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Town Officials Discuss Future Use for Dying Oak in Waveny

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Town officials are discussing what should come of a large dead or dying tree near the pond in Waveny. Parks & Recreation Commissioner Francesca Segalas said this month that the tree, an oak, appears to be the “oldest tree” in the park. “Is there a way that we can figure out to turn that into a sculpture instead of just cutting it down?” Segalas said during the Commission’s regular meeting, held July 13 at Lapham Community Center. 

“There is sculpture that could be made that as it deteriorates, it’s part of the sculpture,” she added. “And I would rather see the tree turned into something than ‘Here’s benches made from it.’ ”

The tree in question is located toward the foot of the sledding hill, west of the pond. 

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

He said the tree “probably is going to have to be cut down” though officials have talked about taking its wood to create benches like those in the walled garden. “Right now they’re reproduced in plastic recycled wood, which is great, but is not quite the same,” Howe said.

Bea Watkins

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

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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.

Board of Selectmen

Town To Repair and Replace Outdoor Bleachers in New Canaan 

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The Board of Selectmen at its most recent meeting approved an approximately $120,000 contract with a North Berwick, Maine-based company to repair and, in at least one case, replace outdoor bleachers at athletic fields in New Canaan. 

The selectmen voted 3-0 at their June 28 meeting to approve the $120,170 contract with Hussey Seating. Some of the bleachers that need repair, such as those at Dunning Field, are 25 years old, while others need outright replacement, such as those at Conner Field, according to Parks & Recreation Director John Howe. “Doing all this work will get us up code-compliant and we will have to remove some of the bleachers because they don’t even come close, but the safety inspection is what we want,” Howe told the selectmen during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “We don’t want anything bad to happen.”

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 in favor of the contract. 

Funds are included in the current capital budget and the work should get underway after about 10 to 12 weeks, as the contracted company obtains needed materials, Howe said. The selectmen asked whether one location is absorbing a lot of the cost (Dunning is $57,000) and whether the Dunning bleachers need to be replaced (no). 

Regarding Conner Field’s bleachers, Howe said “they’re the oldest.”

“They need to have a fence around them, they need to have backstops so that a kid can’t slide through,” he said.

Beka Sikharulidze

New Canaan Man Launches ‘Beka Tennis Academy’

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Beka Sikharulidze had already criss-crossed the United States—and much of the world—before settling in New Canaan this summer with his wife and their two sons. 

A singles and doubles tennis champion in his native Georgia in eastern Europe, Sikharulidze had moved to Los Angeles and founded Beka Tennis Academy in 2001. An actor as well as a tennis professional, he returned to Europe before the COVID-19 pandemic to direct and star in his own movie, “From Life To Life,” and then came back in 2021 to operate his academy in Florida for one year before moving up to New Canaan. “We checked a couple places like Darien and also Greenwich, but we like New Canaan more because of the community,” Sikharulidze said. “The people are much warmer. We love all the woods, and we’re still very close to the city.”

After enrolling their sons at South School, where the boys will start in kindergarten and the first grade this fall, Sikharulidze set up his academy at Vista Indoor Tennis in South Salem, N.Y., minutes over the line up Route 123.

Government

Parks Officials Support Plan for Picnic Area Dedicated to Steve Benko Near Waveny Paddle Courts

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Parks officials last week voted in support of a proposal to create a picnic area near Waveny’s platform tennis courts in honor of longtime New Canaan Recreation Director Steve Benko. The New Canaan Men’s Club, together with the women’s and men’s paddle leagues, raised nearly $6,500 for the effort, according to club member Peter Eldridge. “There was a very strong feeling not only among the paddle players in the club but throughout the membership that Steve was very deserving of a memorial,” Eldridge told members of the Parks & Recreation Commission at their June 8 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

Eldridge noted that club members also felt Benko would be very pleased with the renaming of the town pool at Waveny in his honor. Those behind an effort to do something related to paddle tennis met with Parks & Rec Director John Howe to talk about possibilities, he said. Howe said the funds already raised could go toward purchasing picnic tables for an area overlooking the paddle courts that could be expanded if it catches on.