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Parks Officials Propose Lower Rates for Mead Park Tennis Permits, Non-Resident Option

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Saying lower rates could increase use of a public facility that’s seen a decline in interest, town officials last week voted unanimously to recommend a new slate of fees for Mead Park tennis permits. Parks & Recreation Commissioner Steve Haberstroh, a member of the appointed body’s Tennis Committee, said the reduced fees and introduction of a new type of permit for non-residents are part of a multi-pronged approach to reinvigorating interest in tennis in New Canaan. Officials also pare planning to create new and better programming at Mead Park tennis courts, he said during the Commission’s March 13 meeting. Haberstroh noted that officials must have clean data on facility use in hand in order to make decisions about the courts—for example, whether some of them should be re-purposed. “We want a robust tennis program and so we’ve started to do work understand what is going on,” Haberstroh said during the meeting, held at Town Hall.

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Meet Jack Hawkins, the Newest Member of the Parks & Recreation Commission

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The newest member of the town body responsible for advising on public parks and recreational facilities is a commissioned officer with the Army National Guard who has lived in New Canaan for three years. Jack Hawkins introduced himself during the Parks & Recreation Commission’s most recent meeting, noting that he has “moved all around throughout my entire life” between the military and school, though his wife is native of the region. “She is from Manhattan and we have a daughter, she is three years old and we moved to town three years ago,” Hawkins said during the Commission’s Dec. 12 meeting, held at Lapham Community Center. 

“So we were looking around—I am kind of analytical, a finance guy—and we were looking around and studying different towns, and we found New Canaan, and the more and more we got to know it, the more we loved it. I’m a frequent user of the parks and recreation, especially with young kids and being in the military and having to live up to our physical fitness standards.”

Hawkins has been appointed to a seat that had been held by longtime Commissioner Jason Milligan, who stepped down, Chair Sally Campbell said.