Government

Parks Officials Propose Children’s Playground Area at Waveny 

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Parks officials on Wednesday voted in favor of requesting funds for next fiscal year to update the fitness area at Waveny while also creating a children’s playground area. 

Located just below the main road through Waveny, next to the parking lot that serves the “Orchard Field” softball diamond, the all-abilities fitness station has equipment that will need to be replaced in a few years, according to Parks Superintendent John Howe. Many kids already use that equipment “even though it’s not age-appropriate for them,” and the area is large and flat enough to get a poured-in-place surface not only for the fitness area but also for new playgrounds for younger children, Howe told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission at their regular meeting. “We feel strongly that a playground would really round out recreation at Waveny Park,” Howe said during the meeting, held via videoconference. “We would say that we need to put a fence just so that kids would not be able to go into the roadway from there. But we could make a wooden fence similar to down at Mead Park where it would blend into the surrounding woods and everything else.”

Commission Chair Rona Siegel and members Carl Mason, Francesca Segalas, Steve Haberstroh, Hank Green, Gene Goodman, Laura Costigan, George Benington and Jack Hawkins voted unanimously in favor of a future funding request.

Carl Mason

Parks & Rec Weighs Town Support in Maintenance of Waveny Disc Golf Course

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The town should consider helping more with upkeep for an increasingly popular facility in Waveny Park, officials say. The volunteers who created and maintain the Waveny Disc Golf Course on the west side of Lapham Road have taken care of mowing, brush-cutting, fallen tree-clearing and tee and trail maintenance since its inception in 2007, according to Parks & Recreation Commissioner Carl Mason. They also increased the number of holes on the free public course from 12 to the standard 18 last year, he said. “I think we need to start thinking about what it would take for the Parks Department to take care of some of the maintenance here,” Mason told fellow commissioners during their regular meeting, held Sept. 8 via videoconference.

Caffeine and Carburetors

Parks & Rec Unanimously Approves Oct. 17 ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ at Waveny

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After all four installments of a popular antique and specialty car show were canceled one year ago due to the pandemic, parks officials on Wednesday night approved ‘Caffeine & Carburetors’ for Oct. 17 at Waveny. It’s founder and organizer, New Canaan resident Doug Zumbach, owner of the eponymous coffee shop at Pine and Grove Streets, “always does such an amazing job, and all the events that he has had in the past have been pretty problem-free,” Parks & Recreation Commissioner Laura Costigan said during the appointed body’s regular meeting, held via videoconference. “And I can’t think better way keep jumpstarting things after the pandemic than approving” the event, she said. The Commission voted 11-0 to approve it. 

Zumbach in proposing the event—and also noting that he hoped in the future for a possible Sept.

Carl Mason

‘It’s Beautiful, It Really Is’: Waveny Disc Golf Course Sees Uptick in Use Amid Pandemic

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Though they do not keep hard statistics, the volunteers who designed and maintain a frisbee golf course at Waveny say they’ve seen an uptick in usage in the past year or so. Established in 2007, the Waveny Disc Golf Course on the west side of Lapham Road is one of 31 in Connecticut and the seventh-oldest in the state, according to Tim Smith. In 2020, Smith and other volunteers created six additional holes on the course bringing it to the standard 18 total, he told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission at their most recent meeting. “I think that’s one of the reasons I think we are seeing so many people enjoy the course now,” Smith said during the Commission’s March 10 meeting, held via videoconference. “Players of all levels are enjoying the course.

Government

‘I Don’t Like It’: Parks Commissioner Voices Concerns Over Proposed Fee To Use Tennis Courts at NCHS

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Calling it “clubby” and restrictive, a member of the Parks & Recreation Commission last week pushed back on a proposal to start charging residents for use of the tennis courts at New Canaan High School. Commissioner Francesca said the proposed $30 or $35 seasonal pass fee for the hard-surface courts means residents would have no public courts left to play tennis for free, such as Darien residents have in Cherry Lawn Park. “I don’t like it,” she said during the Commission’s regular meeting, held Jan. 13 via videoconference. “We have to pay for everything.