of activity that it has in years. 

Original programming for the Old Norwalk Road park and its special appeal to new residents coming from the city, with its beach and swimming hole, are behind the increase in attendance, officials said during this month’s Parks & Recreation Commission meeting. “New residents are excited about it,” Recreation Office Manager Bea Watkins said at the July 13 meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. “It’s something different. They’re coming from the city. The freedom and the basketball and everything else that it offers—they’re thrilled.”

The comments came during Parks & Recreation Director John Howe’s general update to the Commission. 

Commissioner Hank Green said, “I want to give a shout-out to Kiwanis Park.

Around Town

‘Tireless Caring, Devotion and Love’: Friends Remember Steve Benko; Town Renames Waveny Pool in His Honor

By |

Bea Watkins got to know Steve Benko at New Canaan High School in the late-1960s, and for the last 11 years has worked for him as office manager of the town’s Recreation Department. There at the Rec offices in Waveny House, they often reminisced about mutual friends, parties and weddings, as well as Watkins’s brother, Lem, who’d worked for Benko one summer years ago. “I have always been in awe of Steve’s work ethic and proud to be on his team,” Watkins told NewCanaanite.com in an email when asked for her thoughts on Benko. “He always took such pride in everything he and our crew has had to accomplish for the residents in terms of activities, programs, and facilities. With the recent influx of new residents who continue to voice how astonished they are with all that the Recreation Department and the town has to offer, I know that it is largely due to the hard work and effort of Steve.”

Calling Benko “Mr. New Canaan,” Watkins remembered her friend as singularly passionate about the town and what it offers. “I always enjoyed sharing thoughts and ideas with Steve and a good argument was exciting as well,” she said.

Government

‘I Am Very Frustrated’: Parks Officials Address Court-Booking Problem Caused by Discourteous Platform Tennis Players

By |

Parks officials say they’re addressing a problem where permit-holders for New Canaan’s platform tennis courts at Waveny are placing reservations online and then fail to show up or else cancel at the last minute, leaving them vacant and preventing others from playing. A municipal recreation program manager has contacted all permit-holders about the problem and some are responding that they didn’t understand the consequences of their actions, members of the Parks & Recreation Commission said at their most recent meeting. “I am very frustrated by it because it’s hard to get matches,” commissioner Jason Milligan said at the Feb. 14 meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. “You have basically a two-week period to schedule each one and it gets busy and you have to basically wake up early as the thing opens and book it for the busy slots and if you do not do that, you can’t get a slot.

Around Town

Facility, Furniture and Landscaping Improvements Coming to Waveny Pool This Summer

By |

Waveny Pool in the 2017 season will see facility upgrades, new furniture, improved landscaping and schedule adjustments designed to meet the wishes of permit-holders who go there through the summer months, officials said. Town officials are addressing concerns about muggy locker rooms and privacy in bathrooms, and the fees generated by the sale of permits also are funding the purchase of new umbrellas and chairs, according to Sally Campbell, chair of the Parks & Recreation Commission. A committee that helps oversee Waveny Pool has met five times since last season and “we have made extensive list and I think we have made huge progress and it’s just going to be great,” Campbell said during the group’s regular meeting, held March 8 at Lapham Community Center. “The big complaints were that the bathroom doors didn’t close, it was too muggy in the locker room and they felt it should be cleaned more. And Steve [Benko] was able to address all of those, and so I think this year people are going to be able to have a much better experience.